Today during another massive deluge, I made my way to Palazzo Colonna for a 10am tour. This palace is still a residence for the family and so tours are only given Fridays and Saturdays. And boy do they move volumes through. Taking groups of about 15 in different directions, they are able to host tours for around 60 each hour is my guess. The tour was 2.5 hours of endless rooms and gardens, chock full of extraordinary beauty. This is pretty much what you look like through the whole thing:
The family history is fascinating. They were nothing, living several miles outside of Rome on some bit patch of land, about 900 years ago. Until one day, Pietro "discovered" the column that Jesus was tied to when the soldiers flogged him. This gave the family their rise to fame and also their name. Their rise as a noble Roman family was enhanced when they moved to town and began building their family villa on the Via SS Apostoli, which is where it is now. It started small and over the centuries became the incredible structure we gaze at today.
Here, in the family crest, one can see their history:
The column, the "procured relic," is at the center. The eagles are for victory in various battles, most notably a crucial victory over the Turks. We have symbols of cardinals (step 1 toward building fabulousness) and then ultimately a papal crown. Martin V was a Colonna.
Rooms and rooms of splendor. Marble everywhere. Humungous Venetian glass chandeliers.
An extraordinary art collection:
A glorious garden:
A cannon ball that was fired from the Quirinale hill:
It was all overwhelming and exhausting. But yes, I could live there. Ch-ching.
I think a palazzo is a bit too too, but so long as its done tastefully, I suppose I won't be the downer and say so outloud
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