Add Rome's Quirinale Palace, the official residence of the Italian President of the Repubblic, to your list of must sees. One of the first acts of President Mattarella on the 31st January 2015 upon his nomination as Italy's 12th President was to announce that the official presidential residence was to be thrown open to the public.
Claimed to be the only European royal palace in use to open its doors on a regular daily basis, the Quirinale Palace was formerly the residence of the Popes and then the Italian royal family. Sergio Mattarella, like his post-war predecessors, occupies only a small area of the sumptuous House of the Italians with its three hundred lavishly frescoed and decorated rooms, used only for official ceremonies and entertaining foreign heads of state.
The Palace is now open five days a week for guided tours. (maximum 30 participants). Visitors can choose between two itineraries as follows:
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The Piano Nobile, including the Staircase of Honour, the Grand Ballroom, the Hall of Mirrors, the President's private office, the Room of the Loggias, the First State Room and the Great Hall of the Cuirassiers. The Ground Floor, including an exhibition on the history of the Palace with the Hall of the Popes, the Office of the last King of Italy and a series of documents and historic film material. The tour lasts 1 hr 20 mins
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Includes the above tour, plus the splendid House of Savoy porcelain collection, the Royal
Carriage Museum and the Gardens, with the fountains, the Antiquarium and the Coffee House in the grounds. The longer tour takes 2 hrs 30 mins
Prior booking is obbligatory.
Tour 1 is free, except for a mandatory booking fee of 1.50
Tour 2 costs 10, including the booking fee, with reductions for 18-25 age group and senior citizens.
Info and booking: ++39.06.3996.7557
Info Point at Palazzo Sant'Andrea, Via del Quirinale 30
