Aedes barberinae ad quirinalem descriptae-Descrizione di palazzo Barberini al Quirinale

Among the descriptions of papal residences made between the xvith and xviith centuries, the work of Girolamo Tezi, the scholar from Perugia who lived at the court of Cardinal Antonio Barberini, is a particular case; it is precious for its rich, articulated description of one of the most prestigious xviith century residential buildings, the Palazzo Barberini at the Quirinale, and marks an unusual precedent in xviith century publishing for the ways the description is made: both for the choice of the epistolary genre and the richness of the illustrations and their conscious integration with the narrative text. In his visit to the Palazzo the author's attention was drawn to the numerous works of art collected there: from frescoes by some of the most important painters of the Roman Baroque, Pietro da Cortona, Andrea Sacchi and Andrea Camassei, to paintings in Cardinal Antonio's apartment; from collections of ancient sculptures, jewels and medals to the splendid gardens. The eye is that of an habitué who, from within the Palazzo, offers an animated representation of court life and the literary circle of the Barberini, through the reconstruction of the splendour of the residence and the nobility of its habitués.
The volume, edited by Lucia Faedo and Thomas Frangenberg, restores the text of the 1642 edition furnished with the original rich iconographic apparatus; along with the translation and precise comment are added a rigorous documented reconstruction of the profile and author's work set in the historical artistic and cultural context of xviith century Roma.