Palazzo Senatorio

The so-called Palazzo Senatorio is a building on the Capitoline Hill in Rome and today houses the city's town hall. Together with the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo, the Palazzo Senatorio frames the Capitoline Square, in the middle of which stands the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.

The current Palazzo Senatorio has a long history. The beginnings of this palace date back to 78 BC. At that time, the consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus was commissioned by the Senate to erect a state archive on the Capitoline Hill. This so-called Tabularium was then built by the architect Lucius Cornelius.

During the Middle Ages, the building, like most ancient structures erected on the Capitoline Hill, fell into disrepair. It was not until the Roman noble family of the Corsi that again utilized the strategically favorable location of the Capitoline Hill and expanded the former Tabularium into their fortress. They were probably also the ones who moved the main facade of the building away from the Roman Forum towards the current Capitoline Square.

The Palazzo Senatorio then received its current appearance in the 16th century according to Michelangelo's plans. Under the supervision of Michelangelo himself, the double staircase was added. Below the staircase, he added a fountain with ancient fountain figures – a personification of the Tiber and one of the Nile, and in the middle, a statue of Minerva. The facade of the Palazzo Senatorio was added between 1573 and 1605 by the master builders Giacomo della Porta and Girolamo Rainaldi. However, they did not adhere exactly to Michelangelo's plans but changed a number of details.

In the course of the 16th-century redesign, however, large parts of the previous buildings were incorporated. Thus, the substructure of the ancient Tabularium was preserved. The two mighty corner towers are remnants from the time of the building as a Corsi fortress. All together, despite its Baroque facade, gives the palace a rather fortified character.

The bell tower in the middle of the building was built between 1578 and 1582 by Martino Longhi the Elder in place of a previous structure.

Since 1871, the palace has served as the Roman City Hall and as the seat of the Mayor of Rome. The Treaties of Rome were signed here on March 25, 1957.