Palazzo Farnese in Rome Begins Major Restoration Campaign

A major restoration campaign has launched for Palazzo Farnese in Rome, the historic seat of the French Embassy in Italy. The project, running from 2021 to 2025, focuses on the facades and roofs of the 16th-century building. The goal is to restore the original beauty of materials used by architects Sangallo, Michelangelo, Vignola, and Della Porta. Work includes cleaning plaster, consolidating stone, and replacing old roof tiles. The total cost is €5.6 million, co-financed by French ministries. The restoration is divided into four phases, starting with the facade on Via dei Farnesi. A scientific committee of French and Italian experts has been meeting since 2017 to plan the work. The project also includes cultural programming: artists and researchers will give tours and lectures, and artists will create works on the construction hoardings. Palazzo Farnese was begun in 1517 by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (later Pope Paul III). Michelangelo, Vignola, and Giacomo Della Porta continued the work. The Galleria was frescoed by Annibale Carracci and others between 1597 and 1604.