Editing Quirinal Hill (section)

== Quirinal Palace ==
[[File:Quirinal Giovanni Piranesi.jpg|thumb|right|A mid-18th century etching of the Palazzo del Quirinale by [[Giovanni Battista Piranesi]]: The colossal Roman "[[Horse Tamers]]" or [[Dioscuri]] are in the foreground, but the [[obelisk]] from the Mausoleum of Augustus (erected 1781 – 1786) has not yet been set up between them.]]
[[File:Quirinal Hill Luigi Rossini.jpg|thumb|right|An etching of the Hill, crowned by the mass of the Palazzo del Quirinale, from a series ''I Sette Colli di Roma antica e moderna'' published in 1827 by [[Luigi Rossini]] (1790–1857): His view, from the roof of the palazzo near the [[Trevi Fountain]] that now houses the [[Accademia di San Luca]], substituted an imaginary foreground garden for the repetitious roofscape.]]

{{further|Quirinal Palace}}

The Quirinal Hill is today identified with the [[Quirinal Palace]], the official residence of the [[List of Presidents of the Italian Republic|President of the Italian Republic]] in Rome, and one of the symbols of the State. Before the abolition of the Italian monarchy in 1946, it was the residence of the king of Italy, and before 1871 it was, as originally, a residence of the Pope.

The healthy<ref>Before mosquitos were identified as the vector of Rome's seasonal [[malaria]] ("bed air") a [[Miasma theory|miasma]] exuded by low-lying ground was thought to be the cause.</ref> cool air of the Quirinal Hill attracted aristocrats and papal families that built villas where the [[gardens of Sallust]] had been in antiquity. A visit to the villa of Cardinal [[Luigi d'Este]] in 1573 convinced [[Pope Gregory XIII]] to start the building of a summer residence the following year, in an area considered healthier than the [[Vatican Hill]] or [[Lateran]]: His architects were [[Flaminio Ponzio]] and [[Ottaviano Nonni]], called Mascherino; under [[Pope Sixtus V]], works were continued by [[Domenico Fontana]] (the main facade on the Piazza) and [[Carlo Maderno]], and by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]] for [[Pope Clement XII]]. Gardens were conceived by Maderno. In the 18th century, [[Ferdinando Fuga]] built the long wing called the ''Manica Lunga'', which stretched 360 meters along via del Quirinale. In front lies the sloping Piazza del Quirinale where the pair of gigantic Roman marble "Horse Tamers" representing [[Castor and Pollux]], found in the Baths of Constantine, were re-erected in 1588. In a view etched by [[Giovanni Battista Piranesi]], the vast open space is unpaved. The Quirinal Palace was the residence of the popes until 1870, though [[Napoleon]] deported both [[Pius VI]] and [[Pius VII]] to France, and declared the Quirinal an imperial palace. When Rome was united to the [[Italy|Kingdom of Italy]], the Quirinal became the residence of the kings until 1946.

Today, the palace hosts the offices and the apartments of the Head of State and, in its long side along ''via XX Settembre'' (the so-called ''Manica Lunga''), the apartments that were furnished for each visit of foreign monarchs or dignitaries.

Several collections are in this Palazzo, including [[tapestry|tapestries]], paintings, [[statue]]s, old [[carriage]]s (''carrozze''), watches, furniture, and [[porcelain]].

In Piranesi's view, the palazzo on the right is the ''Palazzo della Sacra Consulta'', originally a villa built upon the ruins of the Baths of Constantine, which was adapted by Sixtus V as a civil and criminal court. The present façade was built in 1732–1734 by the architect Ferdinando Fuga on the orders of [[Pope Clement XII]] Corsini, whose coat-of-arms, trumpeted by two ''Fames'', still surmounts the roofline balustrade, as in Piranesi's view. It formerly housed Mussolini's ministry of colonial affairs.