Name of Monument:

Spada Palace, The Perspective Corridor

Location:

Rome, Latium, Italy

Date:

1652–53

Artists:

Francesco Borromini

Denomination / Type of monument:

Front porch

Patron(s):

Cardinal Bernardino Spada

History:

Capodiferro-Spada Palace was built starting from 1549 on commission of Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro, in the Regola rione, a few steps from the imposing Farnese Palace, which had been recently built. Unlike the latter, characterized by an almost medieval austerity, Capodiferro Palace was enriched by elaborate decorations on the facade, including niches with statues of emperors and heroes of ancient Rome. In 1632 the palace became the property of Cardinal Bernardino Spada (1594–1661) who commissioned Francesco Borromini to make some changes, including the spectacular modification of the stairwell and the creation of the connecting gallery between the two courtyards (the famous Perspective corridor), built between 1652 and 1653. Cardinal Spada originally had had a fake perspective frescoed on the left side of the courtyard, where Borromini’s Perspective would later be constructed. This original perspective was painted by Giovan Battista Magni, an expert quadraturist from Emilia. Only after the purchase of a very small plot of land from the neighbouring property of the Massari family could he transform that painted space into a real one, breaking through the frescoed wall and creating a real vaulted perspective corridor, which connected the courtyard with the land he had just acquired.
Borromini had already shown his theatrical and illusionistic talent in the creation of the so called ‘Macchina delle Quarantore’ in St. Peter’s Basilica, which had greatly impressed Cardinal Spada. For this new project, the architect used the advice of the Augustinian Giovanni Maria da Bitonto, a famous mathematician.

Description:

To allow the passage between the two courtyards, Borromini designed a gallery supported on both sides by coupled Tuscan columns with a coffered barrel vault, similar to the vestibule that Antonio da Sangallo had designed by for the courtyard of the nearby Palazzo Farnese a century earlier. Thanks to some skilful adjustments, the Borrominian colonnade, although measuring only 8.58 meters in length, appears much longer, about four times longer, so much so as to make the cast of a Roman warrior statuette at the end of the corridor (which, since 1861, has replaced an original and even more spectacular backdrop painted with plant motifs) and the courtyard beyond the portico appear very big. Indeed, the latter actually turns out to be nothing more than a skylight. Only by walking inside the perspective can one realize the deceptive optical effect that Borromini so intelligently designed: firstly, the mosaic floor is placed uphill; secondly, as you proceed towards the terminal part, the vault is lowered and the distance between the columns is reduced both in depth and in the sense of width. According to the rationalist theorist Francesco Milizia (1787) the Borrominian perspective intended to compete with the Vatican Royal Staircase created by his rival Bernini.

Bought by Cardinal Spada, the palace was restored by Borromini. The architect shows his mastery of perspective laws by building a short corridor (9 meters) which seems much longer. It witnesses the taste of the patron for illusionist art; in 1635 he had already asked the Bolognese artists A. Mitelli and M. Colonna, to paint perspectives in the palace.

How Monument was dated:

Archival documentation.

Selected bibliography:

Cannatà, R., Galleria di Palazzo Spada, Rome, Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (Polygraphic Institute and State Mint), 1995.

Additional Copyright Information:

Copyright images: Archivio fotografico Soprintendenza Speciale PSAE e Polo Museale della Città di Roma.

Citation of this web page:

Pier Paolo Racioppi "Spada Palace, The Perspective Corridor" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;it;Mon11;17;en

Prepared by: Pier Paolo RacioppiPier Paolo Racioppi

Laureato e specializzato in storia dell'arte presso l'Università di Roma “La Sapienza” sta conseguendo il dottorato di ricerca in Storia e conservazione dell'oggetto d'arte e d'architettura presso l'Università di Roma TRE. Ha svolto attività seminariali presso l'Istituto di Storia dell'Arte all'Università La Sapienza di Roma e attualmente è docente di storia dell'arte del Rinascimento presso la IES at Luiss (Roma).
Ha pubblicato diversi contributi sulla tutela artistica, il collezionismo e le accademie d'arte, ed ha collaborato al Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani dell'Enciclopedia Treccani.
Copyedited by: Janice MedinaJanice Medina

Janice Medina is an artist and educator based in Upstate New York. She studied interior design at Syracuse University and obtained her M.S. in Building Conservation in 2008 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and Master of Fine Arts in 2019 (University at Albany).

Janice is a former participant in the US/ICOMOS International Exchange Program and she has taught courses in the history of design and historic preservation. Her artwork is influenced by her experiences in historic preservation, as well as by building materials and the natural environment.

Janice has participated as a copy-editor with Museum With No Frontiers since 2019. In this role she has had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects including Discover Islamic Art, Discover Baroque Art and Discover Glass Art.
Translation by: Lavinia Amenduni

MWNF Working Number: IT1 17