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20-427: The Palazzo Muti stands on a street corner, and is constructed on four floors. The architect was Mattia de Rossi who had been commissioned to build a residence for Giovanni Battista Muti Papazzurri, a member of one of Rome's patrician families. The principal facade , today painted ochre and decorated only by quoining is of just three bays , with the main entrance to the palazzo, leading to an inner courtyard, at

40-627: A niche in the narrow alley to the rear of the Palazzo was said to have moved her eyes, another version says she was weeping because the Papal States were being invaded by France. This phenomenon was acknowledged by a papal decree in 1797. Thereafter the statue became known as " Madonna dell'Archetto ". The image had been painted circa 1690 by Domenico Muratori for the Marchesa Savorelli Papazzurri who lived at

60-586: A complex of family properties which included two other palazzi and two more houses, one of the palazzi was the Palazzo Muti Papazzurri which faces into the Piazza della Pilotta . The Muti Papazzurri are documented in Rome from 1435 when the will of Giovanni Paolo Muti mentions a casa complete with a tower on the site, and a painting from the early 17th century shows an older family house, with

80-478: A family who lived in the palazzo for a time. The Balestra had their name carved on a keystone above the entrance. Balestra is Italian for crossbow , and it is likely that the Balestra crest of a crossbow lent its name to the adjacent alley "via dell'Archetto" (Archetto being Italian for bow ). Thus the connection to the Balestra appears in two differing names of the palazzo. During and after its occupancy by

100-555: A large roof terrace , on the site of the present palazzo. In addition to their palazzi in Rome the family also owned a villa in the Province of Viterbo The Muti Papazurri became extinct with the death of Raffaele Muti Papazurri in 1816. The palazzo then passed through female descent into the family of the Marchese Livio Savorelli , who assumed the additional names of Muti Papazzurri. The family name used during

120-410: Is concealed from sight by a broad cornice. The top floor is architecturally interesting, although hidden from sight at street level its three windows are divided by double pilasters . That such an architectural feature should be hidden insinuates that the whole facade may at one stage in its history been of a more ornate design than is apparent today. An 18th-century drawing of the building (left) shows

140-628: The Accademia di San Luca in 1681 and 1690–1693, when replaced by Carlo Fontana One new attribution is the design, perhaps along with Bernini, of the centralized church and complex of San Bonaventura at Monterano (1677), which, even in its present ruined state, recalls other mountain-top sanctuary churches in Italy. The buildings were commissioned by the Principe Don Angelo Altieri, nephew of Pope Clement X, who had just acquired

160-532: The 19th century was "Savorelli Papazzurri", at this time the family also owned the far larger Villa Aurelia on the Janiculum Hill in Rome (used by Garibaldi as his headquarters) which is now the American Academy in Rome . The palazzo acquired its long and religious name "Palazzo Muti e Santuario della Madonna dell' Archetto" following an event in 1796 when a sacred image of Madonna in

180-767: The Palazzo in 1788. After Charles' death, the tenancy passed to Henry, the last of the Stuart pretenders, who died in Frascati in 1807. The various names given to the Palazzo can be confusing, especially as the Muti Papazzurri family built other residences bearing their name in Rome. The Palazzo is most often referred to by Romans simply as the Palazzo Muti or the Palazzo Balestra , the Balestra being

200-521: The Palazzo. By 1850 the painting (sometimes called the " Mater Misericordiae " had overcome her distress at the invasion of the Vatican states and was now performing miracles involving divine intervention. The Madonna had become one of the most visited sites of the Virgin Mary in Rome, as a result of this in 1850 the owners of the palazzo Count Alessandro and Countess Caterina Papazzurri Savorelli had

220-781: The Pope through the Apostolic Camera from the Marchese Giovanni Battista Muti and his widowed mother the Marchesa Alessandra Millini Muti in 1719 for James Stuart (the " Old Pretender "), and Maria Klementyna Sobieska as their Roman residence. The Popes Clement XI and Innocent XIII considered the couple to be the rightful and, more importantly, Catholic King and Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. The cousin of Pope Innocent XIII, Francesco Maria Conti, from Siena ,

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240-697: The Stuart Family it has sometimes been referred to as the Palazzo Stuart . This is given further weight by the existence of a large plaque documenting the Stuart period of the palazzo. This tablet is situated in the corridor from the main entrance leading to the courtyard. Today the palazzo is used as offices, but the public is permitted to walk into the courtyard. 41°53′55″N 12°28′58″E  /  41.898521°N 12.482733°E  / 41.898521; 12.482733 Mattia de Rossi Mattia de Rossi (14 January 1637 – 2 August 1695)

260-507: The architect Virginio Vespignani build the neoclassical , domed Church of the Madonna dell’Archetto around the shrine. Today this is Rome's smallest functioning church. The Muti Papazzurri are buried in Rome at the Church of San Marcello al Corso , where their Baroque tombs and memorials still exist. The Muti Papazzurri complex of residences was rented in its entirety at the expense of

280-423: The centre on the ground floor. The courtyard, as dictated by the narrow rectangular dimensions of the palazzo, is in reality little more than an open lightwell . The entrance itself is flanked by ionic columns, once surmounted by a Baroque pediment, this has since been replaced by a balcony . The architrave of the entrance has engraved upon it the name "Balestra", a family who once owned the palazzo. The top floor

300-646: The customs office in Ripa Grande ; the Palazzo Muti Papazzurri (attributed, 1660); the tomb monument to Giovanna Garzoni in Santi Luca e Martina ; the Mausoleum of Leo X ; and the monument to Clement X in St. Peter's Basilica . This latter funereal monument was designed by de Rossi, but the sculptures were completed by Lazzaro Morelli , Ercole Ferrata and Giuseppe Mazzuoli . He was Principe or director of

320-868: The surrounding estate. It was for the Padri delle Scuole Pie , a group of priests engaged in education. In 1683 de Rossi worked for Camillo Pamphilj in Valmontone , a little town not far from Rome. Here he planned the new main church, the Collegiata, or Church of Saint Mary, inspired by the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Borromini ( Rome ) and the Church of the Assunta in Ariccia , by Bernini . In 1685 de' Rossi decorated on behalf of Cardinal Raimondo Capizucchi

340-519: The top floor was originally lower and decorated in the Baroque style with statuary . However, even if its severe design the façade betrays some internal secrets, the first floor is obviously a piano nobile , as a hint of the importance of this floor is indicated on the exterior by, not only tall pedimented windows but also above them blind windows indicating the double height of the reception rooms behind them. The house originally formed part of

360-504: The work that had been started by Bernini on the outside colonnade and the Ponte Sant’Angelo . He worked during a period with notable competitors, including the prolific Carlo Fontana . Among his works are the facades of the churches of Santa Galla and San Francesco a Ripa (built 1681–1701); finishing touches or reconstruction for Sant'Andrea al Quirinale , Santa Maria di Montesanto , and Santa Croce e San Bonaventura dei Lucchesi ;

380-504: Was an Italian architect of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome and surrounding towns. Born in Rome to a family of architects and artisans, he rose to prominence under the mentorship of Gian Lorenzo Bernini , and even inherited the position as chief architect of the Fabbrica di San Pietro (Workshop of St. Peter's Basilica ) in 1680 after the master died. In that post, he continued

400-529: Was here the Gentiluomo di Camera ( Gentleman of the Bedchamber ) in the little Roman Jacobite court. For over two generations it remained the seat of the Stuart court-in-exile. It was the birthplace of James's two sons, Charles Edward Stuart (or 'Bonnie Prince Charlie') in 1720, and Henry Benedict Stuart (later Cardinal, Duke of York) in 1725. James Stuart died in the Palazzo in 1766. Charles died in

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