Overview
Palazzo Madama is synonymous with the Senate, the "upper" branch of the Italian Parliament, which has been based there since 1871, at the time of the Kingdom of Italy. But this imposing building has a much older history, dating back to the early 1500s and to Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, son of il Magnifico, destined in 1513 to be elected pope with the name of Leo X. He commissioned the building, a rich and elegant family home, to the architect Giuliano da Sangallo.
The name "Madama" was given to it a little later, when it became the residence of "Madama" Margherita d'Austria, the natural daughter of Charles V and widow of Duke Alessandro de' Medici, who was assassinated in 1537. The noblewoman lived there for a long time with her second husband Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma. However, the current layout and the palace's sumptuous façade on Corso del Rinascimento are the work of Paolo Maruscelli, from the following century. In the middle of the century, the new owner became the papacy, which made it the headquarters of various institutions, including the police (hence the popular expression "Here comes the Madama") and the papal post office.
After the birth of the Kingdom of Italy and the seizure of Rome, the interior of the Senate was drastically altered by Luigi Gabet, mainly for the opening of the large Legislative Chamber, located in the space of the former post office courtyard. And new renovations took place in the first decades of the 20th century. The Palazzo Madama complex, and more precisely the Koch room, was also home to the Senate Library , now named after Giovanni Spadolini and largely transferred to Palazzo della Minerva. It is specialised in history, law, political science, media and journalism, with the most important collection of statutes of the municipalities and corporations.
