Piazza di San Pantaleo
Museo di Roma

Palazzo Braschi (as it was commissioned by the papal nephew, Duke Luigi Braschi Onesti) is a large Neoclassical palace in Rome, and is located between the Piazza Navona, the Campo de' Fiori, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Piazza di Pasquino. Construction started in 1790. It presently houses the Museo di Roma, the &quot;Museum of Rome&quot;, covering the history of the city in the period from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century.

During the Italian fascist period, it was used as the political headquarters of Benito Mussolini, and was adorned with a giant sculpture of the dictator's face. After the war, it housed 300 refugee families and many of the interior frescoes were seriously damaged by the fires they lit to keep warm. In 1949 the palace passed to the civic authorities and, following extensive conservation in 1952, the present installation of the museum was effected.

The main entrance is on Via San Pantaleo (between Piazza Navona and Corso Vittorio Emanuele). In the piazza, is the Monument to Marco Minghetti; Minghetti had led the Ministry of the Interior and served as prime minister, with offices in this palace. The oval hall inside the main entrance overlooks Via San Pantaleo, and leads to the monumental staircase with its eighteen red granite columns which came from the gallery built by the Emperor Caligula on the banks of the River Tiber. Decorating the staircase there are ancient sculptures and fine stuccoes by Luigi Acquisti inspired by the myth of Achilles. On the piazza at the Southwest corner of the palace is the statue of Pasquino.

The Neoclassical architect Giuseppe Valadier designed the chapel on the piano nobile or first floor. He also designed the white marble facade on the adjacent church of San Pantaleo for which is named the piazza in front of the Palazzo Braschi.
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