PALAZZO MANCINI

The Palace, now the headquarters of the Banco di Sicilia, was built in 1662 to a design by Carlo Rainaldi for the Duke of Nevers, Filippo Giuliano Mazzarino Mancini.

Work continued until about 1690 under the direction of Sebastiano Cipriani, who designed the façade. It became the property of Louis Bonaparte, then passed to the Salviati and Aldobrandini families; for almost eighty years (1725-1803) it was the seat of the Academy of France. It has an elegant façade inspired by French Baroque, consisting of an imposing portal with four columns, surmounted by a long balcony. On the first floor are architraved windows with triangular and centred tympanums alternating with decorative elements in relief; on the second floor are windows with architraves with floral elements, and square windows on the mezzanines. The cornice is decorated with putti holding festoons between corbels. Beyond the main door is the courtyard, now converted into a bank hall.