PALAZZO MATTEI PAGANICA

The building, located in Piazza Paganica, was erected in 1541 at the behest of Ludovico Mattei, Duke of Paganica, to a design attributed to Nanni di Baccio Bigio. In 1640, the Mattei family had the palace extended towards Via delle Botteghe Oscure to a design by Bartolomeo Breccioli.

It is characterised by a high portal at number 4, surmounted by a balcony with a balustrade between architraved windows leading into a courtyard with a double row of loggias. Since 1928 the Institute has been the seat of the Italian Encyclopaedia Institute. The elegant and wide façade, resulting from the union of two buildings, was completed by an elaborate cornice decorated with heraldic motifs. The building rests, in part, on the Balbo Theatre, dedicated in 13 BC by Lucius Cornelius Balbo.