Bonaparte's Rome

The Palace was built starting from 1658 on the wish of the D'Auctions Family. After a while, the Rinuccini Family in Florence acquired it. Letizia finally moved to Rome on August 15, 1815, following the definitive defeat of his son and his exile on the island of Sant'Elena. In this palace, purchased for 27,000 piastre by the Rinuccini Family in 1818, the Great Mère, as she was called, lived until his death in 1836.

Located between Via dei Condotti and Via del Corso, it is one of the most well-known buildings in Rome. It was realized on a project by Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1586 and commissioned by the Rucellai Family. From Rucellai, the palace's ownership passed to Caetani in 1629 which commissioned a series of works to expand and adapt the building. Bartolomeo Breccioli made the main façade, and Martino Longhi the Younger made, among other things, the staircase of honor made up of 100 marble steps. In the residence where the Ortensia Suite Beauharnais, the Queen consort of Holland lived with her son, the young Napoleon III, Emperor of the Second French Empire and nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte I. In this residence, Napoleon's mother III, Ortense, commissioned frescoes on the ceilings to recreate a French atmosphere aligned with her tastes. In 1859, Napoleon III's Napoleon Bonaparte's cousin married Cristina Ruspoli, establishing the bond between the Ruspoli and Bonaparte families. Among the many illustrious people who lived in Palazzo Ruspoli, we find the Anglo-German Georg Friedrich Händel, who composed the oratorio Resurrection, and in 1709 was also the chaplain master of Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli.

Martino Longhi the Young realized the ladder of honor within the building made of 100 marble steps. The peculiarity of the staircase is that each step is made of only one piece of marble over three meters long. This staircase was considered one of Rome's four wonders with the Borghese cymbal, the Farnese nut, the Caetani staircase and the Carbonian door.