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Borromini
began work on the restoration of the Spada Palace
around 1635. He transformed the grand interior
staircase and built the two spiral staircases in the
facade facing the garden. The most important work,
however, was the surprising Gallery in Perspective,
the wish of Cardinal Bernadino Spada, impassioned by
those baroque virtuosities.
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The
gallery was built in a year, from 1652 to 1653, in
collaboration with the Augustinian mathematician,
Giovanni Maria da Bitonto. The
virtual depth of the gallery is about 35 metres, but
the real measurement is 8.82 metres! The
optical ilIusion was made through the convergence of
the planes of the colonnade towards the vanishing point
and the upward slope of the mosaic floor. |
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tl
the end of the recently restored gallery, on the end
wall, is the cast for a small statue of a warrior of
the Roman period placed there halfway through the
1800s. Since 1926, the building has been the seat of
the Council of State, but it is still possible to
visit, in four rooms, the gallery of the cultured
prelate, with paintings by famous artists, including
Titian and Guido Reni. |
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