Architecture and Bureaucracy: The Quirinal as an Expression of Papal Absolutism

The Quirinal Palace, nowadays mostly regarded as the seat of Italy’s republican government, was built between the late sixteenth and late eighteenth century as the new seat of papal power. It started out as a summer retreat, but soon was provided with all the necessary spaces for official receptions, state meetings and ministerial offices. This continuing architectural expansion shows how a unified court located at the periphery of Rome, on the Vatican Hill, was transformed into an absolutist state apparatus situated in the centre of the expanding city, in a new and predominantly secular residence. The Quirinal palace therefore shows us how the papal government was in certain respects ahead of other European states in the innovation of political and bureaucratic structures, not lagging behind in comparison with France and other countries, as often has been suggested in historical studies.