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The Quirinal Hill is today
identified with the Palazzo del Quirinale, the
official residence of the President of the
Italian Republic and one of the symbols of the
State. Before the abolition of the Italian
monarchy in 1946, it was the residence of the
king of Italy, and before 1871 it was, as
originally, the residence of the Pope.The
healthy cool air of the Quirinal attracted
aristocrats and papal families that built
villas where the gardens of Sallust had been in
antiquity. A visit to the villa of Cardinal
Luigi d'Este in 1573 convinced Pope Gregory
XIII to start the building of a summer
residence the following year, in an area
considered healthier than the Vatican Hill or
Lateran: his architects were Flaminio Ponzioand
Ottaviano Nonni, called Mascherino; under Pope
Sixtus V works were continued by Domenico
Fontana (the main facade on the Piazza) and
Carlo Maderno, and by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for
Pope Clement XII. Gardens were conceived by
Maderno. In the 18th century, Ferdinando Fuga
built the long wing called the Manica Lunga,
which stretched 360 meters along via del
Quirinale. In front lies the sloping Piazza del
Quirinale where the pair of gigantic Roman
marble Horse Tamers representing Castor and
Pollux, found in the Baths of Constantine, were
re-erected in . In Piranesi's view the vast
open space is unpaved. The Palazzo del
Quirinalewas the residence of the popes until
1870, though Napoleon deported both Pius VI and
Pius VII to France, and declared the Quirinale
an imperial palace. When Rome was united to the
Kingdom of Italy, the Quirinale became the
residence of the kings until 1946. |