Piazza Del Quirinale

This piazza is named after the highest of the seven hills of Rome. It is very close to the Trevi Fountain.

By the 1500’s the Vatican had acquired the reputation of being an unhealthy place due to the high incidence of malaria. So Pope Gregory XIII chose 

this salubrious spot on the highest of Rome’s seven hills to build a summer residence for the popes. Thus the Quirinale Palace was built and many

 architects shaped its structure before it assumed its present form in the 1730’s. Domenico Fontana designed the main façade. Carlo Maderno designed 

the immense chapel. Bernini designed the narrow wing that runs through the entire length of Via del Quirinale.

It became the official residence of the king after the unification of Italy in 1870. From 1974 it has become the official residence of the President 

of the republic of Italy.

The Quirinale fountain and the obelisk with the prancing statues of Castor and Pollux stand in splendor in the piazza.

Castor and Pollux were excellent horsemen and two large statutes of them in their prancing horses adorn the square. These statues are over 5.5 metres high 

and are copies of the Greek originals of 5th century B.C. They were known as the horse tamers. These statues originally stood in front of the

 Baths of Constantine. In 1588 Pope Sixtus V had them restored and placed them in Piazza Quirinale.