Sforza Cesarini Palace
Residence of Rodrigo Borgia in his long period as Vice Chancellor of the Church.
The Sforza Cesarini Palace was built in 1458 by Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia as the seat of the Apostolic Chancellery, of which he was Vice-Chancellor. Situated between Sant'Angelo Bridge and Campo de' Fiori, on the important Via dei Banchi Vecchi, this opulent building passed into the hands of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza after his election as Pope.
Rodrigo Borgia had his residence here during the years in which he served as Vice Chancellor, a position he had accessed thanks to his uncle Calixtus III, in 1457, and which he held with the four successive popes until his appointment as pontiff.
During that period he maintained a relationship with Vannozza Cattanei, who had acquired a nearby house at number 58 via del Pellegrino, the place where Cesare Borgia could have been born. From his residence he could easily manage a hostel owned by him in the old Pizzo di Merlo square and the other family establishment in Vicolo del Gallo.
It was also at the main door of the building that Cesare Borgia said goodbye to his brother Giovanni for the last time on the night of June 14, 1497, whose body appeared in the waters of the Tiber two days later.
Little remains of what was once considered one of the finest palaces in Rome. Decorated with extraordinary luxury in its day, we can still see the Florentine Renaissance portico inside. Its current style is the result of works carried out at the beginning of the 18th century.
After the death of Alexander VI, the palace passed into the hands of Julius II's nephew, Galeotto della Rovere, who died in 1508, and shortly afterwards it was renamed the Old Chancellery, to distinguish it from the New Chancellery, located in the nearby Riario Palace, which concentrated administrative activity in 1517 by decision of Pope Leo X.
