Palazzo della Sapienza

Wisdom Palace, home of the first University of Rome, is a historic building in St. Eustachio district. The building is rectangular, composed of four bodies: the two largest, North-South, and two minors, East-West, including a large courtyard. In the Renaissance, the Roman universities were situated in different locations, to bring them together was chosen the southern part of the existing building, formed by a group of houses arranged in Roman insula. In 1577, Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni charged Giacomo della Porta in the construction of the headquarters unit: a rectangular building with an inner courtyard, in Brunelleschi's style. The courtyard was surrounded by arcades and loggias and a semicircular wall. The main entrance was crowned with triangular pediment and a lintel with an inscription dedicated to Sixtus V. From 1632 to 1667, Borromini completed the North side with the Alexandrine Hall, a rectangular hall of vast dimensions, divided into three spans covered from vaults, which housed the Library of the same name, and with the construction of the St. Ives's Church, on the east side. The prospectus shall include the internal coats of arms of all the popes who promoted the work.