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Casa dei Crescenzi

Historic site · Ripa, Italy

An aristocratic house of the eleventh or twelfth century on via Luigi Petroselli, at the corner with via di Ponte Rotto, facing the Temple of Portunus; Turismo Roma places it in the rione Ripa. Two storeys survive, the ground floor and part of the upper, incorporating spoil from Roman buildings: volutes, coffers, putti, sphinxes. It is now the seat of the Centro di Studi per la Storia dell'Architettura, whose library and archive are open by appointment only, by email at least a week ahead, on 06 6798075.

History

A long inscription on the side elevation records that it was built not for vainglory but to renew the ancient dignity of Rome, by Nicola, son of Crescenzio and Teodora, for his son Davide. The position let the family watch traffic on the Tiber and across Ponte Emilio, on which they levied a toll. It is also known as Tor Crescenzia, as the Casa di Cola di Rienzo and as the Casa di Pilato. Abandoned in the fifteenth century and later used as a stable and hayloft, it was bought by the papal government in the later nineteenth century and ceded to the Comune. The Centro, founded by Gustavo Giovannoni, dates the handover to 25 February 1939, after restoration by G. Petrignani.

Visit

Via Luigi Petroselli, Roma RM

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