web.jpg){kind=small}
1st ISPRES CONGRESS VENUE
Hotel Columbus
Since 1950, the Palazzo Della Rovere houses the Hotel Columbus.
At the ground floor level, on both sides of the portal are found two small 17th century fountains; the right-hand side one is decorated with an eagle and the Borghese family emblem, the dragon, whereas the left-hand side one only features a dragon pouring water in the underlying basing; all is encased in a heavily restored small aedicula.
The 16th century graffiti that once covered the whole façade are now lost, while the coat of arms of Clemente XIV Ganganelli are still there, in line with the main portal; the latter, dating back to the late 17th century, is made of travertine stone and features a depressed arch.
The wing of the palace housing the headquarters of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, on the piano nobile still features some of the most impressive and magnificent rooms in the whole building: five large rooms decorated by Pinturicchio and his school. The first one is called the room of The Grand Master, followed by the room of the Seasons or of the Zodiac, the room of the Prophets and the Apostles, and the room of the demigods. The latter is probably the most beautiful and best preserved one in the whole Palazzo, and features a gold-painted wood panelled ceiling covered with a mock-mosaic painting by Pinturicchio and his school, made in 1490.
Figures were distempered on sheets of paper glued to supports which were then nailed into the panels, resorting to a technique close to illuminating. The coat of arms of Cardinal Domenico, the oak tree, dominates the centre and the corners of the ceiling. Underneath it, pheasants peck ears of corn.
Last but not least comes Cardinal Francesco Alidosi’s small chapel, with a magnificent lacunar ceiling decorated with figures from the cardinal’s coat of arms: eagles, oaks, and the motto “Agite mortales ocia quos cibus et umbra quercus alit” (Enjoy, thou mortals, leisure time, made sweeter by food and the oak’s shade) on the two lunettes on the furthest walls.
The second floor of the Palazzo features two rooms with ceilings frescoed by Francesco Salviati around the first half of the 16th century for cardinal Giovanni Salviati. The first room, whose entrance is encased in a beautiful 15th century marble frame, is today used as the dining room; it still features a magnificent mirror ceiling wholly covered with fresco and stucco decorations reaching the trabeation, with four masks on the corners of the ceiling, candelabra, and the Salviati’s coat of arms. In the middle, Apollo leads the Sun’s horses.
The hotel is situated not far from the Rome historical center, nearby the Vatican City and the Tevere river. From the hotel, walking along "Via della Conciliazione" you may reach eastwards St.Peter's Dom or westwards St. Angel Castle. You get to the rest of the city center if you go through the bridge "Vittorio Emanuele II" on the Tiber river".
Some rooms overlook the inside garden of Palazzo della Rovere, and some rooms overlook the main street via della Conciliazione.
