Description
A wide view of the main facade of the Palazzo di Montecitorio (Montecitorio Palace), seat of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, in the historic heart of Rome. In the center, the obelisk of Psammetich II, coming from the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, brought to Rome in 10 BC on the orders of Emperor Augustus. The palace was built in the Baroque style in the second half of the 17th century, based on a project by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Fontana, as the residence of the Ludovisi family. After the unification of Italy in 1861 and the definition of Rome as the capital in 1870, the palace was expropriated and designated as the Parliament of the new national state. At the end of the 19th century Palazzo Montecitorio was enlarged on a project by Ernesto Basile, with the construction of the legislative hemicycle and the northern palace in Liberty style. The Palazzo Montecitorio, in addition to hosting the legislative activity of the deputies, is the institutional seat where the election of the President of the Italian Republic takes place every seven years. In 1980 the historic center of Rome was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Super wide angle image in high definition format.
