The Palazzo di San Callisto is a historical building on the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. In 1990 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Palazzo San Callisto Rome
History and description
The Palazzo di San Callisto is named for the church of Saint Callixtus which is attached to it.
The Palazzo di San Callisto is property of the Holy See and is located next to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Because of later additions to the building, it now extends as far as the Piazza di San Callisto.
Before the present palazzo was constructed (in 1613), an earlier building in the same spot had been used by the titular Cardinals responsible for running the adjacent basilica. Pope Paul V ordered the architect Orazio Torriani to design the present palace for the Benedictine Order. The Pope apparently felt a bit guilty because he had had the original Benedictine monastery expropriated in order to be able to build the Palazzo Pontificio del Quirinale.
Several Catholic organizations are now housed in the Palazzo di San Callisto.