Galleria Corsini Historical Timeline

A Riario villa that housed an abdicated queen, rebuilt by a cardinal, sold to the state with its pictures still on the walls.

Chronology

1. 15th century — a villa of the Riario family stands on the site on the Via della Lungara. Structural impact: the footprint and part of the fabric that the later palace elaborates rather than replaces. What you see today: the reason the building is where it is, on a narrow riverside street rather than a grand square.
2. 1659–1689 — the former Riario palace hosts Christina, Queen of Sweden, who had abdicated her throne, converted to Catholicism and moved to Rome. Under her patronage the building hosts the first meetings of the Roman Accademia dell'Arcadia. Structural impact: none to the fabric. What you see today: a palace that was a European intellectual address before it was a gallery.
3. 1736 — Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini, nephew of Pope Clement XII — formerly Cardinal Lorenzo Corsini — acquires the villa and its land and commissions the structure now standing. Structural impact: the rebuilding is set in motion. What you see today: the palace, and the collection the cardinal was assembling to fill it.
4. 1730–1740 — the late-Baroque palace is erected to designs by Ferdinando Fuga, as an elaboration of the earlier villa. Structural impact: the long garden front and the gallery floor are built. What you see today: the facade above the Botanical Garden, by the architect who also built the front of Santa Maria Maggiore.
5. 1798–1814 — during the Napoleonic occupation of Rome the palace hosts Joseph Bonaparte. Structural impact: none of consequence. What you see today: another reason the building survived intact: it was always worth someone's while to keep.
6. 1883 — the palace and its contents are sold to the state, and the collection stays where it is. Structural impact: a private gallery becomes a national one without moving an object. What you see today: the single fact that distinguishes this gallery — the pictures are in their original location.
7. 20th century — the palace takes in offices of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, and the gardens rising the Janiculum become part of the Orto Botanico of La Sapienza. Structural impact: the building is divided between an academy, a gallery and a botanical garden. What you see today: three institutions in one palace, and a combined ticket with the garden behind it.

• Official website
• Wikipedia