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Palace of the Priors in Viterbo: frescoed halls, a museum, and the history of the first conclave
The Palazzo dei Priori is the symbol of civic power in Viterbo. It was originally built as the residence of the Governor of the Patrimony of St Peter in Tuscia, but from 1510 it became the seat of the Priors. Inside there are frescoed halls, a chapel, and a museum with works by Sebastiano del Piombo, hosting temporary exhibitions and events.
The rooms to visit
Several rooms can be visited inside the palazzo: the Palatine Chapel, with paintings by Filippo Cavarozzi and Marzio Ganassini; Room of the Madonna, dedicated to the Madonna della Quercia (Our Lady of the Holm Oak), patroness of the Diocese; The Regal Room, with frescoes depicting the castles under Viterbo's dominion, with works by Baldassarre Croce; the Council Room, also called the Room of Hercules, where municipal meetings are held; the Landscape room, and the Daybreak Room.
The Museum of the Porticoes
Beyond the piano nobile, the Museum of the Porticoes is a detached section of the Luigi Rossi Danielli Civic Museum. It houses two paintings by Sebastiano del Piombo: the Flagellation, from 1525, which comes from the Church of Santa Maria del Paradiso (St Mary of Paradise; and the Pietà, the true masterpiece of the museum, created between 1512 and 1516 for the Botonti Chapel of the Church of San Francesco alla Rocca.
The first conclave
To celebrate the 750th anniversary of the Conclave of Viterbo (1271–2021), the conclave parchment was put on display here, a testament to the first ever and longest-lasting conclave of the Catholic church, which lasted from 1267 to 1271, held in the “roofless” (in palazzo discoperto) Papal Palace.
