Cancelleria

References

Cancelleria

palace, Rome, Italy

Also known as: Palazzo della Cancelleria

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 22, 2026

Quick Summary

The Palazzo della Cancelleria is a palace in Rome, Italy, built between 1486 and 1498. Its architect is unknown, as relevant documents were destroyed during the sack of Rome in 1527. The palace was commissioned by Cardinal Raffaelo Riario and has housed parts of the Vatican chancellery for much of its history. It is considered the first High Renaissance building in Rome and symbolizes the city's ascendance as an art capital.12

The building features a rusticated ground floor and upper stories adorned with rhythmic pilasters. Its inner courtyard is noted for its noble and harmonious design, supported by columns. The palace's facade shows influence from Leon Battista Alberti's style, with alternating wide and narrow bays created by flat Corinthian pilasters on the upper stories.21

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Rome
Renaissance palaces
…palace-studded river region are the Cancelleria, the Farnese, and the Massimo alle Colonne palaces. Because all the pertinent documents were destroyed in the sack of Rome in 1527, the architect of the Palazzo della Cancelleria remains unknown. Dated 1486–98, it was built by Cardinal Raffaelo Riario out of a night’s…
Read More
…palace-studded river region are the Cancelleria, the Farnese, and the Massimo alle Colonne palaces. Because all the pertinent documents were destroyed in the sack of Rome in 1527, the architect of the Palazzo della Cancelleria remains unknown. Dated 1486–98, it was built by Cardinal Raffaelo Riario out of a night’s…
Read More

cortile
…cortile is the Palazzo della Cancelleria (begun in 1486), designed by Donato Bramante; the most monumental example is the Palazzo Farnese (completed in 1547), in the design of which Michelangelo had a hand.
Read More
…cortile is the Palazzo della Cancelleria (begun in 1486), designed by Donato Bramante; the most monumental example is the Palazzo Farnese (completed in 1547), in the design of which Michelangelo had a hand.
Read More

Western sculpture
Flavian period
…Rome near the Palazzo della Cancelleria. A similarly sketchy and impressionistic handling of the hair is found on the emperor Titus’s portraits, whereas the third Flavian emperor, Domitian, affected a more pictorial hairdo in imitation of the coiffure introduced by Nero. Still more picturesque are the female hair styles of…
Read More
…Rome near the Palazzo della Cancelleria. A similarly sketchy and impressionistic handling of the hair is found on the emperor Titus’s portraits, whereas the third Flavian emperor, Domitian, affected a more pictorial hairdo in imitation of the coiffure introduced by Nero. Still more picturesque are the female hair styles of…
Read More

Western architecture
Early Renaissance in Italy (1401–95)
The Palazzo della Cancelleria (1495) shows its dependence upon Alberti’s style in its facade, which resembles in part his Palazzo Rucellai in Florence. The lower story simply has drafted or leveled and squared stonework, but the two upper stories have rather flat Corinthian pilasters as well as the…
Read More
The Palazzo della Cancelleria (1495) shows its dependence upon Alberti’s style in its facade, which resembles in part his Palazzo Rucellai in Florence. The lower story simply has drafted or leveled and squared stonework, but the two upper stories have rather flat Corinthian pilasters as well as the…
Read More