Baldassarre Peruzzi designed Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne in Rome, built from 1532 to 1536 for the Massimo family on three contiguous palaces they owned. It replaced structures destroyed by arson during the Sack of Rome in 1527. The curved facade was dictated by foundations built on the stands of Domitian's stadium. The name comes from the column decorations, the Doric columns of the recessed entrance portico.
The article describes a rusticated facade, two internal courtyards, and an entrance ceiling fresco by Daniele da Volterra showing scenes from the life of Fabio Massimo. A frescoed Palazzetto Massimo across the way housed Rome's central post office for many centuries, a Massimo family privilege.
On March 16, 1583, Saint Philip Neri briefly revived 14-year-old Paolo Massimo in the second-floor chapel. The interior opens to the public once a year, on March 16.
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