Lovatti
palace in Rome
built by Clemente Lovatti
Clemente Lovatti (1777-1860) owned the prestigious palazzo overlooking Rome's Piazza del Popolo, similar in design and symmetry to Valadier's Torlonia Palace. The building was constructed between 1818 and 1823 (concurrent with the redevelopment of Piazza del Valadier) by Clemente himself, merging various buildings of little artistic value, such as the barns of Duke Don Giuseppe Maria Altemps, and other privately owned properties and those of various religious institutions, which were part of a block bordering the then Piazza dell'Oca and Via dell'Inferno. This palace, truly pretentious, so much so that it competed with the Torlonia one opposite, is mentioned by Moroni, specifying that, if not the design, the enterprise that built it was due to Clemente Lovatti himself: "Count Clemente also contributed to the ornamentation of the fatherland with the palace erected on his behalf in the Piazza del Popolo, the majestic main entrance to Rome, of uniform design with the other one by Prince Torlonia".
Ambitious
enough to compete with the best of Roman society at the time, Clemente, to
satisfy his desire for social advancement, sought a prestigious marriage,
marrying Maria di Prospero of the Santacroce princes, one of Rome's
most aristocratic families. Industrious and enterprising, he was
responsible for many buildings in and around Rome, such as the one erected
in Albano (Rome) around 1830. A document records that Clemente released
from the tax due to the Cathedral Chapter an area of his property,
previously occupied by a house that had since collapsed, to rebuild a
large building. This was completed around 1835, the year, as we have seen,
of Matteo's presence in Albano. Clemente, always in his role as an
entrepreneur, was also responsible for several projects for the urban
improvement of Rome that were never implemented; among these, the
foundation of a true "industrial" and military village near Porta
San Giovanni.
Taken
from Alberto Crielesi, Matteo, Clemente e Antonio Lovatti: capimastri,
architetti ed imprenditori romani, in "La Strenna dei
romanisti", 2007, p. 217-219
e-mail: maurilio@lovatti.eu