Palazzo San Callisto


The Palazzo San Callisto is a Baroque palace in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome and one of the extraterritorial Properties of the Holy See. The original Palazzo is located in the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, the later extensions have their entrance in Piazza di San Callisto. The entire complex is one of the areas of the Holy See regulated by the 1929 Lateran Treaty signed with the Kingdom of Italy. As such it has extraterritorial status.
In the courtyard of the palace is the well where, according to tradition, Pope Callixtus I was martyred in the year 222.

History

The palace was originally the residence of the titular cardinals of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and was renovated in the 16th century under Cardinal Giovanni Morone by architect Orazio Torriani. Pope Paul V granted the palace to the monks of the Order of St. Benedict who had to leave their previous monastery due to an extension of the Quirinal Palace. The building took the name of the small adjacent church of San Callisto. Between 1610 and 1618 both the church and the convent were renovated.
In 1936 during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI the architect Giuseppe Momo, known for the double helix staircase of the Vatican Museums, designed the construction of a new wing.
One facade of the palace faces the celebrated Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere.
In 1990, the Palazzo was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Register.

Current Use

It currently serves as home to: