Consultation building

The Consultation Building (Palazzo della Consulta), also known as the Consulta, is a Roman building in Rome, where the Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic has been based since 1955.

It stands on the remains of the northern sector of the Baths of Constantine, on the southern slope of the Quirinal, replacing a previous building erected under Pope Sixtus V by Cardinal Ferrero da Vercelli to house the Sacred Congregation of the Consulta and then enlarged by Pope Paul V at the beginning of 17th century.

The building, completed in 1737 under the direction of the architect Ferdinando Fuga, was commissioned by Pope Clement XII to accommodate both the headquarters of the secretariat of the "Sacred Congregation of the Consulta" (or the Council of Papal State) and the Signatura of the Brevi, both the body of the "Cavalleggeri" and that of the "Corazze" (later Noble Guard).

Between 1798 and 1814 the palace was the seat of the Prefecture of Rome; in 1849, during the Roman Republic, it was the seat of the government of the triumvirate of Giuseppe Mazzini, Carlo Armellini and Aurelio Saffi. After the annexation of Rome, from 1871 to 1874, the crown prince Umberto I resided there with his wife Margherita di Savoia. Between 1874 and 1922 it was the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from 1924 to 1953 it was the seat of the Ministry of the colonies.

Since 1955 it has been the seat of the Constitutional Court, a destination also confirmed in art. 1 of the law of 18 March 1958, n. 265.

Map: Consultation building