Diachronic models of the façade of Palazzetto Baschenis Borghese in Rome

This contribution investigates the transformations, starting from the 16th century, of the façade of Palazzetto Baschenis Borghese, located in the ancient area of the Porto di Ripetta in the Campo Marzio district in Rome. It is part of an ongoing research project aimed at analysing architectural façades and, through the creation of virtual models of altered or no longer existing buildings, at the representation and knowledge of the urban metamorphoses of the area. The building was an integral part of the context of the picturesque Porto di Ripetta and was built by Antonio Baschenis in 1526. In 1658 it passed to the Borghese family, who in 1671 heavily changed its configuration to create a “perspective telescope” which, starting from the “enfilade” on the ground floor of the nearby Palazzo Borghese, culminated in a fountain placed in the middle of the façade of Palazzetto Baschenis. The paper proposes a critical reading of the changes of this latter based on the graphic and iconographic documentation, and through drawing and 3D modelling offers the reader the opportunity to visualize and understand the relationship with the perspective of Palazzo Borghese.