Architecture
The Palazzo Muti stands on a street corner, and is constructed on four floors. The architect was Mattia de Rossi who had been commissioned to build a residence for Giovanni Battista Muti Papazzurri, a member of one of Rome's patrician families. The principal facade, today painted ochre and decorated only by quoining is of just three bays, with the main entrance to the palazzo, leading to an inner courtyard, at the centre on the ground floor. The size of the courtyard, dictated by the narrow rectangular dimensions of the palazzo is in reality little more than an open lightwell. The entrance itself is flanked by ionic columns, once surmounted by a Baroque pediment, this has since been replaced by a balcony. The architrave of the entrance has engraved upon it the name "Balestra", a family who once owned the palazzo.
The top floor is concealed from sight by a broad cornice. The top floor is architecturally interesting, although hidden from sight at street level its three windows are divided by double pilasters. That such an architectural feature should be hidden insinuates that the whole facade may at one stage in its history been of a more ornate design than is apparent today. An 18th-century drawing of the building (left) shows the top floor was originally lower and decorated in the Baroque style with statuary.
However, even it its severe design the façade betrays some internal secrets, the first floor is obviously a piano nobile, as a hint of the importance of this floor is indicated on the exterior by, not only tall pedimented windows but also above them blind windows indicating the double height of the reception rooms behind them.
The house originally formed part of a complex of family properties which included two other palazzi and two more houses, one of the palazzi was the Palazzo Muti Papazzurri which faces into the Piazza della Pilotta.
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