Fasces & Fishes

Via del Corso, 271

A detail of the cornice of Palazzo Mancini Salviati

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The scaffolding has finally come down from the 17th century Palazzo Mancini Salviati and I was able to photograph the newly-cleaned cornice with its images of putti holding fasces and fishes. 

The pike fish is the heraldic symbol of the Mancini family, while the fasces is the heraldic symbol of Cardinal Jules Mazarin*, whose sister Girolama married Michele Lorenzo Mancini. Cardinal Mazarin served as the chief minister to the kings of France, Louis XIII and Louis XIV, from 1642 until his death in 1661. 

Palazzo Mancini Salviati, which stands on Via del Corso, was built by the Roman architect Carlo Rainaldi (1611-91) for Filippo Giuliano Mazzarino Mancini. 

*The coat of arms of Cardinal Mazarin can also be see on the facade of the nearby church of Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio.