The project

From an architectural point of view, the construction projects by Sangallo demonstrate the intent of the architect to recreate the aristocratic Ancient Roman domus (home).  In the palace, in fact, the courtyard is the “fulcrum”, the central “hub” of the building, but it takes on a more representative quality and is less connected to the function of the atrium (courtyard) as a source of light and of distribution as in the Ancient Roman houses.

Set on a rectangular lot, the entrance of the Palace consists of a barrel-vaulted lobby that leads into the courtyard, preceded by a portico.

If we move outside and contemplate the facade, we can notice a prelude to Palazzo Farnese, which will be built just a few years later by none other than Sangallo himself. The facade appears clean and tidy, marked horizontally by the footpaths and by the three rows of windows, those on the ground floor in the “inginocchiato“-style – monumental, with a pediment and where the sill rests on two protruding brackets which resemble two legs from the knee down, hence the name. Looking up, one notices how the facade is crowned by an impressive cornice molding.

The main entrance portal with its Doric pilasters and archway are the only distinguished application of elements of the Classical architectural order on the entire facade elevation.

Of the original project of Sangallo for Palazzo Baldassini there are two drawings and some sketches preserved at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.