I don’t know if you are familiar with the old palazzo della Cancelleria or Papal Chancellery in Rome, but, believe me, it’s an amazing place that you should visit next time you are in Rome.
The old place was built between 1486 and 1513 and was the first palace to be built in the Renaissance style.
Builders used the travertine marble from the Colosseum and the theatre of Pompey (back then lying in ruins).
One is often taken aback by its amazing courtyard, featuring open arcaded loggias probably designed by one of the greatest artists of the period: Bramante.
But the place is not only full of beautiful works of art but also a trove of funny stories .
According to an anonymous chronicler, Michelangelo cut short Giorgio Vasari’s boast about the frescoes he had completed in a mere 100 days, with one of his most withering remarks: it shows!