Exterior view

In the first quarter of the eighteenth century there was a stagnation in the architectural activities in Rome. But in the second quarter, between 1725 and 1745 Rome recovered to such an extent that she seemed to reconquer her leading position. Talented architects produced numerous important structures in this period. The new flowering of architecture in Rome is mainly connected with the names of Filippo Raguzzini, Gabriele Valvassori, Alesandro Galilei, Francesco de Sanctis, Niccolò Salvi, and Ferdinando Fuga. Each of the first five created one great masterpiece, namely the Piazza Sant'Ignazio (Raguzzini, 1727-28), the façade of the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj (Valvassori, 1730-35), the façade of San Giovanni in Laterano (Alessandro Galilei, 1733-36), the Spanish Steps (de Sanctis, 1723-26), and the Fontana di Trevi (Salvi, 1732-62). Only the sixth, Ferdinando Fuga, the most profuse talent of the group, secured a number of first-rate commissions for himself, best known are the Palazzo della Consulta (1732-37) and the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore (1741-43).

The present Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj had expanded laterally from the palace at the site once owned by the Della Rovere and Aldobrandini families. Initial designs by Carlo Maderno were amplified by Antonio del Grande and added to by Carlo Fontana (including chapel) and Francesco Nicoletti. Valvassori is responsible for the massive façade on the Via del Corso.

Valvassori's façade of the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj is notable for the playful movement of the window pediments, the balconies and balusters.