Harpy Sculpture

Public Art : Harpy sculpture

Sculptor : © Either Paolo Benaglia or Filippo della Valle

Description : Carving of a harpy in the pediment beneath the statues above one of the side doors. Harpy being depicted as an ugly winged old woman in Greek and later Roman mythology.

Period : Baroque

Unveiled: c1735

Location : The Harpy can be found above one of the side front doors of the Palazzo della Consulta on Quirinale hill in Rome, Italy.

Background : The Palazzo della Consulta is a late Baroque palace designed by Ferdinando Fuga during the papacy of Clement XII. The palace was built to house the papal tribunial (the Consulta) who are the governing body of the entire Catholic Church and the secretariat of the Brevi as well as two corps of papal guards. Thus the building has three entrances in the main facade. The central entrance were to access the offices of the Tribunale della Consulta and the secretariat of the Brevi. The lateral entrances were for the two military corps Cavalleggeri and Corazze. Above each of these doors are military symbols and of course the Harpy. Today the palace is used by the Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic which establishes whether a law complies or not with the Constitution of the Italian Republic.