Tourism: Papal Palace, San Pellegrino quarter and the Macchina di Santa Rosa
Visitors see the Papal Palace, with its pointed-arch loggia and the Sala del Conclave, and the medieval San Pellegrino quarter with its "bridge" houses and profferli stairs. On the evening of 3 September the Macchina di Santa Rosa is carried through the streets.
Sections: Attractions · Museums · Nature · Itineraries · Excursions · Accessible visits
Papal Palace
Construction of the Papal Palace began in 1257 to give the pope a safer residence than Rome. It has a pointed-arch loggia; in the Sala del Conclave the cardinals were kept apart until they agreed on a pope. The election of Gregory X took 33 months, and this is where the word "conclave" comes from, Latin cum clave.
San Pellegrino quarter
The medieval quarter has "bridge" houses (case a ponte), linked over the street at the first or second floor, and covered passages reached by outside stairs called profferli. The best known is Casa degli Alessandri, with a portico and a profferlo whose staircase is built into the perimeter wall. The quarter also hosts the Museo del Sodalizio dei Facchini di Santa Rosa.
Macchina di Santa Rosa
The Facchini carry the Macchina in procession on the evening of 3 September. The Italia.it portal describes it as a tower about 30 metres tall weighing about 51 quintals and notes the UNESCO recognition as intangible cultural heritage.
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-20
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-31
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