This highest of the Roman palaces, which stretches between the via del Corso, Piazza del Collegio Romano, via della Gatta, and via del Plebisctio, is still in the possession of the Doria Pamphilj family, while its members still inhabit it. However, before this came about, at the beginning of the XVI century, this estate belonged to Cardinal Giovanni Fazio Santoro, who purchased land in this location from the Dominicans from the nearby Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva and built his residence here. His palace which was adorned by a multi-story, arcade courtyard (still preserved today), is most likely the design of Donato Bramante himself and aroused such admiration of the then Pope Julius II, that he desired for the owner to gift it to the papal nepot – Duke Francesco Maria della Rovere. He, appropriately for his position, enlarged and adorned the residence. In the following century the palace came into the possession of the Aldobrandini family, which once again enlarged, modernized and embellished it. Since the family did not have a male descendant, the palace and the collection of artworks were inherited by Princess Olimpia Aldobrandini di Rossano. She was not only beautiful but also extraordinarily wealthy, so it should come as no surprise that she became the most attractive single woman in Rome. Her chosen one was, to the shock and dismay of all Romans as well as his own family, the nephew of Pope Innocent X, Camillo Pamphilj, who discarded the cardinal’s robes for his future wife. After the wedding in 1647 the newlyweds lived in the palace, while the princess spared no expenses on subsequent renovations and decorations of the interior, where balls and social meetings often took place. The descendants of Olimpia and Camillo continued the work of their parents, enriching the palace with new investments. One of these was the construction of a chapel, entrusted to Carlo Fontana. Purchasing subsequent works of art, the family art gallery was also expanded. At this time a significant amount of the works of a valued landscape painter, Gaspard Dughet (Gaspard Poussin), were bought, which were placed in one of the palace rooms. In the following, XVIII century, the time came to create the aforementioned façade at via del Corso, which - in accordance with the spirit of the period – exhibits elements of late Baroque and Rococo. The architect Gabriele Valvassori did not forget to also modernize the palace courtyard, giving it its present-day appearance of a built-up loggia with the intention of creating inside, a representative art gallery, encompassing all of the courtyard. From the via del Corso an imposing hall of mirrors was created, with gilded stuccos, Venetian lamps, ancient statues, as well as a vault which is decorated by frescoes depicting the deeds of Hercules.

In 1760 after the death of Girolamo, the last male descendant of the Pamphilj family, Princess Anna Pamphilj was married off to a Genoese aristocrat Andrea III Doria. Their descendant Andrea IV Doria Pamphilj, alive at the turn of the XVIII and XIX centuries, led to another palace modernization. It was then that the Ball Room was created and the chapel renovated. The work of enlarging the palace was also continued by his descendants, at that time among other structures, the palace stables were built, which today house the offices of a bank (Banca Commerciale), neighboring the palace.

Undoubtedly the palace is worth a visit, especially due to the collections of art which had been gathered within through the ages. Among them there are several works of exceptional beauty and quality, which definitely must be seen.