Throughout the sixteenth century, the Farrattini family noble citizens of Amelia by the end of the fourteenth century sent to Rome family representatives, who were destined to achieve positions of great importance in the Church and Roman Curia. We are referring here to three Farrattini bishops, Bartolomeo II, Baldo I, and Bartolomeo III. It is of note that subsequently namely, at the beginning of the seventeenth century Bartolomeo III became a Cardinal.

In Amelia, Bartolomeo II chose to use the design and construction of his palazzo to signify to his fellow citizens the enormous prestige enjoyed by his family. As luck would have it, Bartolomeo II was Prefect of the Basilica of Saint Peter (as was his nephew, Bartolomeo III, after him) during the period in which Antonio Da Sangallo the Younger was carrying out the task of completing the work on the basilica begun by Bramante. Through this connection, the relationship between the two grew beyond that of a simple acquaintance, and the architect graciously accepted the opportunity to fulfill Bartolomeo’s commission for a palazzo in Amelia.
The importance of the family, and in particular the significance of Cardinal Farrattini, was such as to be cited by Vasari in his famed Lives of the Artists.
The autograph plan with Sangallo’s design of the house can be found today at the Uffizi in Florence.
In addition to numerous buildings projects completed in Amelia, Bartolomeo III built the Palazzo Farrattini now the Propaganda Fide, in the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. The street leading from the Piazza to Via del Corso is still known today by the name derived from Bartolomeo III, namely, Via Frattina.
Canons of the Vatican Basilica and Regents of the Chancery, the Farrattini played a central role in the Curia in the service of ten papacies.
Bishops of Amelia from 1558 until 1571, they had a member of the family in the council of ten and imbussolatori (institutions in command of the government of the city) continuously from 1514 until 1809.