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A keep, known as the Tower of Kingorne Wester, was in existence on the Rossend Castle site from 1119. It was later referred to as Burntisland Castle, and by 1382 was called Abbot's Hall, as it was the home of the Abbot of Dunfermline. The present building is largely of the 16th century, though with a 13th-century basement, which contains lancet windows and may represent the remains of a chapel. It was rebuilt by Peter Durie of Durie from 1552, and the arms of Abbot George Durie, and the date 1554, appear over the main door.
During the war of the Rough Wooing the English soldier John Luttrell landed at Burntisland on 28 December 1547. He burnt boats and buildings at the pier, and the owners of Rossend surrendered the castle to him.
Mary, Queen of Scots, visited during her short personal reign (1561–1567). On 14 February 1562, the French messenger and poet Chastelard was discovered hiding under Mary's bed in the castle.
On 11 May 1590 Sir Robert Melville hosted the Danish Admiral Peder Munk who was travelling to Falkland Palace to take possession of the lands granted to Anne of Denmark as part of her dowry.
In April 1594 James VI came to Rossend from Leith with his guard, and unsuccessfully tried to capture two rebel supporters of the Earl of Bothwell, Archibald Wauchope of Niddrie and John Wemyss of Logie.
The castle was acquired by the Town Council in 1952. In 1957, an early 17th-century painted timber ceiling was discovered; it is now in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The ceiling includes the initials 'SRM' for 'Sir Robert Melville of Murdocairney' and emblems copied from the Devises Heroïques of Claude Paradin. The council threatened to demolish the property, which had been allowed to deteriorate, but it was saved after a public inquiry in 1972. It was bought in 1975 by the architecture firm Robert Hurd & Partners, who restored it and retain the building as their offices.
References:The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.
The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).
With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).
Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.
The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.
The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.