Tourists have traditionally passed by the ochre-stained palazzo on the wrong side of the Quirinal hill. The Consulta has merely formed a convenient backdrop for the water-colours of Vanvitelli or for the clicking shutters of millions of Yashicas and Leicas today. The statue of the Dioscuri and its fountain, the magnificent view over Rome beyond, the papal, royal and then presidential palace of the Quirinale, or the nearness of Bernini's Sant' Andrea, divert attention from yet another Roman palace.

Nonetheless, the Consulta is a distinguished building. Set in what used to be Constantine's imperial gardens, it was built in 1730 by Fuga for Pope Clement XII. It was to house the Tribunal of the Sacred Consulta or Supreme Court and Administrative Power of the Pontifical Government. There were also barracks for the papal guard.

When Rome became capital of the united Italy after 1870, it was this building which was chosen to house the Foreign Ministry of the new state. Apart from its architectural beauty, the Consulta was also appropriately situated; only a step across the road from the Quirinale, the royal palace, it was a reminder that Charles Albert had retained many prerogatives in the constitution which he had granted in 1848. In the era before the telephone, messages of advice and instruction could pass to the Consulta more easily from the Quirinale than from Montecitorio, the parliament building, where deputies debated, or from the Palazzo Braschi, where Prime Ministers had their offices. The Consulta was positioned to demonstrate that the foreign policy of Italy was not to be too different from that of the Kingdom of Piedmont – Sardinia.