This is the front door to one of the most famous residential palaces in Rome. The Palazzo del Quirinale sits on top of the high hill overlooking the forum and Piazza Venezia. It is the official residence of the President of Italy. Most tourists are confined to the wonderful view of the city from the steps. What only a handful know is that you can get inside, and for free, if you know how.

It’s simple really. All you do is turn up on a Sunday morning after 8.30 and before 11 or so. There’s a simple security process (you won’t need ID) then you’re inside the interior seeing the rooms that are normally used to greet other heads of states. There are some block out dates which you will find on the President’s page here.

Now if only the French would follow suit. Through means which are, frankly devious, they have hung on to a much more magnificent pad, the Palazzo Farnese, above, in the square of the same name, next to the Campo dei Fiori. This is meant to be magnificent - if you can get in. After much pressure the French, who use this as their embassy (a legacy of Napoleon’s invasion of Italy) will let ordinary mortals through the door. But boy do they make it hard.

The page on how to visit on their website is extremely difficult to find. You can try to get it here. But you will need to make your request one to four months in advance, and preference will be given to ‘art historians’. And you get just 50 minutes on specific days of the year. A fine way to treat one of the cultural treasures of Rome….

To rub it in the French Embassy offers a ‘virtual tour’ here. I wonder if anyone in the building has noticed it doesn’t work?