The building was designed and owned by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and completed by Nanni di Baccio Bigio or his son Annibale Lippi.

Among the artworks that decorate the interior, the cycle of frescoes depicting the Storie di David by Francesco Salviati represents an important work of Mannerism.

[1] On the same façade is still visible the plaque walled ab antiquo that attests the ownership of the architect:[1] DOMVS / ANTONII / SANGALLI / ARCHITECTI / MDXLIIIHouse of Antonio da Sangallo architect 1543The attribution of the building to Antonio is also confirmed by various drawings and sketches by the artist's own hand of his house by San Biagio preserved in the Uffizi[4] and by Giorgio Vasari, who writes that Sangallo:[5] Rifondò ancora in Roma, per difendersi dalle piene quando il Tevere ingrossa, la casa sua in strada Giulia.

And not only did he begin, but he brought to a good end the palace where he lived near San Biagio, which today belongs to Cardinal Riccio da Monte Pulciano, who finished it at great expense and with very ornate rooms, in addition to those that Antonio had expended there, which had been thousands of scudi.Sangallo's original project foresaw two storeys plus the attic, each with five windows.

[1] After Antonio's death in 1546, on 23 July 1552 his son Orazio sold the property to Cardinal Giovanni Ricci from Montepulciano, Tuscany, for the sum of 3,145 Roman scudi.

[6] The cardinal had the palace freed from the censo tax (the fact is remembered on a plaque on Vicolo del Cefalo) and had it completed, merging adjacent houses purchased by him.

[2] The Ceuli also had the building raised one floor higher, decorating the cornice with the heraldic motif of the double eight-pointed star taken from their coat of arms.

On the side towards the Lungotevere the palace ends with a loggia once overlooking the river, created by the Ceuli and modified by the Sacchetti, adorned with a colossal marble head (possibly Juno)[14] and two mascarons.

[15] On the first floor, noteworthy is the hall of the audiences of Cardinal Ricci, called the Sala dei Mappamondi from two globes (Italian: Mappamondo) – one terrestrial and one celestial – by Vincenzo Coronelli placed there:[9][16] the presence of a canopy testifies to the frequent papal visits.

[9] It is decorated with frescoes by mannerist painter Francesco Salviati and aids, painted in 1553–1554 and depicting Stories of David (the descriptions start from the wall to the right of those who look at the windows in a clockwise direction).

[15] The gallery, converted into a dining room and banquet hall, is nearest the Tiber and decorated with paintings depicting biblical subjects by Pietro da Cortona.

[9] Also noteworthy is the dining room built by Cardinal Ricci in 1573, decorated with frescoes on the walls by Giacomo Rocca from Salerno, depicting pairs of sibyls and prophets on the model of the Sistine Chapel.