t The exuberant frescoed ceiling of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola
This temple honours the emperor Hadrian as a god and was dedicated by his son and successor, Antoninus Pius in AD 145. The remains of the temple are visible on the southern side of Piazza di Pietra, incorporated in a 17th-century building. This was originally a papal customs house, completed by Carlo Fontana and his son in the 1690s. Today the building houses the Roman stock exchange (La Borsa).
Eleven marble Corinthian columns 15 m (49 ft) high stand on a base of peperino, a volcanic rock quarried from the Alban hills, to the south of Rome. The columns decorated the northern flank of the temple enclosing its inner shrine, the cella. The peperino wall of the cella is still visible behind the columns, as is part of the coffered portico ceiling.
A number of reliefs from the temple, representing conquered Roman provinces, are now in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. They reflect the mostly peaceful foreign policy of emperor Hadrian’s reign.
One of the major works of the Roman Rococo, Piazza di Sant’Ignazio (1727–8) is Filippo Raguzzini’s master-piece. It offsets the imposing façade of the church of Sant’Ignazio with the intimacy of the houses belonging to the bourgeoisie. The theatrical setting, the curvilinear design and the playful forms of its windows, balconies and balusters mark the piazza as one of a highly distinct group of structures. Along with Palazzo Doria Pamphilj (1731), the façade of La Maddalena (1735) and the aristocratic Spanish Steps (1723), it belongs to the moment when Rome’s opulent Rococo triumphed over conservative Classicism.
t The exuberant frescoed ceiling of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola
The church was built by Pope Gregory XV in 1626 in honour of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus and the man who most embodied the zeal of the Counter-Reformation.
Together with the Gesù, Sant’Ignazio forms the centre of the Jesuit area in Rome. Built in Baroque style, Sant’Ignazio di Loyola’s vast interior, lined with precious stones, marble, stucco and gilt, creates a sense of theatre. The church has a Latin-cross plan, with an apse and many side chapels. A cupola was planned but never built, so the space it would have filled was covered by a vast fake perspective painting by Andrea Pozzo. The stunning trompe l’oeil frescoes give the illusion of a cupola open to a bright sky on the nave ceiling.
On the same block as the church of Sant’Ignazio is the majestic palazzo used by Jesuits as a college where many future bishops, cardinals and popes studied. The college was confiscated in 1870 and turned into an ordinary school. The façade is adorned with a bell, a clock and two sundials. On the right is a tower built in 1787 as a meteorological observatory. Until 1925 its time signal regulated all the clocks within the city.
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eat Armando al Pantheon Just steps away from the Pantheon, this wood-panelled trattoria has been going strong since 1961, never straying from its menu of Roman dishes cooked to perfection – from spaghetti all’amatriciana to coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stew). It’s deservedly popular, so book ahead. U3 ⌂ Salita de’ Crescenzi 31 ∑ armandoalpantheon.it ¡¡¡ Osteria dell’Ingegno In a picture-perfect little piazza, this buzzing restaurant has a menu of traditional dishes with a modern twist, such as duck with mandarin and endive, and pasta with lamb and juniper sauce. The arty interior and jazz soundtrack add to the appeal. V2 ⌂ Piazza di Pietra 45 ∑ osteriadellingegno.com ¡¡¡ |
Melchiorre Baldassini commissioned architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger to build his home in Florentine Renaissance style in 1514–20. With its cornices marking the different floors and wrought-iron window grilles, this is one of the best examples of an early 16th-century Roman palazzo. It stands in the part of Rome still known as the Renaissance Quarter, which flourished around the long, straight streets such as Via di Ripetta and Via della Scrofa, built at the time of Pope Leo X (reigned 1513–21).
Situated in a small piazza near the Pantheon, the Maddalena, built in 1735, has a Rococo façade that epitomizes the love of light and movement of the late Baroque. Its curves are reminiscent of Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. The façade has been lovingly restored, although die-hard Neo-Classicists dismiss its painted stucco as icing sugar.
The small size of the Maddalena did not deter the 17th- and 18th-century decorators who filled the interior with ornaments from the floor to the top of the elegant cupola. The organ loft and choir are particularly powerful examples of the Baroque’s desire to fire the imagination of the faithful.
Many of the paintings and sculptures found within the Maddalena adopt the Christian imagery of the Counter-Reformation. In the niches of the nave, the statues are personifications of virtues such as Humility and Simplicity. There are also scenes from the life of St Camillus de Lellis, who died in the adjacent convent in 1614. The church belonged to his followers, the Camillians, a preaching order active in Rome’s hospitals. Like the Jesuits, they commissioned powerful works of art to convey the force of their religious message.
The origins of this church date back to early Christian times, when it offered relief to the poor. In the medieval period, many charitable brother-hoods elected St Eustace as their patron. The church’s Romanesque bell tower is one of the few surviving remains of the medieval church, which was completely redecorated in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Nearby is the excellent Caffè Sant’Eustachio.
t The church of Sant’Eustachio seen from Via della Palombella, which links Piazza della Minerva with Piazza Sant’Eustachio
In 1632 Galileo was tried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva’s convent for saying the earth moved around the sun.
Few other churches display such a complete and impressive record of Italian art. Dating from the 13th century, the Minerva is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Rome. It was the traditional stronghold of the Dominicans, whose anti-heretical zeal earned them the nickname of Domini Canes (the hounds of the Lord).
Built on ancient ruins, supposed to have been the Temple of Minerva, the simple T-shaped vaulted building acquired rich chapels and works of art by which its many patrons wished to be remembered. Note the Cosmatesque 13th-century tombs and the exquisite works of 15th-century Tuscan and Venetian artists. Local talent of the period can be admired in Antoniazzo Romano’s Annunciation, featuring Cardinal Juan de Torquemada, uncle of the infamous Spanish Inquisitor.
The more monumental style of the Roman Renaissance can be seen in the tombs of the 16th-century Medici popes, Leo X and his cousin Clement VII, and in the richly decorated Aldobrandini Chapel. Near the steps of the choir is the celebrated sculpture of the Risen Christ, started by Michelangelo but completed by Raffaello da Montelupo in 1521. There are also splendid works of art from the Baroque period, including a tomb and a bust by Bernini.
The church also contains the tombs of many famous Italians: St Catherine of Siena, who died here in 1380; the Venetian sculptor Andrea Bregno (died 1506); the Humanist Cardinal Pietro Bembo (died 1547); and Fra Angelico, the Dominican friar and painter, who died in Rome in 1455.
Originally meant to decorate Palazzo Barberini as a joke, the elephant and obelisk sculpture in front of the church is typical of Bernini’s inexhaustible imagination. (The elephant was actually sculpted by Ercole Ferrata to Bernini’s design.) When the ancient obelisk was found in the garden of the monastery of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the friars wanted the monument erected in their piazza. Despite opposition from Bernini, the elephant was provided with a cube underneath it (partly covered by an enormous saddle-cloth) at the insistance of a friar, who was Bernini’s rival. The friar claimed that the gap under the animal’s abdomen would undermine its stability. Bernini knew better, however: you need only look at the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in Piazza Navona to appreciate his use of empty space.
Bronze and marble statues filled the streets of ancient Rome. Fragments of these giants, usually gods or emperors, are still scattered over the city. This piece, a huge sandalled marble foot (pie’ di marmo) in a small side-street, comes from an area dedicated to the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis and was probably part of a temple statue. In ancient times statues were painted and covered with jewels and clothes given by the faithful, which posed a great fire risk with unattended burning tapers.
In the 1600s elephants were thought by the Catholic church to be a model of strength, intelligence and sexual morality because they took only one partner and mated for just five days every two years. The elephant bearing the Obelisk of Santa Maria sopra Minerva was designed by Bernini for Pope Alexander VII in 1667. Obelisks were thought to represent wisdom; hence Alexander had an inscription added to the base: “A robust intelligence is required to support solid wisdom.”
The palazzo’s first architect, Bernini, was appointed after he presented a silver model of his design to the wife of his patron, Prince Ludovisi. The building was completed in 1694 by Carlo Fontana and became the Papal Tribunal of Justice. In 1871 it was chosen to be Italy’s new Chamber of Deputies, and by 1927 it had doubled in size, with a second grand façade. The 630 members of the Italian parlia-ment are elected by a majority system with proportional representation. Guided tours take in the plenary hall and reception rooms.
The measurement of time in ancient Rome was always a hit-and-miss affair: for many years the Romans relied on an imported, inaccurate sundial, a trophy from the conquest of Sicily. In 10 BC the Emperor Augustus laid out an enormous sundial in the Campus Martius. The shadow was cast by a huge granite obelisk that he had brought back from Heliopolis in Egypt. Unfortunately, this sundial, too, became inaccurate after only 50 years, possibly owing to subsidence.
The obelisk was still in the piazza in the 9th century, but then disappeared until it was rediscovered lying under medieval houses in the reign of Pope Julius II (1503–13). However, it was only under Pope Benedict XIV (reigned 1740–58) that the obelisk was finally unearthed. It was erected in its present location in 1792 by Pope Pius VI.
t The façade of Palazzo Montecitorio, the Italian Chamber of Deputies
The palazzo was acquired in about 1605 by Cardinal Camillo Borghese, just before he became Pope Paul V. Flaminio Ponzio was hired to enlarge the building and give it the grandeur appropriate to the pope’s family. He added a wing overlooking Piazza Borghese and the delightful porticoed courtyard inside. Subsequent enlargements included the building and decoration of a great nymphaeum known as the Bath of Venus. For more than two centuries this palazzo housed the Borghese family’s famed collection of paintings, which was bought by the Italian state in 1902 and transferred to the Galleria Borghese.
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drink Caffè Sant’Eustachio Many Romans believe that Sant’Eustachio serves the city’s best coffee – hence the hordes of locals that throng this tiny bar from morning till late. There’s also a tempting selection of coffee-flavoured cakes. U3 ⌂ Piazza di Sant’Eustachio 82 ∑ santeustachioilcaffe.com Tazza d’Oro Right next to the Pantheon, this historic bar has a fabulously retro interior and serves excellent coffee and pastries, as well as granita di caffè – a cooling treat on a hot day. U2 ⌂ Via degli Orfani 84 ∑ tazzadorocoffeeshop.com |
It is not possible to access the interior of this church, but it is still worth visiting to see the courtyard by Baroque architect Giovanni Antonio de Rossi, who used an archi-tectural illusion to make it look wider than it actually is. Around the courtyard there are fascinating remnants of medieval houses. The church itself was rebuilt in 1685 by De Rossi, using a square Greek-cross plan with a cupola.
Clearly an imitation of the column of Trajan, this monument was erected after the death of Marcus Aurelius in AD 180 to commemorate his victories over the barbarian tribes of the Danube. The 80-year lapse between the two works produced a great artistic change: the military campaigns of Marcus Aurelius are rendered with simplified pictures in stronger relief for clarity and immediacy. The spirit of the work is more akin to the 4th-century Arch of Constantine than to Trajan’s monument. A new emphasis on the supernatural points to the end of the Hellenistic tradition and the beginning of Christianity.
Experience Piazza della Rotonda
t The Column of Marcus Aurelius celebrating his victories
Composed of 28 drums of marble, the column was restored in 1588 by Domenico Fontana on the orders of Pope Sixtus V. The emperor’s statue on the summit was replaced by a bronze of St Paul. The 20 spirals of the low relief detail the German Marcommanic War (AD 172–3), and those of the upper half the Sarmatic War (AD 174–5). The column is nearly 30 m (100 ft) high and 3.7 m (12 ft) in diameter, with an internal spiral staircase, which is closed to the public.
t A detail of the carving
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj is a great island of stone in the heart of Rome, the oldest parts dating from 1435. Through the Corso entrance you can see the pretty 18th-century courtyard planted with citrus trees. The Aldobrandini were the next owners after the Della Rovere. Between 1601 and 1647 the mansion acquired a second courtyard and flanking wings at the expense of a public bath that stood nearby.
When the Pamphilj family took over, they completed the Piazza del Collegio Romano façade and the Via della Gatta wing, a splendid chapel and a theatre inaugurated by Queen Christina of Sweden in 1684.
In the first half of the 1700s, Gabriele Valvassori created the gallery above the courtyard and a new façade along the Corso, using the highly decorative style of the Rococo period, which now dominates the building. The stairways and salons, the Mirror Gallery and the picture gallery all give a sense of light and space.
The family collection in the Doria Pamphilj gallery has over 400 paintings dating from the 15th to the 18th century, including the famous portrait of Pope Innocent X Pamphilj by Velázquez. There are also works by Titian, Caravaggio, Lorenzo Lotto and Guercino. The rooms in the private apartment have many of their original furnishings, including splendid Brussels and Gobelin tapestries.
This narrow street runs between the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj and the smaller Palazzo Grazioli. The ancient marble sculpture of a cat (gatta) that gives the street its name is on the first cornice on the corner of Palazzo Grazioli.
t The ancient marble cat sculpture from which Via della Gatta takes its name
One of Rome’s small number of surviving 15th-century buildings, the palazzo was commissioned by Cardinal Domenico Capranica both as his family residence and as a college for higher education. Its fortress-like appearance is a patchwork of subsequent additions, not unusual in the late 15th century, when Rome was still hovering between medieval and Renaissance taste. The Gothic-looking windows on the right of the building show the cardinal’s coat of arms, and the date 1451 is inscribed on the doorway underneath. The palazzo now houses a conference centre.
t A courtyard with orange trees in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
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eat A scoop of artisanal ice cream is a must. Do as the Romans do, and top it with whipped cream. Cremeria Monteforte U3 ⌂ Via della Rotonda 22 § 06-686 7720 Giolitti U2 ⌂ Via degli Uffici del Vicario 40 ∑ giolitti.it San Crispino U2 ⌂ Piazza della Maddalena 3 ∑ ilgelatodisancrispino.com Punto Gelato U3 ⌂ Piazza di Sant’Eustachio 47 ∑ gunthergelatoitaliano.com |
t The main altar in the ancient Roman basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina
The church is one of Rome’s oldest Christian places of worship, and was probably built on a well sacred to Juno, protectress of women. It was rebuilt during the 12th century, and today’s external appearance is quite typical of the period, featuring a portico with reused Roman columns crowned by medieval capitals, a plain triangular pediment and a Romanesque bell tower with coloured marble inlay.
The interior was totally rebuilt in 1856–8. The old basilica plan was destroyed and the two side naves were replaced by Baroque chapels. Do not miss the fine bust in the Fonseca Chapel, designed by Bernini, or the Crucifixion by Guido Reni above the main altar. There is also a 19th-century monument honouring French painter Nicolas Poussin, who died in Rome in 1655 and was buried in the church.
Il Facchino (the Porter), once in the Corso, now set in the wall of the Banco di Roma, was one of Rome’s “talking statues” like Pasquino. Created around 1590, the fountain may have been based on a drawing by painter Jacopino del Conte. The statue of a man holding a barrel most likely represents a member of the Università degli Acquaroli (Fraternity of Water-carriers), though it is also said to be of Martin Luther, or of the porter Abbondio Rizzio, who died carrying a barrel.
The Altieri family first appears in Rome’s history in the 9th century. This palazzo was built by the last male heirs, the brothers Cardinal Giambattista di Lorenzo Altieri and Cardinal Emilio Altieri, who later became Pope Clement X (reigned 1670–76). Many surrounding houses were demolished, but an old woman called Berta refused to leave, so her hovel was incorporated into the palazzo. Its windows are still visible on the west end of the building.