Rome

CAMPO DE’ FIORI 149

Palazzo Ricci w

Piazza de’ Ricci. Map 4 D4 & 11 B4.
@ 23, 40, 46, 62, 64, 116, 280, 870 .
Not open to the public.

Palazzo Ricci was famous for Part of the frescoed façade of Palazzo Ricci
its frescoed façade – now
rather faded – originally (reigned 366–84). It was be seen in the courtyard. The
painted in the 16th century by reconstructed in 1495 and collection includes an ancient
Polidoro da Caravaggio, a fol- although Bernini made altera- Egyptian relief of the scribe
lower of Raphael. tions to the transept and apse Nofer, some Assyrian artifacts
in 1638, it was later restored and, among the Etruscan
In Renaissance Rome it was to its 15th-century lines. Its exhibits, a delicate ceramic
common to commission art- porticoes housed libraries for female head. On the first floor
ists to decorate the outsides the first Papal Archives. is the Greek collection with a
of houses with heroes of head of Apollo.
Classical antiquity. A fresco Piccola
by a leading artist such as Farnesina r
Polidoro, reputedly the inven-
tor of this style of painting,
was a conspicuous status
symbol, in the nobility’s
attempts to outshine each
other with their palazzi.

Palazzo della
Cancelleria e

Piazza della Cancelleria. Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 168.
Map 4 E4 & 11 C3. Map 4 E4 & 11 C3.
Tel 06-6989 3491. @ 40, 46, 62, Tel 06-6880 6848. @ 40, 46, 62,
64, 70, 81, 87, 116, 492. 64, 70, 81, 87, 116, 492.
Open by appointment. Open 9am–7pm Tue–Sun.

The palazzo, a supreme This delightful miniature

example of the confident palazzo acquired its name

architecture of the Early from the lilies decorating

Renaissance, was begun in its cornices. These were

1485. It was financed partly mistakenly identified as part

with the gambling winnings of the Farnese family crest.

of Cardinal Raffaele Riario. In fact they were part of the

Roses, the emblem of the coat of arms of a French

Riario family, adorn the vaults clergyman, Thomas Le Roy,

and capitals of the beautiful for whom the palazzo was Inner courtyard, Piccola Farnesina

Doric courtyard. The palaz- built in 1523. Burcardo Theatre
Museum t
zo’s interior was decorated The entrance is in a new
Via del Sudario 44. Map 4 F4 & 12
after the Sack of Rome in façade built to overlook Corso D4. Tel 06-681 9471. @ 40, 46, 62,
64, 70, 81, 186, 492. v 8. Museum
1527. Giorgio Vasari boasted Vittorio Emanuele II when the and library Open 9am–1.30pm
Mon–Fri. Closed Aug 8 www.
that he had completed work road was constructed at the burcardo.org

on one enormous room in turn of the 20th century. The This late 15th-century house
once belonged to Johannes
just 100 days; Michelangelo original façade on the left of Burckhardt, chamberlain to
Pope Alexander VI Borgia
allegedly retorted: “It looks today’s entrance is attributed and author of a diary of Rome
under the Borgias. His house
like it.” Other Mannerist art- to Antonio da Sangallo the now holds Rome’s most com-
plete collection of theatre lit-
ists, Perin del Vaga and Younger. Note the erature, plus Chinese puppets
and comic masks from the
Francesco Salviati, fres- asymmetrical arrange- various regions of Italy.

coed the rooms of the ment of its windows

cardinal in charge of and ledges. The ele-

the Papal Chancellery, gant central courtyard

the office that gave the also retains its original

palazzo its name when Lily on façade appearance. The Picco-
it was installed here by of the Piccola la Farnesina now hous-

Pope Leo X. On the Farnesina es the Museo Barracco,

right of the main a collection of ancient

entrance is the unobtrusive sculpture assembled during

and rather quaint church of the last century by the politi-

San Lorenzo in Damaso, cian Baron Giovanni Barrac-

founded by Pope Damasus co. A bust of the baron can

150 ROME AREA BY AREA

Teatro Argentina y San Carlo at Prayer by Guido Reni church. It was called “ai
Catinari” on account of the
Largo di Torre Argentina 56. Map Imperial times two marble bowl-makers’ (catinari)
4 F4 & 12 D4. Tel 06-684 000 345. lavatories were built here –
@ 40, 46, 62, 64, 70, 81, 87, 186, the remains of one are visible shops in the area. The
492, 810. v 8. Plays performed behind temple A. Behind tem- solemn travertine façade
Oct–Jun. See Entertainment ples B and C are remains of a was completed in 1638 by
pp360–61. www.teatrodiroma.net great platform of tufa blocks the Roman architect Soria.
identified as part of the Curia
One of the city’s most of Pompey – a rectangular The 16th-century basilican
important theatres was building with a statue of Pom- plan is flanked by chapels.
founded by the powerful pey. It was here that the Sen- The St Cecilia chapel was
Sforza Cesarini family in 1732, ate met and Julius Caesar was designed and decorated by
though the façade dates from murdered on 15 March 44 BC. Antonio Gherardi, who
a century later. Many famous At the south-west corner of added a family portrait.
operas, including those of the site is a cat sanctuary, The church’s paintings and
Verdi, were first performed home to Rome’s abandoned frescoes by Pietro da Cortona
here. In 1816, the theatre felines (visits on request). and Guido Reni are mature
saw the ill-fated début of works of the Counter-
Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Reformation, depicting the
during which the composer life and acts of the recently
insulted the unappreciative canonized San Carlo.
audience, who then pursued The ornate crucifix on the
him, enraged, through the sacristy altar, inlaid with
streets of Rome. marble and mother-of-pearl,
is by the 16th-century
Detail of façade, Teatro Argentina sculptor, Algardi.

Area Sacra
dell’Argentina u

Largo di Torre Argentina. Map 4 F4 Sacristy altar, San Carlo ai Catinari
& 12 D4. @ 40, 46, 62, 64, 70, 81,
87, 186, 492, 810. v 8. Open by Fontana delle
Tartarughe o
appt only: permit needed (see p383).
Piazza Mattei. Map 4 F5 & 12 D4.
The remains of four temples Area Sacra, with circular ruins of @ 46, 62, 63, 64, 70, 87, 186,
were discovered here in the temple B in the foreground 492, 810. v 8.
1920s. Dating from the
Republican era, they are San Carlo ai The delightful Fontana delle
among the oldest in Rome. Catinari i Tartarughe (tartarughe are
They are known as A, B, C and tortoises) was commissioned
D. The oldest (temple C) dates Piazza B Cairoli. Map 4 F5 & 12 D4. by the Mattei family to deco-
from the early 3rd century BC. Tel 06-6880 3554. @ see Area rate “their” piazza between
It was placed on a high plat- Sacra. v 8. Open 7.30am–noon, 1581 and 1588. The design
form preceded by an altar and 4–7pm daily. 5 was by Giacomo della Porta,
is typical of Italic plans. Temple but the fountain owes much
A is from later in the 3rd In 1620, Rome’s Milanese of its charm to the four
century BC. In medieval times congregation decided bronze youths each resting
the church of San Nicola de’ to honour Cardinal Carlo one foot on the head of a
Cesarini was built over its Borromeo with this great dolphin, sculpted by Taddeo
podium: remains of its two Landini. Nearly a century after
apses are still visible. The north the fountain was built an
column stumps belonged to a
great portico, the Hecatostylum
(portico of 100 columns). In

CAMPO DE’ FIORI 151

The church, designed by was rebuilt in 1599 and
a pupil of Bernini, Carlo restored in the 19th century,
Rainaldi, was completed in but the bell tower and
1667. The main elements of Roman columns are part of
the lively Baroque façade are the original design.
the graceful columns, sym-
Della Porta’s graceful Fontana delle bolizing the supporters of
Tartarughe the true faith.

unknown sculptor added Inside the church stands a
the struggling tortoises to fabulously ornate, gilded altar
complete the composition. tabernacle with spiral columns
which was designed by
Santa Maria in Giovanni Antonio de Rossi
Campitelli p to contain the image of the
Virgin. The side chapels are
decorated by some of Rome’s
finest Baroque painters:
Sebastiano Conca, Giovanni
Battista Gaulli (known as Il
Baciccia) and Luca Giordano.

Piazza di Campitelli 9. Façade and medieval bell tower The Theatre of Marcellus by
Map 4 F5 & 12 E5. Tel 06-6880
3978. @ 40, 46, 62, 63, 64, 70, 87, of San Nicola in Carcere Thomas Hartley Cromek (1809–73)
186, 780, 810. Open 7.30am–7pm
daily. 5 7 San Nicola in Theatre of
Carcere a Marcellus s
In 17th-century Rome the
plague could still strike Via del Teatro di Marcello 46. Via del Teatro di Marcello. Map 4 A5
fiercely and there were no Map 5 A5 & 12 E5. Tel 06-686
reliable, effective remedies. 9972. @ 44, 63, 81, 95, 160, 170, & 12 E5. Tel 06-6710 3819.
Many Romans simply prayed 628, 780, 781. Open 7am–7pm @ 44, 63, 81, 95, 160, 170, 628,
for a cure to a sacred daily; recent excavations by appt. 5
medieval icon of the Virgin, 780, 781. Open 9am–6pm (to 7pm
the Madonna del Portico. The medieval church of
When a particularly lethal San Nicola in Carcere stands in summer) daily.
outbreak of plague abated in on the site of three Roman
1656, popular gratitude was temples of the Republican The curved outer wall of
so strong that a new church era which were converted this vast amphitheatre has
was built to house the icon. into a prison (carcere) in the supported generations of
Middle Ages. The temples of Roman buildings. It was built
Lavish altar tabernacle in Santa Juno, Spes and Janus faced by the Emperor Augustus
Maria in Campitelli a city gate leading from the (27 BC–AD 14), who dedicated
Forum Holitorium, the city’s it to Marcellus, his nephew
vegetable and oil market, to and son-in-law, who had died
the road down to the port aged 19 in 23 BC.
on the Tiber. The columns
embedded in the walls of The Middle Ages were a
the church belonged to two turbulent time of invasions
flanking temples whose and local conflicts (see p30)
platforms are now marked and by the 13th century the
by grass lawns. The church theatre had been converted
into the fortress of the Savelli
family. In the 16th century
Baldassarre Peruzzi built a
great palace on the theatre
ruins for the Orsini family. This
included a garden that faced
the Tiber. The lower arches
were later occupied by humble
dwellings and workshops.

Close to the theatre stand
three beautiful Corinthian
columns and a section of
frieze. These are from the
Temple of Apollo, which
housed many great works
of art that the Romans had
plundered from Greece in
the 2nd century BC.

152 ROME AREA BY AREA

Portico of Synagogue overlooking the Tiber elegant Classical plaque. The
Octavia d Latin inscription dates the
ever since. Jews were much building according to the an-
Via del Portico d’Ottavia. appreciated for their financial cient Roman method – 2,221
Map 4 F5 & 12 E5. @ 46, 62, 63, and medical skills during the years after the foundation of
64, 70, 87, 186, 780, 810. time of the Roman Empire. the city – and gives the
owner’s name. Original reliefs
Built in honour of Octavia Systematic persecution began are embedded in the façades
(the sister of Augustus and in the 16th century. From 25 as well as a fragment of an
the abandoned wife of Mark July 1556 all Rome’s Jews were ancient sarcophagus. The
Antony), this is the only surviv- forced to live inside a high- Piazza Costaguti façade’s
ing portico of what used to walled enclosure erected on windows are inscribed Ave
be the monumental piazza of the orders of Pope Paul IV. The Roma (Hail Rome).
Circus Flaminius. The rectan- Ghetto was in an unhealthy
gular portico enclosed temples part of Rome. Inhabitants were Balcony of Palazzo Cenci
dedicated to Jupiter and Juno, only allowed out during the
decorated with bronze statues. day, and on Sundays they Palazzo Cenci h
The part we see today is the were driven into the Church
great central atrium originally of Sant’Angelo in Pescheria to Vicolo dei Cenci. Map 4 F5 &12 D5.
covered by marble facings. listen to Christian sermons – a @ See Ghetto and Synagogue. Not
practice abolished only in 1848. open to the public.
In the Middle Ages a great
fish market and a church, Persecution started again in Palazzo Cenci belonged to
Sant’Angelo in Pescheria, 1943 with the German occu- the family of Beatrice Cenci,
were built in the ruins of the pation. Although many Jews who was accused, together
portico. As the church was were helped to escape or with her brothers and step-
associated with the fishing hidden by Roman citizens, mother, of witchcraft and the
activities of the nearby river thousands were deported to murder of her tyrannical
port, aquatic flora and fauna German concentration camps. father. She was condemned to
feature in many of its inlays. death and beheaded at Ponte
Links with the Tiber are also Today many Jews still live Sant’Angelo in 1599.
apparent in the stucco façade in the former Ghetto and the
on the adjacent Fishmonger’s medieval streets retain much Row of Roman busts decorating the
Oratory, built in 1689. The of their old character. The Casa di Lorenzo Manilio
church has a fresco of the imposing Synagogue on
Madonna and angels by the Lungotevere was completed in
school of Benozzo Gozzoli. 1904. It houses an interesting
Jewish museum that describes
Narrow lane in the Jewish Ghetto the history of the community
through plans, Torahs and
Ghetto and other artifacts.
Synagogue f
Casa di Lorenzo
Synagogue, Lungotevere dei Cenci. Manilio g
Map 4 F5 & 12 E5. Tel 06-6840 0661.
@ 23, 63, 280, 780 and routes to Via del Portico d’Ottavia 1D.
Largo di Torre Argentina. v 8. Map 4 F5 &12 D5. @ 46, 62, 63,
Museum Open Oct–May: 10am–5pm
Sun–Thu, 9am–2pm Fri; Jun–Sep: 64, 70, 87, 186, 780, 810.
10am–7pm Sun–Thu, 9am–4pm Fri.
Closed on Jewish public hols. Adm Not open to the public.
charge. ^ 8 = Ghetto, main
street is Via del Portico d’Ottavia. Before the Renaissance, most
Romans had only vague ideas
The first Jews came to Rome of their city’s past, but the
as traders in the 2nd century 15th-century revival of interest
BC and there has been a in the philosophy and arts
Jewish community in Rome of antiquity inspired some
to build houses recalling the
splendour of ancient Rome. In
1468 a certain Lorenzo Manilio
built a great house for his
family, decorating it with an

CAMPO DE’ FIORI 153

San Giovanni dei
Fiorentini l

Via Acciaioli 2. Map 4 D4 & 11 A2.
Tel 06-6889 2059. @ 23, 40, 46,
62, 64, 116, 280, 870. Open
7.30am–1pm, 4–7pm daily. 5

The church of St John of the

Florentines was built for the

large Florentine community

Tiber Island, with Ponte Cestio linking it to Trastevere living in this area. Pope Leo X

wanted it to be an expression

Most of the original medieval and then the Caetani, two of the cultural superiority of

palazzo has been demolished, powerful families, controlled Florence over Rome. Started

and the building you see this strategic point by means in the early 16th century, the

today dates back to the 1570s, of a tower, still in situ. The church took over a century to

though its rather forbidding other bridge to the island, the build. The principal architect

appearance seems medieval. Ponte Cestio, is inscribed with was Antonio da Sangallo the

Heraldic half-moons decorate the names of the Byzantine Younger, but many others

the main façade on Via del emperors associated with its contributed before Carlo

Progresso while pretty restoration in AD 370. Maderno’s elongated cupola

balconies open on the opposite was finally completed in 1620.

side where a medieval arch The present façade was added
in the 18th century.
joins the palace to Palazzetto Via Giulia k

Cenci, designed by Martino The church was decorated

Longhi the Elder. Inside is a Map 4 D4 & 11 A3. mainly by Tuscan artists. One

traditional courtyard with an @ 23, 116, 280, 870. interesting exception is the

Ionic-style loggia; many of the 15th-century statue of San

rooms retain the original 16th- This picturesque street was Giovannino by the Sicilian

century decoration that the laid out by Bramante for Mino del Reame in a niche

unfortunate Beatrice would Pope Julius II above the sacristy. The

have known as a child. della Rovere. spectacular high altar houses

Lined with a marble group by Antonio

Tiber Island j 16th–18th Raggi, the Baptism of Christ.
century aristo- The altar itself is by Borromini,

cratic palazzi, who is buried in the church

Isola Tiberina. Map 8 D1 & 12 D5. as well as fine along with Carlo Maderno.

@ 23, 63, 280, 780. v 8. churches and This and San Lorenzo in

antique shops, Lucina (see p112) are the only

In ancient times the island, Via Giulia churches in Rome which

which lay opposite the city’s makes a fasci- admit animals: the faithful can

port, had large structures of nating walk Mask fountain bring their pets, and an Easter

white travertine at either end (see pp276–7). in Via Giulia lamb-blessing takes place.

built to resemble the stern and

prow of a ship.

Since 293 BC, when a

temple was dedicated here to

Aesculapius, the god of healing

and protector against the

plague, the island has been

associated with the sick and

there is still a hospital here.

San Bartolomeo all’Isola, the

church in the island’s central

piazza, was built on the ruins

of the Temple of Aesculapius

in the 10th century. Its Roman-

esque bell tower is clearly

visible from across the river.

From the Ghetto area you

can reach the island by a

footbridge, the Ponte Fabricio.

The oldest original bridge

over the Tiber still in use, it

was built in 62 BC. In

medieval times the Pierleoni, Antonio Raggi’s Baptism of Christ in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini



ROME AREA BY AREA 155

QUIRINAL

One of the original was taken by the popes
seven hills of Rome, for Palazzo del Quirinale.
the Quirinal was a Great families such as the

largely residential area in Colonna and the Aldobran-

Imperial times. To the east dini had their palazzi lower

of the hill were the vast down the hill. With the end

Baths of Diocletian, still of papal rule in 1870, the sur-

standing in front of what is rounding area, especially

now the main rail station. 1st-century BC stucco in the Via Nazionale, was rede-
Abandoned in the Middle Museo Nazionale Romano v e l oped as the Quirinal

Ages, the district returned to favour in became the residence of the kings

the late 16th century. The prime site of Italy, then of the Italian president.

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE

Churches Palazzo delle Esposizioni o GETTING THERE
San Carlo alle Quattro The area has Metro stops at

Fontane w Historic Piazzas Repubblica and Cavour. Buses

San Marcello al Corso 5 Piazza della Repubblica i include the 40 (only one stop),
Sant’Agata dei Goti a 64 and 70 along Via Nazionale
Sant’Andrea al Quirinale q Historic Buildings and the 71, 116T and 117,
Santa Maria degli Angeli t Baths of Diocletian u which go through the Traforo
Santa Maria dei Monti p Palazzo Colonna 3 Umberto I tunnel. Many buses
Santa Maria in Trivio 7 Palazzo del Quirinale 2 run along Via del Tritone but
Santi Apostoli 4 there is no bus to the top of
Santi Domenico e Sisto d Fountains and Statues the Quirinal. You have to
Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio 9 Castor and Pollux 1 walk up Via XXIV Maggio.
Moses Fountain r
Le Quattro Fontane e 7*" (0*50

Museums andGalleries Trevi Fountain 6

Accademia Nazionale Parks and Gardens

di San Luca 8
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• Street Finder, maps 5, 6, 12
7* " # "$ % . 0 /5* 0 6 3 • Where to Stay p304
7 . " %0 " $ "7 • Restaurants p321
/ /" • Bernini Walk pp282–3
KEY 7*
Street-by-Street map
0 metres 300
Q Metro station 0 yards 300
n Tourist information

Fontana delle Naiadi in Piazza della Repubblica

156 ROME AREA BY AREA

Even though Palazzo del Quirinale is Santa Maria in Via is
closed to the public, it is well worth famous for its mediev
walking up the hill to the palace to well and mirac
see the giant Roman statues of 13th-ce
Castor and Pollux in the piazza
and enjoy fine views of the city
below. Come down the hill by
way of the narrow streets and
stairways that lead to one of
Rome’s unforgettable sights, th
Trevi Fountain. Many small
churches lie hidden away in th
back streets. Towards Piazza Ve
there are grand palazzi, includi
that of the Colonna, one of
Rome’s most ancient and
powerful families.

Santa Maria in Accademi
Trivio di San Luc
The attractive The art aca
façade of this tiny works by fa
church conceals a members, s
rich Baroque Canova an
interior 7 Kauffmann

. Trevi Fountain Santi
Rome’s grandest and best- Vincenz
known fountain almost fills e Anastas
the tiny Piazza di Trevi 6 The grand f
of this small
San Marcello al Corso Baroque churc
This stark Crucifixion by on a corner facin
Van Dyck hangs in the the Trevi Fountain
sacristy of the church 5

Palazzo Odescalchi has a Venezia
Bernini façade from 1664,
with a balustrade and richly
decorated cornice. The
building faces Santi Apostoli.

QUIRINAL 157

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STAR SIGHT
. Trevi Fountain

KEY

Suggested route

0 metres 75

The Bean Eater 3 0 yards 75

158 ROME AREA BY AREA

Castor and Gregory XIII chose this site on
Pollux 1
the highest of Rome’s seven
Piazza del Quirinale. Map 5 B4.
@ H, 40, 64, 70, 170 and many hills as a papal summer resi-
routes along Via del Tritone.
dence. Work began in 1573.
Quirinal fountain and obelisk with
Roman statues of Castor and Pollux Piazza del Quirinale has buildi-

Castor and Pollux – the ngs on three sides while the
patrons of horsemanship –
and their prancing horses fourth is open, with a splen-
stand in splendour in the
Piazza del Quirinale. Over 5.5 did view of the city. Many
m (18 ft) high, these statues
are huge Roman copies of 5th- great architects worked
century BC Greek originals.
They once stood at the on the palace before it
entrance to the nearby
Baths of Constantine. Pope assumed its present form
Sixtus V had them restored
and placed here in 1588. For- in the 1730s. Domeni-
merly known as the “horse
tamers”, they gave the square co Fontana designed
its familiar name of Monte
Cavallo (horse hill). the main façade, Carlo

The obelisk which stands Maderno the huge
between them was brought
here in 1786 from the Mauso- chapel and Bernini
leum of Augustus. In 1818 the
composition was completed the narrow wing on
by the addition of a massive
granite basin, once a cattle Via del Quirinale.
trough in the Forum.
Following the
Palazzo del
Quirinale 2 unification of

Piazza del Quirinale. Map 5 B3. Tel Italy in 1870,
06-469 91. @ H, 40, 64, 70, 170
and many routes along Via del it became the
Tritone. Open 8.30am–noon Sun.
Closed Jul–mid-Sep & public hols. official resi-
Adm charge. www.quirinale.it
dence of the Canova’s monument to Pope Clement XIV in Santi
By the 1500s, the Vatican had
a reputation as an unhealthy king, then, in Apostoli, with figures of Humility and Modesty
location because of the high
incidence of malaria, so Pope 1947, of the

president of the republic. and through the antechamber

Just across the piazza are leading to a series of three

the Scuderie Papali, a new gleaming marble rooms with

exhibition space housed in prominent yellow columns,

the ex-stables of the Palazzo the Colonna family emblem

del Quirinale. (colonna means column).

The ceiling frescoes cele-

brate Marcantonio Colonna’s

victory over the Turks at the

Battle of Lepanto (1571). On

the walls are 16th- to 18th-

century paintings, including

Annibale Carracci’s The Bean

Eater (see p157). The room of

landscape paintings, many by

Poussin’s brother-in-law

Gaspare Dughet, reflects the

18th-century taste of Cardinal

Palazzo del Quirinale, official Girolamo Colonna. Beyond is

residence of the president of Italy a room with a ceiling fresco

of The Apotheosis of Martin V.

The throne room has a chair

Palazzo Colonna 3 reserved for visiting popes

and a copy of Pisanello’s por-

Via della Pilotta 17. Map 5 A4 & 12 trait of Martin V. The gallery

F3. Tel 06-679 4362. @ H, 40, 64, also offers a fine view of the

70, 170 and many routes to Piazza private palace garden, site of

Venezia. Open 9am–1pm Sat only the ruined Temple of Serapis.

(last adm: noon). Closed Aug &

public hols. Adm charge. ^ Santi Apostoli 4

Pope Martin V Colonna Piazza dei Santi Apostoli. Map 5 A4
(reigned 1417–31) began & 12 F3. Tel 06-679 4085. @ H, 40,
building the palazzo, but most 64, 70, 170 and many other routes to
of the structure dates from the Piazza Venezia. Open 7am–noon,
18th century. The art gallery, 4pm–7pm daily. 5
built by Antonio del Grande
between 1654 and 1665, is the The original 6th-century
only part open to the public. chvurch on this site was
The pictures are numbered but rebuilt in the 15th century by
unlabelled, so pick up a guide Popes Martin V Colonna and
on the way in. Go up the stairs

QUIRINAL 159

Sixtus IV della Rovere, whose Detail of Triton and “sea-horse” at Rome’s grandest fountain, the Trevi
oak-tree crest decorates the
capitals of the late burned down in 1519, and Daniele da Volterra and Pel-
15th-century portico. was rebuilt by Jacopo Sanso- legrino Tibaldi when peace
Inside the portico on vino with a single nave and returned to the city. In the
the left is Canova’s 1807 many richly decorated private nave stands a splendid Vene-
memorial to the engraver chapels on either side. The tian-style double tomb by
Giovanni Volpato. The church imposing travertine façade Sansovino, a memorial to Car-
itself contains a much larger was designed by Fontana in dinal Giovanni Michiel (victim
monument by Canova, his late Baroque style. of a Borgia poisoning in
Tomb of Clement XIV (1789). 1503) and his nephew, Bish-
The third chapel on the op Antonio Orso.
The Baroque interior by right has fine frescoes of the
Francesco and Carlo Fontana Virgin Mary by Francesco Sal- Trevi Fountain 6
was completed in 1714. Note viati. The decoration of the
the 3-D effect of Giovanni next chapel was interrupted Fontana di Trevi. Map 5 A3 & 12 F2.
Odazzi’s painted Rebel Angels, by the Sack of Rome in 1527. @ 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 71, 80, 95, 116,
who really look as though Raphael’s follower Perin del 119 and many other routes along Via
they are falling from the sky. Vaga fled, leaving the ceiling del Corso and Via del Tritone.
A huge 18th-century altar- frescoes to be completed by
piece by Domenico Muratori
shows the martyrdom of the
Apostles James and Philip,
whose tombs are in the crypt.

San Marcello al
Corso 5

Piazza San Marcello 5. Map 5 A4 &
12 F3. Tel 06-69 93 01. @ 62, 63,
81, 85, 95, 117, 119, 160, 175, 492,

628. Open 7am–noon, 4–7pm Mon–
Sat, 9am–noon, 4–7pm Sun. 5

This church was originally
one of the first places of
Christian worship in Rome,
which were known as tituli.
A later Romanesque building

Chapel in San Marcello al Corso, decorated by Francesco Salviati Most visitors gathering around
the coin-filled fountain assume
that it has always been here,
but by the standards of the
Eternal City, the Trevi is a
fairly recent creation. Nicola
Salvi’s theatrical design for
Rome’s largest and most
famous fountain (see p54)
was completed only in
1762. The central figures are
Neptune, flanked by two
Tritons. One struggles to
master a very unruly “sea-
horse”, the other leads a far
more docile animal. These
symbolize the two contrasting
moods of the sea.

The site originally marked
the terminal of the Aqua
Virgo aqueduct built in 19
BC. One of the first-storey
reliefs shows a young girl
(the legendary virgin after
whom the aqueduct was
named) pointing to the spring
from which the water flows.

160 ROME AREA BY AREA

Façade of Santa Maria in Trivio to the collection. Canova of the cardinal’s famous nieces,
donated a model for his either Louis XIV’s first love,
Santa Maria in famous marble group, Maria Mancini (1639–1715),
Trivio 7 The Three Graces. or her younger sister, Ortensia.
In the apse, memorial plaques
Piazza dei Crociferi 49. Map 5 A3 & Of particular interest are record the popes whose prae-
12 F2. Tel 06-678 9645. @ 52, three fascinating self-portraits cordia (a part of the heart) are
53, 61, 62, 63, 71, 80, 95, 116, painted by women: the enshrined behind the wall.
119. Open 8am–noon, 4–7.30pm 17th-century Italian Lavinia This gruesome tradition was
daily. 5 Fontana; the 18th-century started at the end of the 16th
Swiss Angelica Kauffmann, century by Pope Sixtus V and
It has been said that Italian whose painting is copied continued until Pius X stopped
architecture is one of façades, from a portrait of her by it in the early 20th century.
and nowhere is this clearer Joshua Reynolds; and
than in the 1570s façade Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, the Museo delle Paste
of Santa Maria in Trivio, French painter of the years Alimentari 0
delightfully stuck on to the before the 1789 Revolution.
building behind it. Note the Piazza Scanderbeg 117. Map 5 A3
false windows. There is Santi Vincenzo e &12 F2. Tel 06-699 1119. @ 52, 53,
illusion inside too, particularly Anastasio 9 61, 62, 63, 71, 80, 95, 116, 119.
in the ceiling frescoes, which Open 9.30am–5.30pm daily. Closed
show scenes from the New Vicolo dei Modelli 73. Map 5 A3 & public hols. ^ 9 =
Testament by Antonio 12 F2. Tel 06-678 3098. @ 52, 53, www.museodellapasta.it
Gherardi (1644–1702). 61, 62, 63, 71, 80, 95, 116, 119.
Open 7.30am–noon, 4–7pm daily. 5 The role of pasta in Italian
The name of the tiny church cuisine cannot be exaggerat-
probably means “St Mary-at- Overlooking the Trevi Fountain ed, and this entertaining
the-meeting-of-three-roads”. (see p159) is one of the most museum presents everything
over-the-top Baroque façades there is to know about the be-
in Rome. Its thickets of loved staple. Its rooms focus
columns are crowned by the on various aspects, such as
huge coat of arms of Cardinal the history of pasta, how it is
Raimondo Mazzarino, who made and the background of
commissioned Martino Longhi the different shapes, while
the Younger to build the others exhibit photography
church in 1650. The female and art with a pasta theme.
bust above the door is of one

Accademia
Nazionale di
San Luca 8

Piazza dell’Accademia di San Luca
77. Map 5 A3 & 12 F2. Tel 06-679
8850. @ 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 71, 80,
95, 116, 119 and many routes along
Via del Corso and Via del Tritone.
Open Call ahead for opening hours.

St Luke is supposed to have Self-portrait by Lavinia Fontana in the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca
been a painter, hence the
name of Rome’s academy of
fine arts. Appropriately, the
gallery contains a painting of
St Luke Painting a Portrait
of the Virgin by Raphael and
his followers. The academy’s
heyday was in the 17th and
18th centuries, when many
members gave their work

QUIRINAL 161

San Carlo alle
Quattro Fontane w

Via del Quirinale 23. Map 5 B3. Tel
06-488 3261. @ 116, 117 & routes
to Piazza Barberini. Q Barberini.

Open 10am–1pm, 3–6pm Mon–Fri;
10am–1pm Sat; 11am–1pm Sun. 5

In 1634, the Trinitarians, a

Spanish order whose role was

to pay the ransom of Christian

hostages to the Arabs,

commissioned Borromini to

design a church and convent

at the Quattro Fontane cross-

roads. The church, so small

it would fit inside one of

the piers of St Peter’s, is also

known as “San Carlino”.

Although dedicated to Carlo

Borromeo, the 16th-century

Milanese cardinal canonized

in 1620, San Carlo is as much a

monument to Borromini. Both

the façade and interior employ

bold curves that give light and

life to a small, cramped site.

The oval dome and tiny lantern

are particularly ingenious. The

undulating lines of the façade

are decorated with angels and

a statue of San Carlo. Finished

Interior of Bernini’s oval Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in 1667, the façade is one of

Borromini’s very last works.

Sant’Andrea al looks up at a stucco version There are further delights in
Quirinale q of himself, who in turn the playful inverted shapes in
ascends towards the lantern the cloister and the stucco

and the Holy Spirit. work in the refectory (now

Via del Quirinale 29. Map 5 B3. The rooms of St Stanislas the sacristy), which houses
Tel 06-474 4872. @ 116, 117 Kostka in the adjacent a painting of San Carlo by

and routes to Via del Tritone. convent should not be Orazio Borgianni (1611).

Open 8.30am–noon, 3.30–7pm daily missed. The quarters of the In a small room off the
(closed afternoons in August). 5 ^ Jesuit novice, who died in sacristy hangs a portrait of

1568 aged 19, reflect not his Borromini himself wearing the

Known as the “Pearl of the own spartan taste, but the Trinitarian cross. Borromini

Baroque” because of its richer style of the 17th- committed suicide in 1667,

beautiful roseate marble century Jesuits. The Polish and in the crypt (which is

interior, Sant’Andrea was saint has been brilliantly now open to the public) a

designed by Bernini and immortalized in marble by small curved chapel reserved

executed by his assistants Pierre Legros (1666–1719). for him remains empty.

between 1658 and 1670. It

was built for the Jesuits,

hence the many IHS emblems

(Iesus Hominum Salvator –

Jesus Saviour of Mankind).

The site for the church was

wide but shallow, so Bernini

pointed the long axis of his

oval plan not towards the altar,

but towards the sides; he then

leads the eye round to the

altar end. Here Bernini

ordered works of art in

various media which function

not in isolation, but together.

The crucified St Andrew

(Sant’Andrea) of the altarpiece Dome of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, lit by concealed windows

162 ROME AREA BY AREA

mark obelisks: those placed
by Sixtus V in front of Santa
Maria Maggiore and Trinità
dei Monti, and the one that
stands in Piazza del Quirinale.

Moses Fountain r

Fontana dell’Acqua Felice, Piazza
San Bernardo. Map 5 C2. @ 36, 60,
61, 62, 84, 175, 492. Q Repubblica.

Fountain of Strength (or Juno) Officially known as the Fon- Fontana’s Moses Fountain
tana dell’Acqua Felice, this
Le Quattro fountain owes its popular The side reliefs also illustrate
Fontane e name to the grotesque statue water stories from the Old
of Moses in the central niche. Testament: Aaron leading the
Intersection of Via delle Quattro The massive structure with its Israelites to water and Joshua
Fontane and Via del Quirinale. Map three elegant arches was pointing the army towards the
5 B3. @ Routes to Piazza Barberini designed by Domenico Fon- Red Sea. The fountain’s four
or Via Nazionale. Q Barberini. tana to mark the terminal of lions are copies of Egyptian
the Acqua Felice aqueduct, originals (now in the Vatican
These four small fountainsare so called because it was one Museums), which Sixtus V
attached to the corners of the of the many great improve- had put there for public “con-
buildings at the intersection of ments commissioned by venience” and “delight”.
two narrow, busy streets. Felice Peretti, Pope Sixtus V.
They date from the great Completed in 1587, it Gold coin with head of the Emperor
redevelopment of Rome in brought clean piped water to Diocletian (AD 285–305)
the reign of Sixtus V (1585– this quarter of Rome for the
90). Each fountain has a stat- first time. Santa Maria degli
ue of a reclining deity. The Angeli t
river god accompanied by the The notorious statue of
she-wolf is clearly the Tiber; Moses striking water from
the other male figure may be the rock is larger than life
the Arno. The female figures and the proportions of
represent Strength and Fideli- the body are obviously
ty or the goddesses Juno and wrong. Sculpted either
Diana. by Prospero Bresciano
or Leonardo Sormani, it
The crossroads is at the is a clumsy attempt at
highest point of the Quirinal recreating the awesome
hill and commands splendid appearance of Michelange-
views of three distant land- lo’s Moses in the church of
San Pietro in Vincoli (see
p170). As soon as it was
unveiled, it was said to be
frowning at having been
brought into the world by
such an inept sculptor.

Piazza della Repubblica. Map 5 C3.
Tel 06-488 0812. @ 36, 60, 61, 62,
64, 84, 90, 116, 170, 492, 910. Q

Repubblica, Termini. Open 7am–
6.30pm daily. 5 7 =

Fidelity (or Diana) with her attendant dog, one of the Quattro Fontane Parts of the ruined Baths of
Diocletian (right) provided
building material and setting
for this church, constructed
by Michelangelo in 1563. The
church was so altered in the
18th century that it has lost
most of its original character.

An exhibition in the sacristy
gives a detailed account of
Michelangelo’s original design.

QUIRINAL 163

Museo Nazionale The Palazzo Massimo, built in abundance of trees, plants
Romano (Palazzo 1883–7 on the site of a villa and fruit, painted in a totally
Massimo) y which belonged to Sixtus V, naturalistic style to fool guests
used to be a Jesuit college. In that they were eating alfresco,
Part of the Museo Nazionale 1981–97 it was restored to rather than indoors. Other
Romano in the Baths of Diocletian house a significant proportion marvels include rooms
Palazzo Massimo, Largo di Villa of the museum’s collections. brought from the first Villa
Peretti 1. Map 6 D3. Tel 06-3996 The exhibits, contained on Farnesina: the children’s
7700. @ 36, 38, 40, 64, 86, 170, four floors, are originals room has a predominantly
175, H and other routes to Piazza dating from the 2nd century white design, while the
dei Cinquecento. Q Repubblica, BC to the end of the 4th adults’ bedroom is red, com-
Termini. Open 9am–7.45pm Tue– century AD. plete with erotic paintings.
Sun. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. Equally impressive is the
Adm charge (the biglietto cumulativo The basement contains an museum’s display of mosaics
gives entry to the museum’s five excellent display of ancient on the same floor.
branches). 7 8 9 = coins, precious artifacts and
the only mummified child to Baths of
be found in the ancient city. Diocletian u
The ground floor is devoted
to Roman statuary, with Terme di Diocleziano, Viale E de
funeral monuments in Room
2 and Emperor Augustus in Nicola 79. Map 6 D3. Tel 06-3996
Pontifex Maximus guise in 7700. @ 36, 60, 61, 62, 84, 90.
Room 5. Upstairs there are Q Repubblica, Termini.
statues from Nero’s summer
villa in Anzio and Roman Open 9am–7.45pm Tue–Sun.
copies of famous Greek origi-
nals, such as the Discobolos Built in AD 298–306 under
Ex-Lancellotti. The real joy of the infamous Emperor Diocle-
the museum, however, is on tian, who murdered thou-
the second floor, where sands of Christians, the baths
entire rooms of wall paintings (see pp24–5) were the most
have been brought from vari- extensive in Rome and could
ous villas excavated in and accommodate up to 3,000
around Rome. A guided tour bathers at a time.
of the wall paintings is
necessary, which you can Part of the Museo Nazionale
book at the museum Romano, the complex houses
entrance. The most a vast collection of Roman
incredible frescoes are from statues and inscriptions and
Livia’s Villa at Prima Porta. incorporates a former Carthu-
Her triclinium (dining room) sian monastery which has a
was decorated with an beautiful cloister designed by
Michelangelo.

Founded in 1889, the Museo One of the Quattro Aurighe mosaics, Museo Nazionale Romano
Nazionale Romano holds
most of the antiquities found
in Rome since 1870 as well as
pre-existing collections, and is
one of the world’s leading
museums of Classical art. It
now has five branches: its
original site, occupying part
of the Baths of Diocletian; the
Palazzo Massimo; the Palazzo
Altemps (see p127); the Aula
Ottagona (near the Baths of
Diocletian); and Crypta Balbi
at Via delle Botteghe Oscure
31, excavated from the foyer
of the theatre of Balbus (1st
century BC) and housing find-
ings from medieval Rome.

164 ROME AREA BY AREA

Piazza della
Repubblica i

Map 5 C3. @ 36, 60, 61, 62, 64,
84, 90, 170, 175, 492, 646, 910.
Q Repubblica.

Romans often refer to the

piazza by its old name, Piazza

Esedra, so called because

it follows the shape of an

exedra (a semicircular recess) Piazza della Repubblica and the Fontana delle Naiadi

that was part of the Baths of

Diocletian. The piazza was Palazzo delle in 1882 during the reign of

part of the great redevelop- Esposizioni o Umberto I. The main entrance
ment undertaken when Rome looks like a triumphal arch.

became capital of a unified The palazzo is still used to
Via Nazionale 194 (second entrance house exhibitions and the
Italy. Under its sweeping in Via Milano). Map 5 B4.

19th-century colonnades Tel 06-489 411. exhibition space is currently
@ 40, 60, 64, 70, 116T, 170.
there were once elegant undergoing modernisation.
shops, but they have been Open Call ahead for details of The exhibitions are changed

ousted by banks, travel opening hours. Adm charge. every three months and
^ 7 from Via Piacenza entrance.
agencies and cafés. 0-= include a variety of sculpture
In the middle of the piazza and paintings. Live perform-
www.palazzoesposizioni.it ances, films and lectures also
stands the Fontana delle

Naiadi. Mario Rutelli’s four take place here (see p360).

naked bronze nymphs caused Foreign films are usually

something of a scandal when shown in the original language.

they were unveiled in 1901.

Each reclines on an Santa Maria dei
aquatic creature Monti p
symbolizing water in

its various forms: a sea-

horse for the oceans, a Via Madonna dei Monti 41. Map 5

water snake for rivers, B4. Tel 06-48 55 31. @ 75, 84,

a swan for lakes, and a Façade of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni 117. Q Cavour. Open 7am–noon,

curious frilled lizard for 4.30–7.30pm Mon–Sat; 8.30am–

subterranean streams. This grandiose building, with 1pm, 5–8pm Sun. 5 7

The figure in the middle, wide steps, Corinthian columns

added in 1911, is of the sea and statues, was designed as Designed by Giacomo della

god Glaucus, who represents an exhibition centre by the Porta, this church, dating

man victorious over the architect Pio Piacentini and from 1580, has a particularly

hostile forces of nature. built by the city of Rome splendid dome. Over the high

altar is a stunning

medieval painting of

the Madonna, patroness

of this quarter of Rome.

The altar in the left

transept houses the

tomb and effigy of the

unworldly French saint

Benoît-Joseph Labre,

who died here in 1783,

having spent his life as

a solitary pilgrim. He

slept rough in the ruins

of the Colosseum, gave

away any charitable

gifts he received, and

came regularly to Santa

Maria dei Monti to

worship. His faith

could not sustain his

body: still in his mid-

thirties, he collapsed

and died outside the

church. The foul rags

One of the bronze nymphs of the fountain in Piazza della Repubblica he wore are preserved.

QUIRINAL 165

Sant’Agata dei
Goti a

Via Mazzarino 16 and Via Panisperna.
Map 5 B4. Tel 06-4879 3531.
@ 40, 60, 64, 70, 71, 117, 170.
Open 7–9am, 4–7pm Mon–Sat,
9am–noon, 4–6pm Sun. 5 7

The Goths who gave their
name to this church (Goti are
Goths) occupied Rome in the
6th century AD. They were
Aryan heretics who denied
the divinity of Christ. The
church was founded between
AD 462 and 470, shortly
before the main Gothic inva-
sions, and the beautiful gran-
ite columns date from this
period. The main altar has a
well-preserved 12th-century
Cosmatesque tabernacle, but
the most delightful part of the
church is the charming 18th-
century courtyard built
around an ivy-draped well.

Villa 18th-century courtyard of Sant’Agata dei Goti
Aldobrandini s

Via Panisperna. Entrance to gardens: Santi Domenico flights that sweep up to
e Sisto d
Via Mazzarino 1. Map 5 B4. the terrace in front of the
@ 40, 60, 64, 70, 71, 117, 170. Largo Angelicum 1.
Map 5 B4. Tel 06-670 21. entrance. The pediment of the
Gardens open dawn–dusk daily. @ 40, 60, 64, 70, 71 117, 170.
Open by appointment. façade is crowned by eight
Villa not open to the public.
Chapel in Santi Domenico e Sisto flaming candlesticks.
Built in the 16th century for
the Dukes of Urbino and The church has a tall, slender The interior has a vaulted
acquired for his family by Pope Baroque façade rising above
Clement VIII Aldobrandini a steep flight of steps. This ceiling with a large fresco
(reigned 1592–1605), the divides into two curving
villa is now government of The Apotheosis of
property and houses an
international law library. St Dominic by

The villa itself, decorated Domenico Canuti
with the family’s six-starred
coat of arms, is closed to the (1620–84). The
public, but the gardens and
terraces, hidden behind a first chapel on
high wall that runs along Via
Nazionale, can be reached the right was
through an iron gate in Via
Mazzarino. Steps lead up past decorated by
2nd-century AD ruins into the
recently renovated gardens, Bernini, who
highly recommended as an
oasis of tranquillity in the may also have
centre of the city. Gravel
paths lead between formal designed the
lawns and clearly marked
specimen trees, and benches sculpture of Mary
are provided for the weary.
Since the garden is raised Magdalene
some 10 m (30 ft) above street
level, the views are excellent. meeting the

risen Christ in

the Garden of

Gethsemane. Façade of Santi

This fine marble Domenico

group was e Sisto

executed by

Antonio Raggi (1649). Above

the altar is a 15th-century

terracotta plaque of the Virgin

and Child. On the left over a

side altar is a large painting of

the Madonna from the same

period, attributed to Benozzo

Gozzoli (1420–97), a pupil of

Fra Angelico.



ROME AREA BY AREA 167

ESQUILINE

The Esquiline is the large e area is now heavily built up,
and highest of Rome’ xcept for a rather seedy park on
seven hills. In Imperial he Colle Oppio, a smaller hill

Rome the western slopes over- o the south of the Esquiline,

looking the Forum housed the here you can see the remains of

crowded slums of the Suburra e Baths of Titus, the Baths of

On the eastern side there were a rajan and Nero’s Domus Aurea.

few villas belonging to wealthy The area’s main interest, howev-

citizens like Maecenas, patron o r, lies in its churches. Many of

the arts and adviser to Augustus hese were founded on the sites

The essential character of the of private houses where

place has persisted through Michelangelo’s C h r i s t i a n s m e t t o w o r s h i p

two millennia; it is still one of Rachel in San secretly in the days when
the poorer quarters of the city. Pietro in Vincoli the religion was banned.

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE GETTING THERE SEE ALSO
This area is close to Termini • Street Finder, maps 5, 6
Churches station and has several other • Restaurants p322
San Martino ai Monti 1 Metro stops: Vittorio • Mosaics Walk pp280–81
San Pietro in Vincoli 2 Emanuele and Manzoni on
Santa Maria Maggiore line A, Cavour and Colosseo KEY
on line B. Bus routes here Street-by-Street map
pp172–3 4 are a little confusing. Among
Santa Bibiana 7 the most useful are the 16, V Railway station
Santa Prassede 5 75 and 714 from Stazione q Metro station
Santa Pudenziana 3 Termini and the 84. Tram 3 n Tourist information
runs along Via Labicana.
Museums
Museo Nazionale d’Arte

Orientale 9

Historic Piazzas
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 8

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Southern façade of Santa Maria Maggiore by night

168 ROME AREA BY AREA

Street-by-Street:The Esquiline Hill

The sight that draws most people to this
rather scruffy part of Rome is the great basilica
of Santa Maria Maggiore. But it is also well
worth searching out some of the smaller
churches on the Esquiline: Santa Pudenziana
and Santa Prassede with their celebrated
mosaics, and San Pietro in Vincoli, home to
one of Michelangelo’s most famous sculptures.
To the south, in the Colle Oppio park, are the
scattered remains of the Baths of Trajan.

Santa Pudenziana
The apse of this
ancient church has
a magnificent 4th-
century mosaic of
Christ surrounded
by the Apostles 3

Piazza dell’Esquilino VIA GIOVANNI LANZA
was furnished with an VIA IN SELCI
obelisk in 1587 by
Pope Sixtus V. This
helped to guide
pilgrims coming
from the north
to the important
church of
Santa Maria
Maggiore.

To the
Colosseum

ZA DI O
PIE L
P IAZ VIN T R I
S AN C O

IN

. San Pietro

in Vincoli The

The church’s Baths of
Trajan (AD
treasures include D 109) were the
L E first to be built on
Michelangelo’s V I A the massive scale later
used in the Baths of
Moses and the Diocletian and of Caracalla.

chains that

bound St Peter 2

ESQUILINE 169

. Santa Maria Maggiore 26*3*/"- 5JCVSUJOP
This imposing rear '036. &426*-*/&
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Baroque architect Carlo
Rainaldi in 1673.
Santa Maria’s interior

is one of the most richly
decorated in Rome 4

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LOCATOR MAP
See Central Rome Map pp14–15

The Tomb of Pius V (died 1572)
by Domenico Fontana stands
in this less well-known Sistine
Chapel, under the northeast
dome of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Arch of Gallienus
This was built in the 3rd
century AD to replace an

entrance in the old
Servian Wall 6

To Vittorio
Emanuele

Metro

NA

. Santa Prassede KEY
The 9th-century
mosaics in the Suggested route
Chapel of San Zeno
are among the 0 metres 75
finest in Rome 5 0 yards 75

The Torre dei Capocci, a STAR SIGHTS
restored medieval tower, is . San Pietro in
one of the area’s most
distinctive landmarks. Vincoli

San Martino . Santa Maria
ai Monti Maggiore

The frescoes include . Santa Prassede
17th-century

Roman landscapes
and scenes from the

life of Elijah by
Gaspare Dughet 1

170 ROME AREA BY AREA

San Martino ai French artist Gaspare Dughet,
Monti 1 Poussin’s brother-in-law, in

Viale del Monte Oppio 28. Map 6 D5. the right aisle. The frescoes
Tel 06-478 4701. @ 16, 714.
Q Cavour, Vittorio Emanuele. by Filippo Gagliardi, at either
Open 7am–noon, 4–7pm Mon–Sat;
7am–noon, 4–8pm Sun. 5 7 end of the left aisle, show old

Fresco of old San Giovanni in St Peter’s and the interior of
Laterano in San Martino ai Monti
San Giovanni in Laterano
Christians have been worship- before Borromini’s redesign.
ping on the site of this church If you can find the sacristan,
since the 3rd century, when you can go beneath the church
they used to meet in the to see the remains of
house of a man named Equitius’s house.
Equitius. In the 4th century,
after Constantine had Reliquary with St Peter’s chains
legalized Christianity, Pope
Sylvester I built a church, one San Pietro in the Mamertine Prison (see
of very few things he did Vincoli 2 p91) were subsequently taken
during his pontificate. In fact
he was so insignificant that Piazza di San Pietro in Vincoli 4A. to Constantinople. In the 5th
in the 5th century a more Map 5 C5. Tel 06-488 28 65. @ century, Empress Eudoxia
exciting life was fabricated 75, 84, 117. Q Cavour, Colosseo. deposited one in a church in
for him – which included Open 8am–12.30pm, 3.30–7pm Constantinople and sent the
tales of him converting (Oct–Mar: 6pm) daily. 5 7 = other to her daughter Eudoxia
Constantine, curing him in Rome. She in turn gave hers
of leprosy and forcing him According to tradition, the to Pope Leo I, who had this
to close all pagan temples. church built to house it. Some
Pope Sylvester’s fictional
life was further enhanced two chains (vincoli) used to years later the second chain
in the 8th century, with the
forgery of a document in shackle St Peter while he was was brought to Rome,
which Constantine offered
him the Imperial crown. being held in the depths of where it linked miraculously

Pope Sylvester’s church with its partner.
was replaced in about
AD 500 by St Symmachus, The chains are still here,
rebuilt in the 9th century displayed below the high
and then transformed altar, but the church is now
completely in the 1630s. best known for Michelangelo’s
The only immediate signs Tomb of Pope Julius II. When
of its age are the ancient it was commissioned in 1505,
Corinthian columns dividing Michelangelo spent 8 months
the nave and aisles. The most
interesting interior features searching for perfect blocks
are a series of frescoed
landscapes of the countryside of marble at Carrara in
around Rome (campagna
romana) by the 17th-century Tuscany, but Pope Julius

became more interested in

the building of a new St
Peter’s and the project
was laid aside. After the

pope’s death in 1513,
Michelangelo resumed
work on the tomb, but
had only finished the

statues of Moses and

The Dying Slaves when Pope

Paul III persuaded him to

start work on the Sistine

Chapel’s Last Judgment.
Michelangelo had planned
a vast monument with
over 40 statues, but the

tomb that was built –
mainly by his pupils –
is simply a façade with

six niches for statues.

The Dying Slaves are in

Paris and Florence, but

the tremendous bearded

Michelangelo’s Moses in San Pietro Moses is here. The horns
on Moses’ head should
really be beams of light
– they are the result of
the Hebrew original from
the Old Testament being
wrongly translated.

ESQUILINE 171

Santa
Pudenziana 3

Via Urbana 160. Map 5 C4.

Tel 06-481 4622.
@ 16, 75, 84, 105, 714.
Q Cavour. Open 8am–noon, 3–6pm
daily. 5

Churches tend to be dedi-

cated to existing saints, but in

this case, the church, through

a linguistic accident, created a

brand new saint. In the 1st

century AD a Roman senator

called Pudens lived here, and,

according to legend, allowed

St Peter to lodge with him. In

the 2nd century a bath house

was built on this site and in

the 4th century a church was

established inside the baths,

known as the Ecclesia

Pudentiana (the church

of Pudens). In time it was

assumed that “Pudentiana”

was a woman’s name and a

life was created for her – she

became the sister of Prassede Apse mosaics in Santa Prassede, showing the saint with St Paul

and was credited with caring

for Christian victims of Santa Maria original design of the
persecution. In 1969 both Maggiore 4 9th-century church is clearly
saints were declared invalid, visible. Its three naves are

though their churches both separated by rows of granite

kept their names. See pp172–3. columns. In the central nave,

The 19th-century façade of there is a round stone slab

the church retains an 11th- covering the well where,

century frieze depicting both Santa Prassede 5 according to the legend, St
Prassede would have buried
Prassede and Pudenziana

dressed as crowned Byzantine Via Santa Prassede 9A. Map 6 D4. the remains of 2,000 martyrs.

empresses. The apse has Tel 06-488 24 56. @ 16, 70, 71, Artists from Byzantium

a remarkable 4th-century 75, 714. Q Vittorio Emanuele. Open decorated the church with

mosaic, clearly influenced 7.30am–noon, 4pm–6.30pm daily glittering, jewel-coloured

by Classical pagan art in its (afternoons only, Aug). 5 7 mosaics. Those in the apse

use of subtle colours. The and choir depict stylized

Apostles are represented as The church was founded by white-robed elders, the

Roman senators in togas but a Pope Paschal II in the 9th haloed elect looking down

clumsy attempt at restoration century, on the site of a 2nd- from the gold and blue walls

in the 16th century destroyed century oratory. Although the of heaven, spindly legged

two of the Apostles and left interior has been altered and lambs, feather-mop palm trees

other figures without legs. rebuilt, the structure of the and bright red poppies.

In the apse, Santa Prassede

and Santa Pudenziana stand

on either side of Christ, with

the fatherly arms of St Paul

and St Peter on their

shoulders. Beautiful mosaics

of saints, the Virgin and Christ

and the Apostles also cover

the walls and vault of the

Chapel of St Zeno, built as a

mausoleum for Pope Paschal’s

mother, Theodora. Part of a

column brought back from

Jerusalem, allegedly the one

to which Christ was bound

11th-century frieze and medallions on the façade of Santa Pudenziana and flogged, also stands here.

172 ROME AREA BY AREA

Santa Maria Maggiore 4

Of all the great Roman basilicas, Santa

Maria has the most successful blend of

different architectural styles. Its colon-

naded triple nave is part of the original

5th-century building. The Cosmatesque

marble floor and delightful Romanesque

bell tower, with its blue ceramic roundels,

are medieval. The Renaissance saw a new

coffered ceiling, and the Baroque gave

the church twin domes and its imposing

front and rear façades. The mosaics are . Cappella Paolina
Santa Maria’s most Flaminio Ponzio designed this
famous feature. From richly decorated chapel (1611)
the 5th century come for Pope Paul V Borghese.
the biblical scenes

in the nave and the Obelisk in Piazza
spectacular mosaics dell’Esquilino
on the triumphal The Egyptian obelisk
arch. Medieval high- was erected by Pope
lights include a 13th- Sixtus V in 1587
century enthroned as a landmark
Christ in the loggia. for pilgrims.

LEGEND OF THE SNOW Coffered Ceiling
The gilded ceiling, possibly
In 356, Pope Liberius had a by Giuliano da Sangallo,
dream in which the Virgin was a gift of Alexander VI
told him to build a church on Borgia at the end of the 15th
the spot where he found century. The gold is said to
snow. When it fell on the be the first brought from
Esquiline, on the morning of America by Columbus.
5 August in the middle of a
baking Roman summer, he
naturally obeyed. The miracle
of the snow is commemo-
rated each year by a service
during which thousands of
white petals float down from
the ceiling of Santa Maria.
Originally roses
were used, but
nowadays the
petals are more
usually taken
from dahlias.

TIMELINE

356 Virgin appears to 1347 Cola di Rienzo 1673 Carlo
Pope Liberius crowned Tribune of Rainaldi
Rome in Santa Maria
432–40 Sixtus III rebuilds apse
completes church Pope Gregory
VII

300 AD 600 900 1200 1500 1800

420 Probable 1075 Pope Gregory 1288–92 1743 Ferdinando
founding date VII kidnapped by Nicholas IV Fuga adds main
opponents while adds apse façade on orders
reading Christmas and transepts of Benedict XIV

mass in Santa Maria Coat of arms
of Gregory VII

ESQUILINE 173

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore.
Map 6 D4.
Tel 06-48 31 95.
@ 16, 70, 71, 714. v 14.
Q Termini, Cavour.
Open 7am–7pm daily.
57=6

. Coronation of the Virgin Mosaic Baldacchino (1740s)
This is the central image of a series Its columns of red
of wonderful apse mosaics of the porphyry and bronze
Virgin by Jacopo Torriti (1295).
were the work of
Ferdinando Fuga.

. Tomb of
Cardinal
Rodriguez
The Gothic
tomb (1299)
contains
magnificent
Cosmatesque
marblework.

. Cappella Sistina
This Sistine Chapel was built
for Pope Sixtus V (1584–87)
by Domenico Fontana and
houses the pope’s tomb.

Column in Piazza STAR FEATURES
Santa Maria Maggiore . Cappella Paolina
A bronze of the Virgin and Child was
added to this ancient marble column . Coronation of the
in 1615. The column came from the Virgin Mosaic
Basilica of Constantine in the Forum.
. Tomb of Cardinal
Rodriguez

. Cappella Sistina

174 ROME AREA BY AREA

the saint was Piazza Vittorio
Emanuele II 8
buried after being
Map 6 E5. @ 4, 9, 71.
flogged to death v 5, 14. Q Vittorio Emanuele.

with leaded cords See Markets p352.

during the brief Piazza Vittorio, as it is called
for short, was once one of
persecution of the the city’s main open-air food
markets, though now it has
Christians in the moved around the corner to
new, covered premises. The
reign of Julian the arcaded square was built in
the urban development
Apostate (361–3). undertaken after the unification
of Italy in 1870. It was named
Just inside the after Italy’s first king, but
there is nothing regal about
church is a small its appearance today.

column against However, the garden area in
the centre of the square has
which Bibiana is recently been restored. It con-
tains a number of mysterious
said to have been ruins, including a large mound,
part of a Roman fountain from
whipped. Her the 3rd century AD and the
Porta Magica, a curious 17th-
remains, along century doorway inscribed with
alchemical signs and formulae.
with those of her

mother Dafrosa

and her sister

Demetria, who

also suffered

martyrdom, are

preserved in an

Arch erected in memory of Emperor Gallienus alabaster urn

below the altar. In

Arch of a niche above the altar stands
a statue of Santa Bibiana by
Gallienus 6
Bernini – the first fully clothed

figure he ever sculpted. He

Via Carlo Alberto. Map 6 D4. @ depicts her standing beside a

16, 71, 714. Q Vittorio Emanuele. column, holding the cords

with which she was whipped, Museo Nazionale
d’Arte Orientale 9
Squashed between two apparently

buildings just off Via Carlo on the

Alberto is the central arch of verge of

an originally three-arched a deadly Via Merulana 248. Map 6 D5.
Tel 06-487 4415. @ 16, 70, 71,
gate erected in memory swoon. 714. Q Vittorio Emanuele.
Open 8.30am–1.30pm Mon, Wed,
of Emperor Gallienus, Fri, Sat; 8.30am–7pm Tue, Thu, Sun.
Closed 1st & 3rd Mon of month.
who was assassinated Adm charge. 7

by his Illyrian officers in

AD 262. It was builton

the site of the old

Esquiline Gate in the

Servian Wall, parts of The museum occupies part of

which are visible nearby. the late 19th-century Palazzo

Brancaccio, home of the Italian

Santa Bibiana 7 Institute of the Middle and Far

East since 1957. The collection

ranges from prehistoric Iranian

Via Giovanni Giolitti 154. ceramics,
Map 6 F4. Tel 06-446 1021.
@ 71. v 5, 14. Q Vittorio sculpture from
Emanuele. Open 7.30–11am,
4.30–7.30pm daily. 5 7 Afghanistan,

Nepal, Kashmir

and India to

18th-century

The deceptively simple Tibetan

façade of Santa Bibiana paintings on

was Bernini’s first foray vellum. From

into architecture. It is a the Far East

clean, economic design there are

with superimposed collections of

pilasters and deeply Japanese screen

shadowed archways. paintings and- 4th-century

The church itself was Chinese jade. relief from

built on the site of The most Kashmir

the palace belonging unusual exhibits

to Bibiana’s family. Early sculpture by Bernini of the martyr are the finds from the Italian

This is where Santa Bibiana (1626) excavation of the ancient

ESQUILINE 175

Nepalese Bodhisattva in the remain on the walls: you According to Suetonius in his
can make out garden scenes life of Nero, the palace walls
Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale and a procession of miniature were adorned with gold and
figures – including one of a mother-of-pearl, rooms were
civilization of Swat in northeast characteristically drunken designed with ceilings that
Pakistan. This fascinating Dionysus (the Greek god of showered guests with flowers
Gandhara culture lasted from wine) being propped upright or perfumes, the dining hall
the 3rd century BC to about by a satyr. rotated and the baths were
the 10th century AD. Its fed with both sulphurous
wonderfully exotic, sensual Sette Sale q water and sea water.
reliefs show an unusual
combination of Hellenistic, Via delle Terme di Traiano. Map 5 C5. Tacitus described Nero’s
Buddhist and Hindu influences. Tel 06-6710 3819. @ 85, 87, 117, debauched garden parties,
186, 810, 850. v 3. Q Colosseo. with banquets served on
Auditorium of Open by appt; phone in advance. barges and lakeside brothels
Maecenas 0 serviced by aristocratic
Not far from Nero’s Domus women, though as Nero
Largo Leopardi 2. Map 6 D5. Aurea is the cistern of the killed himself in AD 68,
Tel 06-6710 3819. @16, 714. Sette Sale. It was built here he did not have long to
Q Vittorio Emanuele. Open to supply the enormous enjoy his new home.
by appt; phone in advance. ^ 7 quantities of water needed
for the Baths of Trajan. Nero’s successors, anxious
Maecenas, fop, gourmet These were built for Emperor to distance themselves from
and patron of the arts, was Trajan in AD 104 on parts of the monster-emperor, did
also an astute adviser and the Domus Aurea that had their utmost to erase all
colleague of the Emperor been damaged by a fire. traces of the palace.
Augustus. Fabulously rich, Vespasian drained the lake
he created a fantastic villa A set of stairs leads down and built the Colosseum
and gardens on the Esquiline into the cistern, well below (see pp92–5) in its place,
hill, most of which has long street level. There is not Titus and Trajan each
disappeared beneath the much to see here now, but erected a complex of
modern city. The partially a walk through the huge, baths over the palace,
reconstructed auditorium, echoing cistern where light and Hadrian placed the
isolated on a traffic island, rays illuminate the watery Temple of Venus and Rome
is all that remains. surfaces is still an evocative (see p87) over the vestibule.
experience. The nine
Inside, a semicircle of sections, 30 m (98 ft) long Rooms from one wing of
tiered seats suggests that it and 5 m (16 ft) wide, had a the palace have survived,
may have been a place for capacity of 8 million litres. buried beneath the ruins
readings and performances. of the Baths of Trajan on
If it was, then Maecenas Domus Aurea w the Oppian hill. Recent
would have been entertained excavations have revealed
here by his protégés, the Viale della Domus Aurea. large frescoes and mosaics
lyric poet Horace and Virgil, Map 5 C5. Tel 06-3996 7700. which are thought to be a
author of the Aeneid, reading @ 85, 87, 117, 186, 810, 850. panorama of Rome from a
their latest works. However, v 3. Q Colosseo. bird’s-eye perspective.
water ducts have also been Closed for restoration until 2008. Hopefully more areas will
discovered and it may well &8=9 open to the public when con-
have been a nympheum – a sidered safe from landslides.
kind of summerhouse – with After allegedly setting fire
fountains. Traces of frescoes to Rome in AD 64, Nero Frescoed room in the ruins of
decided to build himself an the Domus Aurea
outrageous new palace. The
Domus Aurea (sometimes
called Nero’s Golden House)
occupied part of the Palatine
and most of the Celian and
Esquiline hills – an area
approximately 25 times the
size of the Colosseum. The
vestibule on the Palatine side
of the complex contained
a colossal gilded statue of
Nero. There was an artificial
lake, with gardens and woods
where imported wild beasts
were allowed to roam free.



ROME AREA BY AREA 177

LATERAN

In the Middle Ages Croce in Gerusalemme,
the Lateran Palace but the area remained
was the residence of the sparsely inhabited.

popes, and the basilica of San Ancient convents slum-

Giovanni beside it rivalled bered amid gardens and vineyards

St Peter’s in splendour. until Rome became capital of Italy

After the return of the in 1870 and a network of residential

popes from Avignon at the streets was laid out here to house the

end of the 14th century, the Cherub from San i n f l u x o f n e w c o m e r s .

a r e a d e c l i n e d i n i m - Giovanni in Laterano Archaeological interest lies

portance. Pilgrims still continued chiefly in the Aurelian Wall and the

to visit San Giovanni and Santa ruins of the Aqueduct of Nero.

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE Museums GETTING THERE
Museum of Musical San Giovanni Metro station
Churches on line A is just outside the
San Clemente pp186–7 w Instruments 6 city wall, but handy for many
San Giovanni in Laterano Museo Storico della of the sights in the area.
The 16, 81, 85, 87 and 186
pp182–3 1 Liberazione di Roma 0 are among the many buses
Santa Croce to Piazza di San Giovanni in
SEE ALSO Laterano. This can also be
in Gerusalemme 5 • Street Finder, maps 6, 9, 10 reached by the 3 tram.
Santi Quattro Coronati q • Restaurants pp322–3 This is slow, but its route
Santo Stefano Rotondo e • Mosaics Walk pp280–81 makes it useful for exploring
this part of Rome.
Shrines
Scala Santa and Sancta

Sanctorum 2

Arches and Gates
Porta Asinaria 3
Porta Maggiore 7

Ancient Sites 7* " (
Amphiteatrum Castrense 4 35" ."
Aqueduct of Nero and the

Freedmen’s Tombs 9
Baker’s Tomb 8

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15th-century apse fresco in Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

178 ROME AREA BY AREA

Street-by-Street: Piazza di San Giovanni

Both the Basilica of San The Chapel of VIA
Giovanni and the Lateran Santa Rufina,
Palace look out over a huge originally the DI
open area, the Piazza di San portico of the SANTO
Giovanni, laid out at the end baptistry, has STEFANO
of the 16th century with an a 5th-century R
Egyptian obelisk, the oldest mosaic of spiralling
in Rome, in the centre. Sadly foliage in the apse. OTONDO
the traffic streaming in and
out of the city through Porta VIA DELL
San Giovanni tends to detract
from its grandeur. Across
the square is the building
housing the Scala Santa (the
Holy Staircase), one of the
most revered relics in Rome
and the goal for many
pilgrims. The area is also
a venue for political rallies,
and the feast of St John on
23 June is celebrated
with a fair at which
Romans consume
roast porchetta
(see p59).

The Cloiste Piazza di San
Giovanni fortu
survived the two fires Giovanni in Laterano
that destroyed the early boasts an ancient obelisk
basilica. A 13th-century and parts of Nero’s Aqueduct.
masterpiece of mosaic This 18th-century painting by Canaletto
work, the cloister now shows how the piazza once looked.
houses fragments from
the medieval basilica.

STAR SIGHT

. San Giovanni in
Laterano

KEY

Suggested route

0 metres 75
0 yards 75

LATERAN 179

The Chapel of San &426*-*/&
Venanzio is decorated
-"5&3"/
with a series of 7th-
century mosaics on a "QQJP -BUJOP
gold background. This
detail from the apse $"3"$"--"

shows one of the LOCATOR MAP
angels flanking the See Central Rome Map pp14–15
central figure of Christ.
San Venanzio was an
accomplished 6th-
century Latin poet.

The Lateran Palace, . San Giovanni
residence of the popes in Laterano
until 1309, was rebuilt by Borromini’s interior
Domenico Fontana in 1586. dates from the 17th
century, but the grand
façade by Alessandro
Galilei, with its giant
statues of Christ and
the Apostles, was
added in 1735 1

Scala Santa
This door at
the top of the

holy stair-
case leads to

the Sancta
Sanctorum 2

The Triclinio Porta Asinaria
Leoniano is a This minor gateway,
piece of wall and a mosaic no longer in use, is as
from the dining hall of
8th-century Pope Leo III. old as the Aurelian
Wall, dating back to
the 3rd century AD 3

180 ROME AREA BY AREA

San Giovanni in there are various 19th-century towers were added and a small
Laterano 1 sculptures including an Ecce enclosure built around the
Homo by Giosuè Meli (1874). entrance; the remains are still
See pp182–3. visible. From outside the walls
The Scala Santa and two side you can see the gate’s white
Scala Santa and stairways lead to the Chapel travertine façade and two rows
Sancta Sanctorum 2 of St Lawrence or Sancta of small windows, giving light
Sanctorum (Holy of Holies), to two corridors built into the
Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano built by Pope Nicholas III in wall above the gateway. In
14. Map 9 C1. Tel 06-772 6641. @ 1278. Decorated with fine AD 546 treacherous barbarian
16, 81, 85, 87, 186 and other routes Cosmatesque marble-work, the soldiers serving in the Roman
to Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano. chapel contains many impor- army opened this gate to the
v 3. q San Giovanni. tant relics, the most precious hordes of the Goth Totila,
Open 6.30am–noon, 3–6pm daily being an image of Jesus – the who mercilessly looted the
(3.30–6.30pm in summer). 5 Acheiropoeton or “picture city. In 1084 the Holy Roman
painted without hands”, said to Emperor Henry IV entered
be the work of St Luke, with Rome via Porta Asinaria with
the help of an angel. It was the antipope Guibert to oust
taken on procession in medi- Pope Gregory VII. The gate
eval times to ward off plagues. was badly damaged in the
conflicts that followed.
On the walls and in the
vault, restoration work has The area close to the gate,
revealed 13th-century frescoes especially in the Via Sannio,
which for 500 years had been is the home of a popular
covered by later paintings. flea-market (see p353).
The frescoes, representing the
legends of St Nicholas, St Amphiteatrum
Lawrence, St Agnes and St Castrense 4
Paul, show signs of the style
that would characterize the Between Piazza di Santa Croce in
frescoes of Giotto in Assisi,
made a few years later. Gerusalemme and Viale Castrense.
Map 10 E1. @ 649. v 3.
Porta Asinaria 3
Not open to the public.

Devout Christians climbing the Between Piazza di Porta San Giovanni Columns and bricked-up arches of
and Piazzale Appio. Map 10 D2.
Scala Santa on their knees @ 16, 81, 85, 87. v 3. q San the Amphiteatrum Castrense
Giovanni. See Markets p353.
On the east side of Piazza di This small 3rd-century
San Giovanni in Laterano, The Porta Asinaria (Gate of amphitheatre was used for
a building designed by the Donkeys) is one of the games and baiting animals.
Domenico Fontana (1589) minor gateways in the Aurelian It owes its preservation to the
houses two surviving parts of Wall (see p196). Twin circular fact that it was incorporated
the old Lateran Palace. One is in the Aurelian Wall (see
the Sancta Sanctorum, the Porta Asinaria from inside the wall p196), which included several
other the holy staircase, the existing high buildings in its
Scala Santa. The 28 steps, said fortifications. The graceful
to be those that Christ ascend- arches framed by brick
ed in Pontius Pilate’s house semicolumns were blocked
during his trial, are supposed up. The amphitheatre is best
to have been brought from seen from outside the walls,
Jerusalem by St Helena, moth- from where there is also a
er of the Emperor Constan- good view of the bell tower of
tine. This belief, however, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
cannot be traced back any
earlier than the 7th century.

The steps were moved to
their present site by Pope
Sixtus V (reigned 1585–90)
when the old Lateran Palace
was destroyed. No foot may
touch the holy steps, so they
are covered by wooden
boards. They may only be
climbed by the faithful on
their knees, a penance that
is performed especially on
Good Friday. In the vestibule

LATERAN 181

Discovery and Triumph of the Cross, attributed to Antoniazzo Romano, in Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

Santa Croce in pieces of Christ’s Cross Imperial villa belonging to
Gerusalemme 5 (croce means cross) and part Empress St Helena, later
of Pontius Pilate’s inscription included in the Aurelian Wall.
Piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Latin, Hebrew and Greek: Opened in 1974, the museum
12. Map 10 E1. Tel 06-701 4769. “Jesus of Nazareth King has a collection of more than
@ 16, 81, 649, 810. v 3. Open of the Jews”. 3,000 instruments from all
7am–noon, 2–6.30pm daily. 5 = over the world, including
In the crypt is a Roman instruments typical of the
Emperor Constantine’s mother statue of Juno, found at Ostia various regions of Italy, and
St Helena founded this church (see pp270–71), transformed wind, string and percussion
in AD 320 in the grounds of into a statue of St Helena by instruments of all ages
her private palace. Although replacing the head and arms (including Egyptian, Greek
the church stood at the edge and adding a cross. The 15th- and Roman). There are also
of the city, the relics of the century apse fresco shows sections dedicated to church
Crucifixion that St Helena had the medieval legends that and military music. The
brought back from Jerusalem arose around the Cross. greater part of the collection
made it a centre of pilgrim- Helena is shown holding it is composed of Baroque
age. Most important were the over a dead youth and instruments: don’t miss the
restoring him to life. Another gorgeous Barberini harp,
episode shows its recovery remarkably well-preserved,
from the Persians by the on the first floor in Room 13.
Byzantine Emperor Heraclitus There are spinets, harpsi-
after a bloody battle. In the chords and clavichords, and
centre of the apse is a one of the first pianos ever
magnificent tomb by Jacopo made, dating from 1722.
Sansovino made for Cardinal
Quiñones, Emperor Charles
V’s confessor (died 1540).

Museum of Musical
Instruments 6

Museo degli Strumenti Musicali,
Piazza di Santa Croce in
Gerusalemme 9a. Map 10 E1.
Tel 06-701 4796. @ 16, 81, 649,
810. v 3. Open 8.30am–7.30pm
Tue–Sun. Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec.
Adm charge. 7

18th-century statue of St Helena on One of Rome’s lesser-known Art Nouveau entrance to the
the façade of Santa Croce museums, the building Museum of Musical Instruments
stands on the site of the
Sessorianum, the great

182 ROME AREA BY AREA

San Giovanni in Laterano 1

Early in the 4th century, the Cappella di
Laterani family were disgraced San Venanzio
and their land taken by Emperor This chapel is attached
Constantine to build Rome’s first to the baptistry and is
Christian basilica. Today’s church decorated with 7th-
retains the original shape, but has century mosaics.
been destroyed by fire twice and
rebuilt several times. Borromini Entrance
undertook the last major rebuild to museum
of the interior in 1646, and the
main façade is an 18th-century Apse
addition. Before the pope’s move
to Avignon in 1309, the adjoining
Lateran Palace was the official papal
residence, and until 1870 all popes were
crowned in the church. The pope is the
Bishop of Rome and here in the city’s
main cathedral he celebrates Maund
Thursday mass and attends the
annual blessing of the people.

Papal Altar
Only the Pope
can celebrate mass
at this altar. The
Gothic baldacchino,
decorated with
frescoes, dates from
the 14th century.

. Cloisters
Built by the
Vassalletto family
in about 1220, the
cloisters are remarkable
for their twisted twin column
and inlaid marble mosaics.

TIMELINE

AD 313 Constantine gives 1144 Church dedicated to 1646
Laterani site to Pope Borromini
Melchiades for a church 896 Church San Giovanni in Laterano rebuilds
damaged in interior
314–18 Five-aisled earthquake 1309 Papacy 1377 Return of
basilical church is built
moves to popes from

Avignon Avignon

AD 300 800 1000 1400

324 Basilica 904–911 1300 First Holy 1360 Church 1586 Domenico
consecrated by Church Year proclaimed burnt down for Fontana builds
Pope Sylvester I rebuilt second time north façade
and dedicated to 1308 Church
the Redeemer under Pope destroyed by fire 1730–40 Alessandro Galilei
Sergius III constructs main façade

LATERAN 183

. Baptistry VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Though much restored,
the domed baptistry dates Piazza di San Giovanni in
back to Constantine’s Laterano 4. Map 9 C2. Tel 06-
time. It assumed its 6988 6433. @ 16, 81, 85, 87,
present octagonal shape 186, 650, 850 and other routes
in AD 432 and the design to Piazza San Giovanni. q San
has served as the model Giovanni. v 3. Church open
for baptistries throughout 7am–6.30pm daily. Cloister
the Christian world. open 9am–6pm daily. Museum
open 9am–1pm Mon–Sat.
Baptistry open 8am–12.30pm,
4–7pm daily. Adm charge for
museum and cloister. 5 =

North Façade STAR FEATURES
This was added
. Baptistry
by Domenico
Fontana in 1586. . Cloisters
The pope gives his
blessing from the The original Lateran Palace
was almost destroyed by
upper loggia. the fire of 1308 which
devastated San Giovanni.
Pope Sixtus V
commissioned Fontana to
replace it in 1586.

Statues of
Christ and
the Apostles

Boniface VIII Fresco
This fragment showing
the pope proclaiming
the Holy Year of 1300
is attributed to Giotto.

A side door is TRIAL OF A CORPSE
opened every
Holy Year. Fear of rival factions led
the early popes to extra-
The main ent- ordinary lengths. An
rance’s bronze absurd case took place at
doors originally the Lateran Palace in 897
came from the when Pope Stephen VI
Curia (see p82). tried the corpse of his
predecessor, Formosus,
Corsini Chapel for disloyalty to
This chapel was built in the the Church. The
1730s for Pope Clement XII. corpse was
found guilty, its
The altarpiece is a mosaic right hand was
copy of Guido Reni’s painting mutilated and it
was thrown in
of Sant’Andrea Corsini. to the Tiber.

Pope

Formosus

184 ROME AREA BY AREA

Porta Maggiore 7

Piazza di Porta Maggiore. Map 6 F5.
@ 105. v 3, 5, 14, 19.

Originally the two arches of Relief showing breadmaking on the tomb of the baker Eurysaces
Porta Maggiore were not part
of the city wall, but part of an Baker’s Tomb 8 Golden House (see p175).
aqueduct built by the Emperor It was later extended to the
Claudius in AD 52. They
carried the water of the Aqua Piazzale Labicano. Map 6 F5. Imperial residences on the
Claudia over the Via Labicana @ 105. v 3, 5, 14, 19. Palatine. Partly incorporated
and Via Prenestina, two of into later buildings, the impos-
ancient Rome’s main south-
bound roads. You can still see In the middle of the tram ing arches make their way via
the original roadway beneath
the gate. In the large slabs of junction near Porta Maggiore the Lateran to the Celian hill.
basalt – a hard volcanic rock
used in all old Roman roads – stands the tomb of the rich Along the first section of the
note the great ruts created by
generations of cartwheels. baker Eurysaces and his aqueduct, in
On top of the arches separate
conduits carried the water of wife Atistia, built in 30 BC. Via Statilia, is a
two aqueducts: the Aqua
Claudia, and its offshoot, the Roman custom forbade small tomb in
Aqueduct of Nero. They bear
inscriptions from the time of burials within city walls, the shape of a
the Emperor Claudius and
also from the reigns of and the roads leading house, dating
Vespasian and Titus, who
restored them in AD 71 and out of cities became lined from the 1st
AD 81 respec-tively. In all,
six aqueducts from different with tombs and monu- century BC,
water sources entered the city
at Porta Maggiore. ments for the middle and bearing the

The Aqua Claudia was 68 upper classes. This tomb names and like-
km (43 miles) long, with over
15 km (9 miles) above ground. is shaped like a baking nesses of a
Its majestic arches are a
notable feature of the Roman oven: a low-relief frieze at group of freed
countryside, and a popular
mineral water bears its name. the top shows Eurysaces slaves. Their
One stretch of the Aqua
Claudia had its arches bricked presiding over his slaves Relief on the Tomb of name, Statilii,
up when it was incorporated
into the 3rd-century Aurelian in the various phases the Statilii freedmen indicates that
Wall (see p196).
of breadmaking. The they had been

inscription proudly asserts his freed by the Statilii, the family

origins and reveals him as of Claudius’s notorious wife

a freed slave, probably of Messalina. Servants of families

Greek origin. Many men like often pooled funds in this way

him saved money from their to pay for a dignified burial in

meagre slave salaries to earn a common resting place.

their freedom and set up

businesses, becoming the

backbone of Rome’s economy.

Aqueduct of Nero
and the Freedmen’s
Tombs 9

Intersection of Via Statilia and Via di
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
Map 10 D1. @ 105, 649. v 3, 5,
14, 19. Open by appt only: permit
needed (see p383).

Porta Maggiore, a city gate formed The aqueduct was built by Well-preserved section of Nero’s
by the arches of an aqueduct Nero in the 1st century AD as Aqueduct near San Giovanni
an extension of the Aqua
Claudia to supply Nero’s

LATERAN 185

Museo Storico Pope Sylvester I (reigned Distinctive circular outline
della Liberazione 314–35), then living as a
di Roma 0 hermit on Monte Soratte, of Santo Stefano Rotondo
north of Rome.
Via Tasso 145. Map 9 C1. Tel 06-700 the shape of a cross. The
3866. q Manzoni, San Giovanni. v Stricken by the plague, round inner area was
3. Open 4–7pm Tue, Thu & Fri; Constantine is prescribed a surrounded by concentric cor-
9.30am–12.30pm Sat & Sun. bath in children’s blood, to ridors with 22 Ionic
the horror of the matrons of supporting columns. The
This museum, dedicated to Rome. Unable to bring himself high drum in the centre is
the resistance to the Nazi to obey, Constantine is visited 22 m (72 ft) high and just
occupation of Rome, is in a dream by St Peter and St as wide. It is lit by 22 high
housed in the ex-prison of the Paul. They advise him to find windows, a few of them
Gestapo. The makeshift cells Sylvester, who cures him and restored or blocked by
with bricked-up windows and baptizes him. The final scene restorations carried out under
bloodstained walls make a shows the emperor kneeling Pope Nicholas V (reigned
strong impact (see p266). before the pope. The implied 1447–55), who consulted
idea of the pope as heir to the Florentine architect Leon
Santi Quattro the Roman Empire would Battista Alberti. The archway
Coronati q affect the whole course of in the centre may have been
medieval European history. added during this period.
Via dei Santi Quattro Coronati 20.
Map 9 B1.Tel 06-7047 5427. @ San Clemente w In the 16th century the
85, 117, 850. v 3. Open 6.30am– church walls were frescoed
12.30pm, 3.30–7.45pm daily.5 7 See pp186–7. by Niccolò Pomarancio,
with particularly gruesome
Cloister of Santi Quattro Coronati Santo Stefano illustrations of the martyrdom
Rotondo e of innumerable saints.
The name of this fortified Some of the medieval decor
convent (Four Crowned Via di Santo Stefano Rotondo 7. remains: in the first chapel
Saints) refers to four Christian Map 9 B2. Tel 06-42 11 99. to the left of the entrance
soldiers martyred after refusing Fax 06-4211 9125. @ 81, is a 7th-century mosaic of
to worship a pagan god. For 117, 673. Open by appt (fax Christ with San Primo and San
centuries it was the bastion to arrange). ^ Feliciano.
of the pope’s residence, the
Lateran Palace. Its high apse One of Rome’s earliest
looms over the houses below, Christian churches, Santo
while a Carolingian tower Stefano Rotondo was con-
dominates the entrance. Erect- structed between 468 and
ed in the 4th century AD, it 483. It has an unusual circular
was rebuilt after the invading plan with four chapels in
Normans set fire to the neigh-
bourhood in 1084. Hidden Fresco of St Sylvester and Constantine in Santi Quattro Coronati
within is the garden of the
delightful inner cloister (admis
sion on request), one of the
earliest of its kind, built c.1220.

The remains of medieval
frescoes can be seen in the
Chapel of Santa Barbara, but
the convent’s main feature is
the Chapel of St Sylvester – its
remarkable frescoes (1246)
recount the legend of the
conversion to Christianity of
the Emperor Constantine by

186 ROME AREA BY AREA

San Clemente w

San Clemente provides an opportunity Entrance to the church is
to travel back through three layers of through a door in Via di
history. At street level, there is a 12th- San Giovanni in Laterano.

century church; underneath this lies a

4th-century church; and below that are Paschal
ancient Roman buildings, including a Candlestick
Temple of Mithras. Mithraism, an all-male This 12th-century
cult imported from Persia in the 1st spiralling
century BC, was a rival to Christianity candlestick,
during the age of Imperial Rome. striped with
glittering mosaic,
The upper levels are dedicated to St is a magnificent
Clement, the fourth pope, who was example of
exiled to the Crimea and martyred by Cosmati work.
being tied to an anchor and drowned.
His life is illustrated

in some of the

frescoes in the 4th-

century church. The

site was taken over

in the 17th century

by Irish Dominicans, 18th-century

who still continue Façade

the excavating work Twelfth-century

begun by Father columns were

Mullooly in 1857. used in the arcade.

. Cappella di Santa Caterina

The restored frescoes by the

15th-century Florentine artist,

Masolino da Panicale, show

scenes from the life of the

martyred St Catherine

of Alexandria. 12th-century

church

4th-century

Piscina church

This deep pit

was discovered

in 1967. It

could have been

used as a font or

fountain.

1st–3rd-century
temple and buildings

TIMELINE

2nd century Site possibly used 1108 New
church built
for secret Christian worship 867 Reputed over 4th-century 1857 Original 4th-
church century church
Late 2nd century transfer of remains rediscovered by
Father Mullooly
Temple of Mithras of San Clemente

built to Rome

AD 10 500 1000 1500 1900

4th century First church 1667 Church and
convent given to
c.88–97 built over courtyard of Irish Dominicans

Papacy of earlier Roman building 1861 Church is excavated.
Roman ruins discovered
St Clement

1084 Church destroyed during

AD 64 Nero’s fire Norman invasion led by

destroys area Robert Guiscard

LATERAN 187

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

. Apse Mosaic Via di San Giovanni in Laterano.
The 12th-century Map 9 B1. Tel 06-774 0021.
Triumph of the @ 85, 87, 117, 186, 810, 850.
v 3. q Colosseo. Open
Cross includes 9am–12.30pm, 3pm–6pm
beautifully detailed Mon–Sat, noon–6pm Sun; last
animals and adm: 30 mins before closing. Adm
acanthus leaves. charge to excavations. 5 ^ =

Schola Cantorum
The 6th-century
enclosure for the

choir was retained for
the new church, built

in 1108.

. Triclinium and
Altar of Mithras
The altar, with a
relief of Mithras
slaying the bull,
stands in the
triclinium, a room
used for ritual
banquets.

Temple of
Mithras

. 11th-
Century
Frescoes
Commissioned by
the de Rapiza family,
one shows the story of a boy
found alive in St Clement’s
tomb beneath the Black Sea.

Catacomb STAR FEATURES
Discovered in . Cappella di Santa
1938 and dating
from the 5th or 6th Caterina
century, it contains
16 wall tombs . Apse Mosaic
known as loculi.
. Triclinium and Altar
of Mithras

. 11th-Century
frescoes



ROME AREA BY AREA 189

CARACALLA

The Celian Hill over- Archaeological Zone
looks the Colosseum, established at the turn of
and takes its name the 20th century, it is a

from Caelius Vibenna, the peaceful area, a green

legendary hero of Rome’s wedge from the Aurelian

struggle against the Tarquins Wall to the heart of the city.

(see pp18–19). In Imperial Through it runs the cobbled

Rome this was a fashionable Capital from ruins of Via di Porta San Sebastiano,
place to live, and some of its Baths of Caracalla part of the old Via Appia.
vanished splendour is still This road leads to Porta San

apparent in the vast ruins of the Baths Sebastiano, one of the best-preserved

of Caracalla. Today, thanks to the gates in the ancient city wall.

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE Historic Buildings Parks and Gardens
Baths of Caracalla u Villa Celimontana 5
Churches
San Cesareo 8 Tombs GETTING THERE
San Giovanni a Porta Latina 9 Columbarium of Circo Massimo Metro station
San Giovanni in Oleo 0 is handy if you are visiting
San Gregorio Magno 2 Pomponius Hylas q the churches and parks on
San Sisto Vecchio 6 Tomb of the Scipios w the Celian hill. For the Baths
Santa Balbina y of Caracalla and other sights
Santa Maria in Domnica 4 1*";;" %&- closer to Porta San Sebastiano,
Santi Giovanni e Paolo 1 $0-044&0 take the 628 along Viale delle
Santi Nereo e Achilleo 7 Terme di Caracalla.
7*#&//"
Arches and Gates $&-*0 %&- $&-*0 KEY
Arch of Dolabella 3
Arch of Drusus e 7*" %* 4 (3&(03*0 7 * "-& $-"6%*" Street-by-Street map
Aurelian Wall and 7*" $-*70 %* 4$"630 7*"
Q Metro station
Porta San Sebastiano r % & - 1"3$0 7%* &"- %- "* 4$ 310"$0&-0
Sangallo Bastion t City Wall

1*";;" %* %&--"
1035" 7*"
$"1&/" 7*"

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SEE ALSO 7*"-&
• Street Finder, maps 8, 9 % 1 035" "3%&"5*/"
• Restaurants p323

Mosaic of an athlete from the Baths of Caracalla

190 ROME AREA BY AREA

Street-by-Street:The Celian Hill Clivo di Scauro, the Roman

In the course of a morning exploring the green Clivus Scauri, leads up to
slopes of the Celian hill, you will see a fascinating
assortment of archaeological remains and beautiful Santi Giovanni e Paolo,
churches. A good starting point is the church of San
Gregorio Magno, from where the Clivo di Scauro leads passing under
up to the top of the hill. The steep narrow street passes
the ancient porticoed church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo the flying buttresses
with its beautiful Romanesque bell tower soaring above
the surrounding medieval monastery buildings. Of the that support R I O
parks on the hill, the best kept and most peaceful is the the church.
Villa Celimontana with its formal walks and avenues. E G O

It is a good place for a G R
picnic, as there
are few bars or VIA DI SAN
restaurants
in the area.

La Vignola is a To Circo
delightful Renaissance Massimo
pavilion, reconstructed Metro
here in 1911 after it
had been demolished San Gregorio
during the creation of Magno
the Archaeological A monastery and
Zone around the chapel were
Baths of Caracalla. founded here by
Pope Gregory the
Great at the end of
the 6th century 2

. Santi Giovanni e Paolo
The nave of the church, lit by a blaze
of chandeliers, has been restored
many times, assuming its present
appearance in the 18th century 1

. Villa Celimontana
The delightful 16th-
century villa built for the
Mattei family is now the
centre of a public park 5

CARACALLA 191

Trams passing over 1"-"5*/& -"5&3"/
the Celian hill from "7&/5*/&

the Colosseum "QQJP
rumble up a -BUJOP

picturesque narrow $"3"$"--"
track through the
Parco del Celio.

0TUJFOTF

LOCATOR MAP
See Central Rome Map pp14–15

Ruins of
the Temple of

Claudius are
visible over a
large area of the
Celian hill. These
travertine blocks

have been
incorporated in the
base of the bell tower
of Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

CLAUDIA The gateway of San
Tommaso in Formis is
VIA
decorated with a
wonderful 13th-
century mosaic show-
ing Christ with two
freed slaves, one
white, one black.

Arch of Dolabella STAR SIGHTS
Built in the 1st century AD, . Santi Giovanni e
probably as an entrance to
the city, this archway was Paolo
later incorporated in Nero’s
aqueduct to the Palatine 3 . Villa Celimontana

. Santa Maria in Domnica . Santa Maria in
This church is famed for its 9th-century Domnica
mosaics. These Apostles appear on the trium-
phal arch above the apse, flanking a medal- KEY
lion containing the figure of Christ 4
Suggested route

0 metres 75
0 yards 75

192 ROME AREA BY AREA

Santi Giovanni
e Paolo 1

Piazza Santi Giovanni e Paolo 13.
Map 9 A1. Tel 06-772 711.
@ 75, 81, 117, 175, 673. v 3.
Q Colosseo or Circo Massimo.
Church open 8.30am–noon,
3.30pm–6pm daily. Roman houses
Tel 06-7045 4544. Open 10am–
1pm, 3–6pm Thu–Mon. 5 7
church only.

Santi Giovanni e Paolo is Fresco of Christ and the Apostles in Santi Giovanni e Paolo
dedicated to two martyred
Roman officers whose house San Gregorio annulment of Henry’s mar-
stood on this site. Giovanni Magno 2 riage to Catherine of Aragon.
(John) and Paolo (Paul) had
served the first Christian Piazza di San Gregorio. Map 8 F2. Tel The interior, remodelled by
emperor, Constantine. When 06-700 8227. @ 75, 81, 117, 175, Francesco Ferrari in the mid-
they were later called to arms 673. v 3. Q Circo Massimo. Open 18th century, is Baroque, apart
by the pagan emperor Julian 9am–12.30pm, 3–6pm daily. 5 from the fine mosaic floor and
the Apostate, they refused some ancient columns. At the
and were beheaded in their Façade of San Gregorio Magno end of the right aisle is the
own house in AD 362. chapel of St Gregory. Leading
off it, another small chapel, be-
Built towards the end of the lieved to have been the saint’s
4th century, the church own cell, houses his episcopal
retains many elements of its throne – a Roman chair of
original structure. The Ionic sculpted marble. The Salviati
portico dates from the 12th Chapel on the left contains a
century, and the apse and bell picture of the Virgin said to
tower were added by have spoken to St Gregory.
Nicholas Breakspeare, the
only English pope, who Outside, amid the cypresses
reigned as Adrian IV to the left of the church, stand
(1154–9). The base of the three small chapels, dedicated
superb 13th-century to St Andrew, St Barbara and
Romanesque bell St Sylvia (Gregory the Great’s
tower was part of mother). Recently restored,
the Temple of they contain frescoes by
Claudius that stood Domenichino and Guido Reni.
on this site. The
interior, remodelled To the English, this is one of Marble throne of Gregory the Great
in 1718, has granite the most important churches from the 1st century BC
piers and columns. A tomb in Rome, for it was from here
slab in the nave marks the that St Augustine was sent on
burial place of the martyrs, his mission to convert
whose relics are preserved in England to Christianity. The
an urn under the high altar. church was founded in AD 575
In a tiny room near the altar, by San Gregorio Magno (St
a magnificent 13th-century Gregory the Great), who turned
fresco depicts the figure of his family home on this site into
Christ flanked by his Apostles a monastery. It was rebuilt in
(ask the sacristan to unlock medieval times and restored in
the door for you). 1629–33 by Giovanni Battista
Soria. The church is reached via
Excavations beneath the a flight of steps from the street.
church have revealed two 2nd-
and 3rd-century Roman houses The forecourt contains some
used as a Christian burial place. interesting tombs. To the left
These are well worth a visit. is that of Sir Edward Carne,
The two-storey construction, who came to Rome several
with 20 rooms and a labyrinth times between 1529 and 1533
of corridors, has well-preserved as King Henry VIII’s envoy to
pagan and Christian paintings. gain the pope’s consent to the
The arches to the left of
the church were part of a
3rd-century street of shops.

CARACALLA 193

Arch of Dolabella 3 Dating from the 7th century, were given bread, wine, salami,
the church was made from an cheese, an egg and two apples.
Via di San Paolo della Croce. ancient stone galley which The garden, now owned by
Map 9 A2. @ 81, 117, 673. was probably a temple offer- the city of Rome, still makes
v 3. Q Colosseo. ing of a Roman traveller for an ideal place for a picnic. In
his safe return to the city. In summer it hosts an excellent
The arch was built in AD 10 the 16th century Pope Leo X jazz festival (see p358).
by consuls Caius Junius added the portico and the
Silanus and Cornelius coffered ceiling.
Dolabella, possibly on the site
of one of the old Servian In the apse behind the
Wall’s gateways. It was made modern altar is a superb 9th-
of travertine blocks and later century mosaic commissioned
used to support Nero’s exten- by Pope Paschal I. Wearing
sion of the Claudian aque- the square halo of the living,
duct, built to supply the the pope appears at the feet
Imperial palace on the Pala- of the Virgin and Child. The
tine hill. Virgin, surrounded by a
throng of angels, holds a
handkerchief like a fashiona-
ble lady at a Byzantine court.

Villa Celimontana 5

Piazza della Navicella. Park of Villa Celimontana
Map 9 A2. @ 81, 117, 673.
Park open 7am–dusk daily.

The restored Arch of Dolabella The Dukes of Mattei bought San Sisto Vecchio 6
this land in 1553 and trans-
Santa Maria in formed the vineyards that cov- Piazzale Numa Pompilio 8.
Domnica 4 ered the hillside into a formal Map 9 A3. Tel 06-7720 5174.
garden. As well as palms and @ 160, 628, 671, 714.
Piazza della Navicella 12. other exotic trees, the garden Open 9–11am daily. ^
Map 9 A2. Tel 06-700 1519. has its own Egyptian obelisk.
@ 81,117, 673. v 3. Q Colosseo. Villa Mattei, built in the 1580s This small church is of great
Open 9am–noon, 4.30–7pm daily. and now known as Villa historical interest as it was
57 Celimontana, houses the granted to St Dominic in 1219
Italian Geographical Society. by Pope Honorius III. The
The church overlooks the founder of the Dominican
Piazza della Navicella (little The Mattei family used to order soon moved his own
boat) and takes its name from open the park to the public headquarters to Santa Sabina
the 16th-century fountain. on the day of the Visit of the (see p204), San Sisto becoming
Seven Churches, an annual the first home of the order of
event instituted by San Filippo Dominican nuns. The church,
Neri in 1552. Starting from with its 13th-century bell
the Chiesa Nuova (see p124), tower and frescoes, is also a
Romans went on foot to the popular place for weddings.
city’s seven major churches
and, on reaching Villa Mattei,

Apse mosaic of the Virgin and Child in Santa Maria in Domnica

194 ROME AREA BY AREA

Santi Nereo San Cesareo 8 showing 46 different biblical
scenes, from both the Old
e Achilleo 7 Via di Porta San Sebastiano. and New Testaments, which
are among the finest of their
Via delle Terme di Caracalla 28. Map 9 Map 9 A3. Tel 06-5823 0140. kind in Rome.
A3. Tel 06-575 7996. @ 160, 628, @ 218, 628. Open 9am–12.15pm
671, 714. Open Apr–Jul & Sep–Oct: Sun & by appt. Fresco, San Giovanni a Porta Latina

10am–noon, 4–6pm Wed–Mon. 7 San Giovanni
in Oleo 0
This splendid old church was
Via di Porta Latina. Map 9 C4. @ 628.
According to legend, St Peter, built over Roman ruins of the Adm ask at S. Giovanni a Porta Latina.

after escaping from 2nd century AD. You can still Frieze of San Giovanni in Oleo

prison, was fleeing admire Giacomo della The name of this charming
octagonal Renaissance chapel
the city when he Porta’s fine Renaissance means “St John in Oil”. The
tiny building marks the spot
lost a bandage façade, but by phoning where, according to legend,
St John was boiled in oil –
from his wounds. ahead to book a visit, and came out unscathed, or
even refreshed. An earlier
The original you can also see chapel is said to have existed
on the site; the present one
church was Cosmatesque mosaic was built in the early 16th
century. The design has been
founded here work and carving attributed to Baldassare Peruzzi
or Antonio da Sangallo the
in the 4th to rival that of any Younger. It was restored by
Borromini, who altered the
century on the church in Rome. The roof, crowning it with a
cross supported by a sphere
spot where the episcopal throne, altar decorated with roses. He also
added a terracotta frieze of
bandage fell, but and pulpit are decorated roses and palm leaves. The
wall paintings inside the
later on it was with delightful birds chapel include one of St John
in a cauldron of boiling oil.
rededicated to Detail of mosaic, and beasts. The church
the 1st-century
Santi Nereo e Achilleo was restored in the

AD martyrs St 16th century by Pope

Nereus and St Achilleus. Clement VIII, whose coat of

Restored at the end of the arms decorates the ceiling.

16th century, the church has

retained many medieval San Giovanni a
features, including some fine
9th-century mosaics on the Porta Latina 9
triumphal arch. A magnificent

pulpit rests on an enormous Via di San Giovanni a Porta Latina.

porphyry pedestal which was Map 9 B3. Tel 06-7740 0032. @ 218,

found nearby in the Baths 360, 628. Open 7.30am–12.30pm

of Caracalla. The walls of the (6.30am summer), 3–7pm daily. 5 7

side naves are decorated

with a series of rather grisly The church of “St John at the

16th-century frescoes by Latin Gate” was founded in

Niccolò Pomarancio, showing the 5th century, rebuilt in 720

in clinical detail how each of and restored in 1191. This is

the Apostles was martyred. one of the most picturesque

of the old Roman

churches. Classi-

cal columns sup-

port the medieval

portico, and the

12th-century bell

tower is superb.

A tall cedar tree

shades an ancient

well standing in

the forecourt.

The interior has

recently been

restored, but it

preserves the rare

simplicity of its

early origins with

ancient columns

of varying styles

lining the aisles.

Traces of early

medieval frescoes

can still be seen

within the church.

Fresco by Niccolò Pomarancio of the Martyrdom of There are 12th-

St Simon in Santi Nereo e Achilleo century frescoes

CARACALLA 195

contained various sarcophagi,
statues and niches with
terracotta burial urns. Many
of the originals have now been
moved to the Vatican Museums
and copies stand in their place.

The earliest sarcophagus
was that of Cornelius Scipio
Barbatus, consul in 298 BC,
for whom the tomb was built.
Members of his illustrious
family continued to be buried
here up to the middle of the
2nd century BC. Excavations in
the area have revealed a
columbarium similar to that of
Pomponius Hylas, a Christian
catacomb and a three-storey
house dating from the 3rd
century AD, which was built
over the Tomb of the Scipios.

Arch of Drusus e

Niches for funerary urns in the Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas Via di Porta San Sebastiano.
Map 9 B4. @ 218, 360.

Columbarium of is the Tomb of Pomponius Arch of Drusus, part of the Aqua
Pomponius Hylas q Hylas and his wife, Pomponia
Vitalinis. Above her name is Antoniniana aqueduct
Via di Porta Latina 10. Map 9 B4. a “V” which indicates that
@ 218, 360, 628. Open by appt she was still living when Once mistakenly identified
only: permit needed (see p383). the inscription was made. as a triumphal arch, the
The tomb was probably a so-called Arch of Drusus
Known as a columbarium commercial venture. Niches merely supported the branch
because it resembles a in the interior walls of the aqueduct that supplied the
dovecote (columba is the columbarium were sold to Baths of Caracalla. It was built
Latin word for dove), this people who could not afford in the 3rd century AD, so had
kind of vaulted tomb was to build vaults of their own. no connection with Drusus,
usually built by rich Romans a stepson of the Emperor
to house the cremated Tomb of the Augustus. Its monumental
remains of their freedmen. Scipios w appearance was due to the
Many similar tombs have fact that it carried the aqueduct
been uncovered in this part Via di Porta San Sebastiano 9. across the important route, Via
of Rome, which up until the Appia. The arch still spans the
3rd century AD lay outside Map 9 B4. Tel 06-6710 3819. old cobbled road, just 50 m
the city wall. This one, ex- @ 218, 360, 628. Closed for (160 ft) short of the gateway
cavated in 1831, dates from Porta San Sebastiano.
the 1st century AD. An in- restoration.
scription informs us that it
The Scipios were a family
Mosaic inscription in the of conquering generals.
Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas Southern Italy, Corsica, Algeria,
Spain and Asia Minor all fell
to their victorious Roman
armies. The most famous of
these generals was Publius
Cornelius Scipio Africanus,
who defeated the great
Carthaginian general Hannibal
at the Battle of Zama in 202
BC (see p23). Scipio Africanus
himself was not buried here
in the family tomb, but at
Liternum near Naples, where
he owned a favourite villa.

The Tomb of the Scipios
was discovered in 1780. It

196 ROME AREA BY AREA

Aurelian Wall the Basilica and Catacombs of The high altar of Santa Balbina
and Porta San San Sebastiano, which were
Sebastiano r popular places of pilgrimage. Santa Balbina y

Museo delle Mura, Via di Porta San It was at this gate that the last Piazza di Santa Balbina 8.
triumphal procession to enter
Sebastiano 18. Map 9 B4. the city by the Appian Way Map 8 F3. Tel 06-578 0207.
@ 218, 360. Tel 06-7047 5284. was received in state – that of @ 160. v 3. Q Circo Massimo.
Marcantonio Colonna after the
Open 9am–2pm Tue–Sun. victory of Lepanto over the Open 12.30–1pm Mon–Fri; 10.30–
Turkish fleet in 1571. Today the 11.30am Sat & Sun. 5
Last adm: 30 mins before closing. gate’s towers house a museum
with prints and models Overlooking the Baths of
Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. showing the walls’ history. Caracalla, this isolated church
From here you can take a is dedicated to Santa Balbina,
Adm charge. walk along the restored walls. a 2nd-century virgin martyr. It
The views are spectacular. is one of the oldest in Rome,
Most of the Aurelian Wall, dating back to the fifth
begun by the emperor Pope Paul III Farnese century, and was built on the
Aurelian (AD 270–75) and remains of a Roman villa.
completed by his successor Sangallo Bastion t Consecrated by Pope Gregory
Probus (AD 276–82), has the Great, in the Middle Ages
survived. Aurelian ordered its Viale di Porta Ardeatina. Map 9 A4. Santa Balbina was a fortified
construction as a defence @ 160. Closed for restoration. monastery and over time has
against Germanic tribes, whose changed in appearance sever-
raids were penetrating deeper Haunted by the memory of al times, regaining its Roman-
and deeper into Italy. Some the Sack of Rome in 1527 and esque aspect in the 1920s.
18 km (11 miles) round, with fearing attack by the Turks,
18 gates and 381 towers, the Pope Paul III asked Antonio From the piazza in front of
wall took in all the seven hills da Sangallo the Younger to the church, a staircase leads
of Rome. It was raised to reinforce the Aurelian Wall. up to a three-arched portico.
almost twice its original height Work on the huge projecting Inside, light streams in from a
by Maxentius (AD 306–12). bastion began in 1537. For the series of high windows along
moment its massive bulk can the length of the nave. The
The wall was Rome’s main only be admired from outside. remains of St Balbina and her
defence until 1870, when it father, St Quirinus, are in an
was breached by Italian urn at the high altar, though
artillery just by Porta Pia, close the church’s real treasure is
to today’s British Embassy. situated in the far right hand
Many of the gates are still in corner: the magnificent
use, and although the city has sculpted and inlaid tomb of
spread, most of its noteworthy Cardinal Stefanis de Surdis by
historical and cultural sights Giovanni di Cosma (1303).
still lie within the walls.
Other features worth noting
Porta San Sebastiano, the are a 13th-century episcopal
gate leading to the Via Appia throne and various fragments
Antica (see p284), is the largest of frescoes. These include a
and best-preserved gateway in lovely Madonna and Child,
the Aurelian Wall. It was rebuilt an example of the school of
by Emperor Honorius in the Pietro Cavallini, in the second
5th century AD. Originally the chapel on the left. Fragments
Porta Appia, in Christian times of first-century Roman mosaics
it gradually became known were also discovered in the
as the Porta San Sebastiano, 1930s. Depicting birds and
because the Via Appia led to signs of the zodiac, these are
now set in the church floor.
Fortified gateway of Porta San Sebastiano

CARACALLA 197

Baths of
Caracalla u

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 52.
Map 9 A3. Tel 06-3996 7700. @
160, 628. v 3. Q Circo Massimo.
Open 9am–1hr before sunset Tue–
Sun; 9am–2pm Mon. Closed 1 Jan,
25 Dec. Adm charge. 9 = 7

Completed by Emperor

Caracalla in AD 217, the baths

functioned for about 300

years, until the plumbing was

destroyed by invading Goths. Part of one of the gymnasia in the Baths of Caracalla

Over 1,600 bathers at a time

could enjoy the facilities. A this was followed by a rub- recently, open-air operas

Roman bath was a serious down with scented woollen were staged here – the vocal

business, beginning with a cloth. As well as the baths, exertions of the performers

sort of Turkish bath, followed there were spaces for are now thought to pose

by a spell in the caldarium, exercise, libraries, art galleries a threat to the structure of

a large hot and gardens – a true this ancient monument.

room with leisure centre. Most

pools of water of the rich marble KEY

to provide decorations of the baths Caldarium (very hot)
humidity. were removed by the

Then came Farnese family in the Tepidarium (lukewarm)

the lukewarm 16th century to adorn Frigidarium (cold)
tepidarium, the interior of Palazzo

a visit to the Farnese (see p147). Until Natatio (pool)

large central Fragment of Garden

meeting place, mosaic pavement

known as the

frigidarium, and finally a

plunge into the natatio, Greek and
an open-air swimming Latin libraries

pool. For the rich, Water tanks

Conference and Stadium
meeting rooms

Original Gymnasium
front
entrance Conference and
meeting room
Changing
rooms Storage room for
oils and perfumes
Gymnasia