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Renaissance in Rome
During the Middle Ages, the city
of Rome was abandoned due to the transfer of the papal court to
Avignon, in France. The absence of the pope thus caused an
economic crisis that forced the population to abandon the city.
This, reduced to poverty, soon became a mass of ruins where
herds of sheep and cattle grazed. But after 1418, the year when
Pope Martin V re-established the Papal See in Rome, the city
began to be born again and, at the end of the 15th century, it
returned to being the great capital it had once been.
This itinerary starts with the
Vatican Museums, within which it is possible to visit the
Sistine Chapel, one of the most famous and visited monuments in
the world.
Ordered in the late 15th century
by Pope Sixtus IV, from which it takes its name, the chapel is
the most emblematic example of papal patronage during the
Renaissance. It is decorated with extraordinary frescoes
executed by Perugino, Ghirlandaio, Luca Signorelli, Botticelli
and Cosimo Rosselli, who at the end of the 15th century were the
most famous painters working between Tuscany and Umbria.
Later
the chapel, to be used by both the pope and the congregation,
was adorned with the extraordinary paintings done by
Michelangelo in the 16th century. The great artists - who was
also of Tuscan origin - painted the frescoes of the vault
between 1508 and 1512, and those of the altar wall, with the
extremely famous Last Judgment, between 1534 and 1541.
The
approximately four hundred characters crowding the Judgment
scene are almost all naked, and in some cases persons who were
the artist's contemporaries are portrayed. Minos, with his sides
encircled by a snake biting his testicles, has the features of
Biagio da Cesena, a papal Master of Ceremonies, while in the
skin of St. Sebastian, who was skinned alive, it is possible to
recognize the face of Michelangelo.
The nudes caused a great
scandal at the time and, when Michelangelo was still alive, they
were partly painted over with garments by Daniele da Volterra,
earning him the nickname of "Il Braghettone" (the "breeches
maker"). The restoration work to clean the frescoes of the
Sistine Chapel was completed in 1999 and made it possible to
rediscover the vivid original colours, darkened for so many
years by soot.
VIRTUAL VISIT TO THE SISTINE CHAPEL... >>>
From the Vatican Museums, where it is also possible to see
Raphael's Stanze, painted between 1509 and 1512, and the Borgia
Apartment, frescoed in the late 15th century by Pinturicchio, we
can arrive in St. Peter's Square.
The square is dominated by the
largest church in the world: St. Peter's Basilica. The dome was
designed by Michelangelo, who also designed the plan of the
Renaissance church, rebuilt over the early Christian one as
ordered by papal architect Donato Bramante, who had the ancient
basilica torn down.
For this reason Bramante was nicknamed "Mastro ruinante"
("ruining master"). By Michelangelo there is also the beautiful
Pietá, kept in the first chapel of the right aisle. It is the
only work actually signed by the great artist. It is said that
the sculptor, angry because no one knew who had done the
masterpiece, decided to engrave his name on the band encircling
the Virgin's breast. Michelangelo also engraved his monogram "M"
in the folds of the Virgin's right hand, the one turned towards
the viewer.
From St. Peter's, by crossing the
Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, we can go for lunch at Lilli, a
typical Roman trattoria, at Via Tor di Nona 26 (06 6861916). At
Via del Governo Vecchio 28, on the other hand, is Da Giovanni, a
very popular food store specialised in pizza with various fillings!
Near Piazza Navona is the
beautiful church of Santa Maria della Pace, with a Baroque
fa�ade by Pietro da Cortona. In reality it was built on order
from Sixtus IV, the same pope who had the Sistine Chapel, built,
in the late 15th century.
Inside there are frescoes by Peruzzi and Raphael (the Sibyls).
The cloister is an extraordinary example of Renaissance
architecture, and is the first work completed in Rome by
Bramante.
To plunge completely into the Renaissance atmosphere, it is
sufficient to lose yourself among the alleys of the Parione quarter,
between Piazza del Fico, Via di Parione, Via del Governo Vecchio,
Via di Monte Giordano and Via dei Coronari, famous for its
antique shops. Looking at the façades of the buildings is a real
pleasure, often compounded by the amazement over the unexpected
discovery of a lovely courtyard.
The areas around Via della Pace, Piazza del Fico and Via del
Governo Vecchio come alive, in the late afternoon through to
late at night, with crowds of people that make the quarter one
of the city's liveliest. For eating or drinking there is a vast
selection to choose from, although for a "Roman" style pizza we
recommend Baffetto on Via del Governo Vecchio and Il corallo on
the street of the same name. Also delightful is the restaurant
Ciccia bomba at Via del Governo Vecchio 76 (06 68802108).
In Piazza Pasquino Piazza
Pasquino there is the statue of Pasquino, the most famous
"talking statue" in Rome.
For centuries the torso of the
ancient statue has been used to post satirical writings, the
so-called "pasquinades", written by anonymous citizens or famous
poets such as Pietro Aretino and Gianbattista Marino.
There were at least six talking
statues. Those that are still known are Madama Lucrezia in
Piazza San Marco; Marforio in the courtyard of Palazzo Nuovo at
the Capitol; the Facchino (the Porter) on Via Lata, Abbot Luigi
in Piazza Vidoni, and the Baboon on Via del Babuino.
Crossing Corso Vittorio Emanuele,
we arrive at the Regola quarter, where other Renaissance streets
open out. Via di Monserrato, which takes its name from the
Spanish sanctuary of Montserrat, was called in olden times Via
di Corte Savella, after the prisons and tribunals under the
jurisdiction of the Savelli family. Along the street, there are
many buildings erected between the 15th and 16th centuries,
including the House of Pietro Paolo della Zecca, Palazzo
Incoronati (n. 152), Palazzo Ricci (n. 25) and the one at n.
117.
Used in the Renaissance by
prostitutes, the building was restored in 1870 by the owner who,
criticised for having wanted to modernise the fa�ade too much,
had the architrave engraved with the phrase "Trahit sua quemque
voluptas" (Everyone is moved by his own pleasure), thus
intending to claim his right to act freely. Via del Pellegrino
is a section of the straight medieval street that connected the
zone of the Porticus of Octavia with the Ponte Sant'Angelo.
Reorganised in the 15th century
by Popes Sixtus IV and AlexanderVI, the street still has several
fa�ades of buildings painted in the 16th century (nos. 64-66).
At no. 58 lived Vannozza Cattanei, the lover of Cardinal Rodrigo
Borgia, later pope Alexander VI, from whom were born Lucretia
and Cesare, called Valentino. At the end of the street, towards
Campo de' Fiori, on the right there opens a closed alley leading
into a very picturesque courtyard, the "Archetto degli Acetari",
shown in numerous paintings and prints.
At Via Monserrato 107 we find Hollywood, a store specialised in
videocassettes of quality films, with an extraordinary quantity
of cassettes to rent or buy. And on Via del Pellegrino the
Libreria del viaggiatore is the most well-supplied bookshop
specialised in travel books in Rome.
Among the largest and most important palaces of the quarter are,
in Piazza della Cancelleria the beautiful Palazzo della
Cancelleria, built in the 15th century by Cardinal Raffaele Riario.
The titular of the church of San
Lorenzo in Damaso and nephew of the late Pope Sixtus IV, Riario
built his palace with money won in a dice game against
Franceschetto Cybo, son of Pope Innocent VIII. The building,
extraordinarily imposing for being the residence of a cardinal,
was built on the basis of a design by an unknown architect.
Today the plan is attributed to Andrea Bregno, probably helped
by Donato Bramante, who conceived the elegant courtyard (see
Itinerary 17).
Campo de' Fiori is certainly one of the most characteristic
squares in Rome, with its open-air market and the statue of
Giordano Bruno in the centre. The Dominican philosopher was
burned at the stake in Campo de' Fiori on 17 February 1600
because he was judged a heretic (he supported the heliocentric
theory of Copernicus and Galileo, who were his friends). The
statue was executed by Ettore Ferrari in 1887.
At no. 22 of the square, there is a baker's shop that is worth a
stop. Its pizza, just out of the oven, is one of the best in
Rome. In the evening Campo de' Fiori becomes a meeting place,
especially for young people who go to the Vineria and the little
restaurants of the zone. For lovers of Roman cooking, we point
out Carbonara (06 6864783) and the Hosteria romanesca (06
6864024), which serves an excellent "amatriciana".
The most famous street of the quarter is undoubtedly Via Giulia
which can be reached by crossing Piazza Farnese. The palace
which has given the name to this great open-air drawing-room is
the Palazzo Farnese, built by Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane for
Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who became pope in 1534 with the
name of Paul III (see Itinerary 17).
Finished by Michelangelo, who did
the central window, the cornice and the third floor of the
court, since 1871 the building has been the seat of the French
Embassy. If the French so permit, it can be visited by
reservation, calling 06 686011. Entry into the palace is a true
privilege considering that, up to a short time ago, the
ambassadors did not appreciate visits. Inside the building are
the Galleria dei Carracci and the Sala dei Fasti Farnesiani,
frescoed by Salviati.
Nicknamed "il Dado" (the Die) because of its shape, the palace
has recently been restored. The cleaning of the façade brought
out the original polychromy of the losenge-shaped bricks
decorating the surface.
Via Giulia takes its name from
Pope Julius II, who had it opened, after a plan by Bramante, in
the early 1500s, in order to establish the seats of the palaces
of power there.
However, the ambitious project was never carried through, even
if work was begun on the construction of the tribunal of which
it is still possible to see today, between Via del Cefalo and
Via del Gonfalone, several large marble blocks, nicknamed by the
Romans "the sofas of di Via Giulia", which formed the base of
the fa�ade. On via Giulia is the Cavalcavia dei Farnese, a large
arch which creates a romantic view of the street.
It was constructed in 1603 to
unite, by crossing the road, Palazzo Farnese with other
buildings across from it. This part of the street was the side
of several Roman festivals, including the "palio de barberi e
cavalli" (competition of barbarians and horses) in 1638.
To cross the Tiber we go over the
Ponte Sisto, the origins of which date from the 2nd century A.D.
The present-day bridge, which
until 1999 underwent a major restructuring and reinforcement
operation, was erected in the second half of the 16th century,
over the foundations of the ancient one, by Pope Sixtus IV della
Rovere, from whom it took its name. On the occasion of the
Jubilee of 1475, the bridge was to connect the two banks of the
river, allowing the Trastevere quarter to be directly connected
with the rest of the city.
In Trastevere, from Piazza Trilussa,
we arrive on Via della Lungara passing underneath the Porta
Settimiana.
Constructed, in the 3rd century,
as an arch honoring the emperor Septimus Severus, the gate was
later incorporated into Aurelian's wall and enlarged in the 15th
century. It owes its present appearance to Pope Pius VI.
At Via Santa Dorotea 19 it is
believed that Fornarina, Raphael's lover, loved. The woman, also
immortalized in the famous painting kept in the Galleria
Nazionale d'Arte Antica of Palazzo Barberini, supposedly also
lived in another house at Via del Governo Vecchio 48, as
remembered by the inscription in the lobby. At Via di Porta
Settimiana 8 there is Romolo (06 5818284), one of the most
characteristic restaurants in Trastevere. With its internal
garden, it was Trilussa's favorite eating place.
The Renaissance itinerary can
only end with Villa Chigi, known as La Farnesina, at Via della Lungara 230.
Courtesy of romaturismo.com Azienda Promozione Turistica Comune di Roma
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