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| | | | MONUMENTS IN ROME How to reach the most important monuments of Rome | | | | Colosseum | The Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Colosseum, is probably the most famous monument in the world: this elliptical colossal construction, with a height of 48mt, has impressed and fascinated men of all Ages. It was with no doubt the most favourite place by the Romans, who came to prefer above all other entertainment the slaughter of men armed to kill and be killed for their amusement. The amphitheatre consisted of four floors. The first floor was 11,50mt high adorned by halfcolumns of the Doric order . The second floor, in the Ionic order, was 11,85mt high. The third floor, in the Corintian order, was 11,60 mt high. The fourth floor consisted of a plain wall with projecting corbels which supported the bases of the masts to which on days of strong sun were attached the strips of giant awning which sheltered the spectators. Staircases and galleries led the crowd to the different tiers of seats.
Underground Line B: stop - Colosseo
Bus: 3 - 60 - 75 - 85 - 87 - 117 - 175 - 186 - 271 - 571 - 673 - 810 - 850 | | | Spanish Square - Trinità dei Monti | In the middle of the square rises the obelisk point of convergence of different roads. Roman imitation of the Egyptian obelisks, it dates back to the Imperial age, it came from the Gardens of Sallustio, but it was put here as element of link between the church and the stairway. The hieroglyphs were carved in Rome imitating those of the obelisk of Piazza del Popolo. At the corner formed by the convergence of Sistina Street and Gregorian Street stands Palazzetto Zuccari, planned by Federico Zuccari and known with the appellative of "house of the monsters" because the windows on the sides are modelled on mouths of monsters. Here lived the queen of Poland Maria Sobiesky.Proscenium to the church is the monumental stairway of the church Trinità dei Monti planned in 1726 by Francesco De Sanctis and realized completely in travertine marble. He chose as reference and for inspiration the number three, in honour of the church of the Trinity, De Sanctis created a flight of steps divided in three parts which unite and then converge immediately in two opposite directions in an alternation of convexity and concavity of the walls, of the staircases and of its squares. Since1951 in April andMay a great exhibition of azaleas gives to the stairway a particular fascination
Underground Line A: stop - Piazza di Spagna
Bus: 117 - 119 | | | St.Peters Church | The Basilica of St. Peter is in the heart of the Vatican City, an independent sovereign state on the right bank of the Tiber river, in the centre of Rome.
The Vatican State is the smallest State in the world, and what remains of temporal dominions of the Church, which were annexed to Italy at the end of 1800's with the unification of the country.
The Basilica as we see it today, with its ribbed dome stands impressively in its square which seems to welcome all the pilgrims of the world in the embrace of the Mother Church. It was designed by the most famous architects and geniuses of the Renaissance and Baroque time.
The Basilica stands on the foundations of the Constantinian basilica, that stood for over a thousand years on a sacred area of Pagan-Christians mausoleums. St. Peter's Square with its famous colonnade which represents one of the most brilliant ideas of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is 320 meters wide with a central ellipsis of 240 meters and is surrounded by 4 rows of 284 columns and 88 pilasters. The balustrade above the columns is decorated with 140 statues of Saints. Below, a huge stairway of three flights flanked by the statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. In the center of the square there are two great fountains and an obelisk.
The façade of the Basilica -14.69 mt. wide and 47.3 mt. high - is made of travertine of Tivoli. It features a unique structure of Corinthian columns and frames a broad central portico with two arcades on either side (the one on the left leads to the City of the Vatican); above, nine balconies with windows (the central one is the loggia of the blessings) and a canonical attic surmounted by the balustrade that supports thirteen statues. Five bronze doors lead inside. In the middle of the church dominate the magnificent "dome" by Michelangelo and the smaller domes of the Gregorian and Clementine chapels.
Inside, the Basilica is 186 m long (218.7 with the portico, or front hall), the main nave is 46 m in height and the height of the dome is 119 m. Under the dome is the papal altar, with the famous canopy by Bernini rising over it. The sumptuousness of the interior is breathtaking: 45 altars, 11 chapels, around 10 thousand square metres of mosaics and many other masterpieces, such as the “Pietà” by Michelangelo.
The tombs of several popes can befound under St. Peters Church.
Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, wanted the building of the Basilica in 315 AD exactly on the site where the tomb of Christ's first Apostle was worshipped.
Underground Line A: stop - Ottaviano - S.Pietro
Bus: 23 - 19 - 32 - 49 - 70 - 81 - 271 - 490 - 492 - 913 - 982 - 990 - 991 - 999 | | | Trevi Fountaine | The fountain was designed to show off the acqueduct of the Acqua Vergine built by Marco Vipsiano Agrippa in 19 b.C. to supply water to the thermal baths which he built close to the Pantheon. The water was named Vergin after the legend telling of a young girl who showed the original spring to a group of thirsty Roman soldiers. The first fountain to take the waters of the Acqua Vergine was built in 1453 for pope Nicholas V, designed by Giovan Battista Alberti in the spot called "of the Trejo" and through the years it took the name of Trevi. The fountain marked an important turn point for the town which for centuries had to use water taken from the Tiber river. Three centuries later pope Clement XII decided to substitute the old fountain and instigated a competition amongst the best sculptors of his time to come up with something better. His aim was that to supply Rome with as much drinking water as possible and at the same time to give to the city a grandiose work of art. Among the sketches was chosen that of the Roman Nicolò Salvi.
The construction of the fountain lasted 23 years and it forms the east wing of the Poli Palace. It was modelled on the ancient arch of triumph crowned by the coat of arms of Clement XII. The figure of Ocean (Neptune) dominates proceeding, supported by tritons to either side; the one on the left struggling to control his horse represents a stormy sea, his partner on the right, blowing into a counch shell, symbolises the ocean in repose. The statues in niches either side of Neptune are allegories of Health and Abundance, overseen by figures on the pediment who represent the four seasons. The relief on the fountain to the right of Oceanus illustrates the story of the Vergin which shows the spring to the Roman soldiers. On the other side Agrippa shows his project to the emperor. Into the basin, which represents the sea, tourists throw a coin to ensure their return to Rome. Another romantic rite is linked to the small fountain to the left side, called "small fountain of the lovers". According to the legend the couples who drink at its water will be faithful for ever.
Underground Line A: stop - Barberini
Bus: 152 - 53 - 61 - 62 - 63 - 80 - 95 - 116 - 119 - 175 - 492 - 630 | | | Navona Square | The history of the square goes back to Ancient Rome. In this area rose the large Circus of the Emperor Domitian. As a matter of fact the vast elliptical shape of the square matches exactly the outlines of the circus. Here were carried out mock sea battles, grandiose public shows, games etc. In the following centuries, although the complex fell into ruins, the site was still a favourite spot by the Romans.
In the Middle Ages several festivals took place in this square, it was used for jousting, horse-racing, and water festivals. During the latter, which often took place in the stifling dog-days of August, the piazza was flooded and Rome's aristocracy had their gilded carriages pulled around the artificial lake, while throwing money on every hand in order to increase popular gayety.
These days, December still sees the great Christmas' market, a means by which the square's old festive is kept alive. The square, with its fountains, the church of S.Agnese, Palazzo Pamphilj and the buildings that surround it, was already constructed between the 1600's and 1700's. Since then nearly nothing has been changed and this is the secret that characterizes the square. Pope Innocent X began to arrange the public square, till that moment dirty and neglected, with the reconstruction of Palazzo Pamphilj commissioned to Girolamo Rainaldi. The grandiose palace with its simple mass gave immediately a distinguished look to the square, to which were added later other constructions. The interiors are noteworthy for the decorations of the hall with frescoes by Pietro da Cortona, famous artist from Florence. The Pope commissioned also the church of S. Agnese, on the place where the saint endured the martyrdom. In the Middle Ages a church had been already built on the walls of the Circus. The ruins of which are still visible under the new church. The church was designed by Borromini (1645-50). The artist was particularly criticized and mocked for the baroque concave and convex lines of the façade, for the lightness of the campaniles and the cupola, and for the completely new conception of the whole building. The most pitiless of his critics was his eternal rival Bernini. The artist, sensible and weak, suffered so much from the never ending critics who committed suicide. The interior of the church is by Carlo Rainaldi, richly decorated in conformity with the baroque spirit. Pope Innocent X was buried here. Once completed the square, the Pope continued to embellish it with the construction of two fountains. One of these, masterpiece by Bernini, is the central Fountain of the Rivers (Fontana dei Fiumi). On the group of rocks sit the giants symbolizing the rivers of the four Continents: the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube and the River of the Plata. On top of it raises the obelisk dating from Domitian's reign. The other fountain in front of Palazzo Pamphilj, is the Fountain of the Moor. The third Fountain, to the other side of the square is a recent work of the XIXcent.
Today the square is surrounded by characteristic coffees and wine-bars, in the center of the square the painters expose their works, and the Romans, adults and kids, come to take a walk creating an indissoluble harmony between art, history and true life.
Bus: 30 - 40 - 46 - 62 - 64 - 70 - 81 - 87 - 116 - 492 - 571 - 628 - 916 | | | Venice Square - Altare della Patria - Campidoglio | In the past it was more simple, divided into two squares by a smaller palace, Palazzetto Venezia. The square in front of Palazzo Venezia linked the Via Papalis, from the Vatican to the Lateran, to the Via Lata, which led to the centre of the city from Porta Flaminia (Flaminian Gate). On the square, where the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni stands today, faced Michelangelo's workshop. The decision to built on the flanks of the Capitoline hill the monument to Victor Emanuel II caused the destruction of the papal square in order to give life to a new political-moral centre of the new country. The modern aspect of the square, after a process of demolition and reconstruction, reflects the ideology of grandeur and the wish to create the myth of the Third Rome on the ruins of the imperial and papal ones. On the other side of Palazzo Venezia was built the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali in imitation of the most famous palace. Situated at the beginnig of the Via del Corso is the Palazzo Bonaparte. It dates to 1660 and takes its name from Napoleon's mother, who after the fall of the Emperor lived here till her death in 1836. The roof-loggia is perfectly preserved and remind us of those days in which that old lady could observe the passerby without being seen. On Christmans in the middle of the square rises a colourful Christmas tree which is a pendant to the one in St.Peter square and which gives a special flavor to the already splendid flowered lawn.
Bus: 30 - 40 - 44 - 62 - 64 - 70 - 81 - 87 - 95 - 117 - 119 - 715 - 716 - 63M - 492 - 571 - 630 - 916 - 11 | | | Castle S.Angelo | The construction of the mausoleum was completed after the death of Hadrian (138 A. D.), in 139 A. D., by Antoninus Pius: immediately after his death Hadrian was buried in another place at Pozzuoli (near Naples). The edifice had a base in brick with a side of 89 mt and 15 mt high, which supported the tomb, a circular structure 64mt in diameter and 21mt high. The exterior was completely covered by veneer marble. Today's entrance which substitutes the original one is about 3mt higher. From there a square room (vestibulum) with a niche which contained the huge statue of Hadrian. To the right of this room begins a shallow spiral ramp which links the building 's levels leading first to Hadrian's funerary chamber 10mt higher than the vestibulum. Much of this is in a fine state of preservation and includes patches of its original black and white mosaic decoration. The mausoleum was used as the resting place of emperors until the death of Settimio Severo at the beginning of the 3rd century. On top of the drum was a soil tumulus and crowning this was a gilded chariot driven by a vast statue of Hadrian. In the V century the mausoleum was incorporated by Honorius into the Aurelian Walls. Since then the mausoleum took the name of Castellum (castle). In 537 A.D. during the invasions of the Goths led by Vitige it became one of the strongest fortress and even the many statues which decorated the monument were used as weapons against the enemy! Around the 10th century it was transformed into a castle and residence: fortified by Crescenzio, member of the family of Alberico, it took the name of castrum Crescentii. Teodorico transformed it into a prison (Carceres Theodorici) and it kept this function even under the papal and then the Italian government, until 1901. The statue of the angel, after which the castle is named was put on the top of it after a vision by pope Gregory the Great, who whilst leading a procession through Rome to pray for the end of a plague saw an angel sheating a sword, an act thought to symbolize the end of the pestilence. Beside the statue of the angel is the Bell of the Misericordia (mercy), which announced the capital executions. The bronze statue of the angel crowning the battlements today was made by Pietro van Verschaffelt: it is the sixth of a series. The first in wood was substituted by consuption, the second one in marble fell down and broke into pieces, the fourth, in bronze, was melted for the cannons used in 1527, during the sack of Rome, the fifth, in marble with wooden wings, is today housed in the courtyard of the balls (so named after the cannonballs of different sizes here on display). The sixth one was painted by the French army with the colours of France during the invasion in 1798. In the Capitoline Museums is also on display a stone upon which it is possible to see the foot print of the Angel when he stopped to announce the end of the plague. In 1277 the castle was linked with the Vatican by way of a covered passage known as the "passetto". The prisons were terrible, accounts survive of the tortures inflicted in its dungeons, and of the famous prisoners such as Benvenuto Cellini, incarcerated in its notorious San Marocco Cell. He tried to escape but in vain and when closed in the underground cells he painted a Christ on the wall of which we still have some remains. In the funeray chamber of the emperors took refuge Cola di Rienzo in 1347 and pope Clement VII during the sack. Under Leo X and Pius IV representations were staged here and till the first years of last century the Girandola, a firework created by Michelangelo himself was lit up here. Today the castle houses a museum and its rooms are splendidly decorated
Bus: 23 - 34 - 40 - 62 - 64 - 271 - 280 - 982 | | | Pantheon | In 27 b.C., Agrippa, son-in-law and architect of Augustus, erected the Pantheon on the site where Romolus according to the legend ascended to Heaven during a ceremony. It was a common temple rectangular in shape, medium size, conceived as a place of worship for various divinities. Through the years the temple suffered fires and other disasters, it was restaured several times till the final reconstruction by the emperor-architect Hadrian between 118 and 128 A.D.. The pronaos with its sixteen columns, the enlargement of the rotunda and the dome, the largest existing one built in brickwork up to our time, are for sure by Hadrian. Hadrian himself wishing to commemorate Agrippa replaced word for word on the temple's façade Agrippa's original inscription: "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the tird time, built". In 608 the emperor Foca handed it over to Pope Boniface IV who consacreted it as catholic church: Sancta Maria ad Martyres, masterpiece of the Roman architecture and first example of pagan temple transformed into catholic church. The temple stood originally on a base having a high staircase surrounded by a colonnaded portico on a lower level than the modern one. Originally the dome was externally covered by gilt bronze tiles stolen in 663 by the Emperor of East Constant II and later substituted by a lead covering in 735. The same happened to the bronze covering of the porticoes which was removed by the pope Urban VII and used for the casting of cannons and for the baldachin of St.Peter. Not many things were added to the original architecture: the church decorations, the tombs of great artists (Raphael) and those of the Kings of Italy. Bernini added two ugly bell towers called "asses'ears" demolished at the end of the 1800's. Inside the Pantheon there are also honorary busts which Pius VII had removed and transported to the Capitole, inside the Gallery (collection of busts of illustrious men) Nowadays the lack of coverings reveals the original brickwork structure with weight and thrust which support the ring. The pronaos hides the cupola from sights till the entrance in the space determined by a sphere which can be inscribed in a cylinder, finished and unfinished together. The floor is covered with polychromatic marbles so as the walls which support the huge cupola culminating in the great eye at the summit, 9mt wide, which illuminated the whole interior and served for the smoke of the sacrifices . The axes of the building contemplates a small divertion from the traditional north-south direction: every year on the 21st June at 12,00am, summer equinoce, the sun through the eye invests the visitors entering from the main door.
Bus: 116 |
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