FOUR HOLY CROWNED ONES

SS. QUATTRO CORONATI
Via Ss. Quattro Coronati 20

Fourth century, reusing a hall with apse maybe belonging to the ancient Titulus Aemilianae perhaps from the name of the lady who used to own the house

The archaeological remains are very heterogeneous and there is a rich stratigraphy difficult to interpret
Maybe it was part of CAELIOLUS with the TEMPLE OF MINERVA CAPTA and the QUERQUETULANA GATE

Mentioned in the sources for the first time on the year 595

Enlarged in about 630 for Honorius I (625/638) who commissioned the Chapel of St. Barbara, the semicircular crypt, the portico and the bell tower

Converted into a basilica in about 850 by Leo IV (847/855)
For the foundations were used blocks of tufa stone taken from the Servian Walls

It was damaged by a destructive fire caused by the Normans in 1084

It was rebuilt smaller in the years 1111/16 for Pascal II (1099/1118), with a second internal courtyard

At the end of 1100s/beginning of 1200s monastery and cloister were added

Between 1244 and 1251 the building was used as a residence by the Cardinal Rainaldo Conti di Ienne, the future Pope Alexander IV (1254/61), who had here a wealthy PALATIUM (palace) definitely connected with the nearby Lateran Patriarchate

Only the TORRE MAGGIORE (Major Tower) and the adjoining TORRE DI S. SILVESTRO (tower of St. Silvester) are left of the Palace of Alexander VI
Soon after, the building was chosen as the home of some senators of Rome and it housed cardinals and politicians

Renewal of the sanctuary and crypt 1621/27

Restoration 1912/16 by Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960)

In the west side of the building live some nuns of the order of the Augustinians, in the east side live the so called Little Sisters of the Lamb

The church is dedicated to the four soldiers Severo, Severiano, Carpoforo and Vittorino martyred for not worshiping the statue of Aesculapius and whose bodies were buried in secret by their friend St. Sebastian
The church is dedicated also to four Dalmatians sculptors (to whom was later added a fifth martyr) of the Pannonia quarries, killed on the same day by the order of Diocletian (284/305) drowned in metal cases for having refused to carve the statue of Aesculapius
The cult of the two groups of martyrs was joined together by Pope Miltiades (311/314)

The TOWER WITH FOUR-LIGHT WINDOWS dates back to the ninth century
It was first used for defensive purposes, then as a bell tower
It is the oldest tower of Rome and it is a unique typology, inspired by models from across the Alps

In the PORTICO OF THE FIRST COURTYARD faded frescoes 1632 maybe of the school of Livio Agresti (about 1508/79) or of the school of G.B. Naldini (about 1537/91)

INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH

WOODEN CEILING
1580 for Cardinal Enrico from Portugal

COSMATESQUE FLOOR
One of the earliest examples of this technique in Rome

WALLS OF THE NAVE AND OF THE COUNTER FAÇADE
Frescoes with gaps representing “Stories of Saints” end of 1200s/beginning of 1300s

RIGHT NAVE - ALTAR OF THE HOLY SACRAMENT
“Adoration of the Shepherds” end of the 1500s, maybe by an anonymous artis of the school of Federico Zuccari

APSE
Closed by a gate and used by the cloistered Augustinian nuns to sing
On the right seventeenth-century organ with ivory keys and doors painted with “Musical Scenes”
Frescoes in the lower order “Seven scenes of the saints sculptors from Pannonian”, in the higher order “Four scenes of the saints soldiers”, in the apse “Paradise with the glory of all the saints” (known as “chorus of the women angels” for adolescent effeminate appearance of the angels) 1623 by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni (1592/1636) helped by the plasterer Francesco Solario from Chiaronno

“Not even the Roman experience freed him from the ways of expression and from the provincialism of the Florentines of his own period. Although his light touch, bright colors and the looseness and panache of his production make him one of the most attractive Florentine painters of the 1600s, the character of his art is dated” (Rudolf Wittkower)

CRYPT
Cell with “Four ancient tombs” (one in red porphyry, another in green porphyry) with the relics of the saints
Frescoes in the vault “God the Father” and “Sts. Four Crowned” by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni

AT THE END OF THE COLUMNS, ON THE LEFT
“Ciborium” of the end of the fifteenth century maybe by Andrea Bregno (1418/1503) or Luigi Capponi (active end 1400s/beginning of 1500s)

LEFT NAVE - ALTAR OF St. SEBASTIAN
Featuring a fenestella confessionis where the reliquary with the head of St. Sebastian used to be kept. Now it is in the Museo Sacro Vaticano
“St. Sebastian Tended by Irene and Lucina” by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643)

FURTHER ON IN THE NAVE
“Annunciation” by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni

SACRISTY
“Aedicula in marble with winged griffins facing each other” about 1500

CLOISTER
About 1116 maybe by Pietro de Maria, one of the oldest in Rome, perhaps the first ever built
“Fountain made of two overlapping medieval pools” assembled by Antonio Muñoz in 1917
It probably dates to the late eleventh century and it could therefore be regarded as the oldest fountain in Rome

Adjacent to the cloister there is the CHAPEL OF St. BARBARA with traces of thirteenth-century paintings

In the second external courtyard RECEPTION OF THE NUNS with “Liturgical Calendar of the thirteenth ceentury”

FIRST FLOOR OF THE MONASTERY
Extraordinary GOTHIC CHAPEL with frescoes of the thirteenth century discovered in 1996 attributed to the Third Master of Anagni, the painter of the frescoes in the crypt of the Cathedral of Anagni, one of the most important and admired medieval pictorial cycles in Italy

“At the time of presentation of the frescoes to the scholars the Hall was called 'The Sistine Chapel of the thirteenth century'. Beyond the excellent quality of the frescoes, the historical importance of this series of paintings is such as to oblige scholars and historians to rewrite entire pages of art history. The press throughout Europe has spoken enthusiastically of this finding. (...) The Gothic Chamber, however, is in a monastery of cloistered nuns who can not have contact with any outside person. To open the hall to the public was thus necessary the construction of a secondary access door. In December 2006, the then Minister Francesco Rutelli announced the end of the restoration work, postponing the opening to the public in March 2009. To this day (May 2013) the works necessary for the construction of the door have not yet begun. From a research of the Rome daily Il Tempo has emerged that the responsibility of the work is of the APSA (Administration o the Apostolic Heritage), an organ of the Vatican from which the newspaper has received no answer. And so the Gothic Hallis likely to remain closed. All blocked. For a small door” (From the blog riprendiamociroma.blogspot.it)

Oratorio di S. Silvestro 

Oratory of St. Sylvester

Frescoed in 1247 by one or more masters of Byzantine influence, Venetian, perhaps, for Cardinal Rainaldo Conti di Ienne future Pope Alexander IV (1254/61), who consacrated it on that same year

In the counter façade
“Christ between the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, and two angels”

On the side walls
“STORIES OF CONSTANTINE”
“Recognition of the true cross among the three crosses found by St. Helena on Golgotha”
“S. Silvestro resurrects a bull” who had been killed by a rabbi
With this miracle St. Sylvester (314/335) succeeded in converting both Helena and the rabbi and the bull became his iconographic attribute
“Defeat of a huge dragon settled in a cave of the Roman Forum” (almost completely gone) persistent symbol of paganism in Rome
“Constantine leper reassures mothers who ask mercy for their children” having had from the pagan doctors the advice to immerse himself in the blood of three hundred children
“Sts. Peter and Paul appear in a dream to Constantine”
“The imperial envoys go on the Soratte Mountain to look for St. Sylvester”
“St. Sylvester baptizes Constantine”
“Constantine cured of leprosy hands the tiara to St. Sylvester”
“Constantine receives St. Sylvester in Rome”

These paintings reflect the contrasts between Pope Innocent IV dei Conti di Lavagna (1243/54) and the Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen
Here the anti-imperial and theocratic ideology of the church is glorified with a flat but decoratively rich style. It is an original reprocessing of influences coming perhaps from the mosaics of Monreale or from the frescoes in the crypt of the Cathedral of Anagni

Rectangular apse:
Frescoes on the right “Deposition of the four saints sculptors in the coffers before being thrown into the river”
On the left “Flagellation of the four holy soldiers”
On the back wall “Crucifixion” and, in the upper part, “Annunciation”
In the pendentives “Four Saints”

In the vault “Four angels and four Evangelists” 1570 all works maybe by Raffaellino Motta aka Raffaellino da Reggio (1550/78)
On the frieze two marble funnels voice-carriers to allow to listen to the songs and ceremonies in the Gothic Hall on the floor above

St. GEORGE IN VELABRO

S. GIORGIO IN VELABRO

Via del Velabro 19

It was a diaconia in the fifth/sixth century

A diaconia was an establishment for the care of the poor and distribution of the church's charity in the Middle Ages

The Liber Pontificalis mentions the church as founded by Leo II (682/684) with a dedication to St. Sebastian

Rebuilt under Pope Gregory IV (827/844)

Renovated in porch and other areas in the late twelfth/early thirteenth century, same period when the bell tower was built

The GATE dates back to 1665

In 1923/26 Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960) deleted the Baroque additions

On the night between 27 and 28 July 1993 a terrorist attack destroyed the porch with about 100 kg (220 pounds) of explosives

On the same night another explosion damaged the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Twenty-two people in total were injured. These attacks were seen as a warning to the Pope who just earlier had spoken in Sicily against the mafia

Sixteen ancient columns all different of Luni marble, pavonazzetto marble from Turkey and gray granite

APSE

Frescoes “Jesus, Virgin Mary, Sts. Peter, George and Sebastian” maybe by Pietro de' Cerroni aka Pietro Cavallini (about 1240/about 1325) with restorations of the sixteenth century

MAIN ALTAR

Seventh century

MUNICIPAL ROSE GARDEN

ROSETO COMUNALE

Via di Valle Murcia

Area arranged in 1950 by Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960)

Since 1645 here was the old Jewish cemetery in Rome that was moved in 1935 to the Verano Cemetery

The first Municipal Rose Garden was created in 1932 on the Oppian Hill at the behest of the Countess Mary Gailey Senni, an American lady who had married an Italian count

There are about 1,100 different species of roses from all over the world, from China and Mongolia, with curiosity as the rose petals green, the rose that changes color or the stinking rose

The paths dividing the areas of the collections form the design of the menorah, the Jewish candelabrum

CAPITOLINE HILL SQUARE

PIAZZA DEL CAMPIDOGLIO

Piazza del Campidoglio

Designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475/1564) and completed for the most part only after his death

“The new layout of the square was founded on three basic principles: alignment, symmetry and convergence, which combined to give the Capitoline new square a coherent unit both architectural and spatial. Michelangelo aimed to achieve a unified whole, extending the unprecedented solution of the giant order with Corinthian pilasters to the façades of all three buildings, characterized by a common horizontal emphasis, for the use of massive cornices and architraves structures” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

RAMP

Modified 1578 by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602) and shortened in 1929 for the opening of the Via del Mare

Original “Egyptian Lions” in black basalt of Numidia from the Iseo Campensis transformed into fountains in 1588 on the 1582 “Bases” by Giacomo Della Porta

During special celebrations, such as those after the election of a pope, white and red wine flowed from the mouths of the lions

GARDEN AT THE SIDES OF THE RAMP

On the left “Monument to Cola di Rienzo” in 1887 with a statue that the Florentine Girolamo Masini (1840/85) had carved in the years 1869/71. It is placed on a base composed of fragments of sculptures and various epigraphs designed by architect Francesco Azzurri (1831/1901)

Cola di Rienzo was maybe killed here or, more likely, in front of the Senatorial Palace in 1354

To the right there are rocks that were part of the Republican Walls

BALUSTRADE

Modified 1585 by Giacomo Della Porta

“Dioscuri” of late imperial age from the area of Monte Cenci where there was a temple dedicated to them. They were moved here in 1585

So-called “Trophies of Marius (159/86 BC)” which actually dates back to the Domitian (81/96) period from the castle of the Aqua Iulia in Piazza Vittorio. They were moved here in 1590

“Statues of Constantine (306/337) and of his son Constans II (337/350)” from the Baths of Constantine. They were moved here in 1653

“Two milestones (1^st and 7^th miles) from the old Appian Way”

IN THE CENTER OF THE PIAZZA

Copy of the “Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius” from the Lateran (the original is in the Capitoline Museums) moved here in 1538 on “Pedestal” by Michelangelo Buonarroti who used marble taken from the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Roman Forum

It was one of the few things made during the artist's lifetime together with the “Access door to the Council Chamber” and the “Two ramps staircase” 1547/54 of the Senatorial Palace, even if the project also included a pillared canopy that was never made

IN THE NICHE

“Fountain of Goddess Rome” 1588/89 by Matteo Bartolani da Città di Castello (about 1527/about 1598) with “Porphyry and marble statue of Minerva” of the Domitian period transformed into goddess Roma

Matteo Bartolani had won the competition for the job although he had previously failed as an architect with the Felice Aqueduct and the fallen Bridge St. Maria, today's “Broken Bridge”

AT THE SIDES OF THE NICHE

“Two statues representing the Tiber (originally Tigris) and the Nile Rivers” from the Baths of Constantine but originally in the corners of the pediment of the Temple of Serapis moved here in 1518. They are hollow inside in order to be lighter

PATTERN OF THE PAVEMENT

Designed in 1940 by Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960) who followed roughly Michelangelo's design according to a posthumous engraving of 1567

The square is represented on the Italian coinage of the 50 euro cents coin

On 20 April 1979, a high potential bomb exploded in Piazza del Campidoglio causing serious damage. The attack did not cause a massacre only for a chance

An hour before the outbreak of the bomb, in fact, a session of the municipal council had just finished, while the square, usually crowded with tourists, was empty due to a storm

The bomb, consisting of four pounds of TNT and placed under the portal of the Palace of Senators, at the time of the explosion tore the portal, the arch and the columns on the left, damaging also the base of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius and the statue itself

Those responsible for the attack were never identified with certainty

BRASCHI PALACE - MUSEUM OF ROME (second part)

MUSEO DI ROMA

Founded in 1830 by the will of Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960) in the Pantanella Palace in Piazza Bocca della Verità and moved here in 1952

In 1990 the property was transferred from the Italian government to the municipality of Rome

It was closed from 1987 until 2002, when it was partially reopened. The new exhibit is currently being completed

The works of painting, sculpture and applied arts have primarily an iconographic and documentary relevance regarding the topography and the history of Rome

It houses, especially in the storage rooms, about 40,000 works including: about 800 paintings by artists working in Rome in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, about 1,700 paintings by artists of the nineteenth and twentieth century and about 1,100 sculptures from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century

In the entrance sculptures by Francesco Mochi (1580/1654):

“St. John the Baptist baptizing Jesus” 1633/44 originally sculpted for the church S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini, but never put in place. It then ended up in front of the Milvian Bridge, where there are copies since 1980

“St. Peter” and “St. Paul” 1635/38 for St. Paul outside the Walls. After having been rejected, they were placed in the Porta del Popolo, where there are now copies

STAIRCASE

1804 designed by Cosimo Morelli but maybe completed by Giuseppe Valadier with “Eighteen columns of Oriental granite” from the Portico of Caligula in the area of the Ospedale S. Spirito (Hospital of the Holy Spirit)

There are ancient statues and it is decorated with fine stucco reliefs with the “Myth of Achilles and Iliad” by Luigi Acquisti (1745/1823)

On the landing of the first floor important sarcophagus with “Endymion dying” about 250 AD