Sts. COSMAS AND DAMIAN

SS. COSMA E DAMIANO
Via dei Fori Imperiali 1

Merger of the probable headquarters of the Praefectura Urbis, of part of the complex of the TEMPLE OF PEACE and of a hall of the so-called TEMPLE OF ROMULUS donated by Amalusanta, the daughter of Theodoric (king of Italy 493/526), to Felix IV (526/530) who adapted the old buldings as a church

Dedicated to the twin brothers Cosmas and Damian who were doctors in juxtaposition and antagonism with the nearby Temple of Castor and Pollux on the other side of the Via Sacra
It was a sanctuary for the faithful to invoke healing

The so-called Temple of Romulus was the vestibule and the hall was illuminated by not less than fifteen windows, five on each side, and five on the façade

It was assigned since 1512 to the Third Regular Franciscan Order that still officiates it to this day
Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85) brought here the relics of the two eponymous saints

1597/1602 construction of the side chapels for Clement VIII Aldobrandini (1592/1605) with deletion of most of the mosaics over the apse

Restored in the years 1626/32 by Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657) (of whom, however, there is only one drawing) and Luigi Arrigucci (1575/after 1643) for Urban VIII Barberini (1632/44)

The floor was raised of 7 m (23 feet), and so the church was divided in two, the upper church and the lower church, to avoid the frequent flooding caused by the floods of the Tiber River

In 1897 excavations were carried out in the Forum and the Basilica became inaccessible from the Via Sacra

FAÇADE ON VIA DEI FORI IMPERIALI
1947 Gaetano Rapisardi (1893/1988)

RUINS OF A LARGE ROOM TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE
Marble floor of the Forum of Peace and brick wall with holes for the clamps to which were hung the 151 plates of the Forma Urbis

CLOISTER
Frescoes “Deposition from the Cross” and “Franciscan Stories” by Flaminio Allegrini (1587/1663)

CEILING
“Glory of Sts. Cosmas and Damian” 1632 by Marco Tullio Montagna (1594/1649)

WALLS ABOVE THE CHAPELS
“Stories of Sts. Cosmas and Damian” 1635 by Marco Tullio Montagna and Simone Lagi

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS
Fresco of the thirteenth century separated from the lower church “Crucifix” where Christ is unusually dressed in a long colobio, i.e. a tunic with short sleeves or sleeveless used by the early Christian monks
In the vault “Stories of the Passion of Christ” 1636 by G.B. Speranza (about 1600/40)

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE VIRGIN MARY AND St. JOHN EVANGELIST
Above the altar “Adoration of the Magi”
On the right “Presentation of Christ in the Temple” 1638 and on the left “St. John Evangelist resurrecting a dead man” 1618 all works by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643)

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. ANTHONY
Remarkable “S. Anthony of Padua” by Giovanni Antonio Galli aka Spadarino (1585/about 1653)

4^th RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS
Above the altar “S. Francis in Prayer” copy from an original by Girolamo Muziano

MAIN ALTAR
1638 Domenico Castelli (1582/1657) with worshipped “Madonna and Child aka Madonna of the Health or Madonna of St. Gregory” of the last quarter of the thirteenth century by an anonymous Roman painter with Tuscan influences

TRIUMPHAL ARCH
Mosaic “Revelation, mystic lamb and the seven candlesticks, four angels, symbols of St. Luke and St. John” of the beginning of the sixth century like the apse, although some scholars believe it dates to the time of Sergius I (687/701) for the connection Agnus Dei – Sergius I
Sergio I was in fact the one who introduced the Agnus Dei in the rite of the Mass
Below “Some of the twenty-four elders offering crowns”
Probably at the time of Clement IX Rospigliosi (1667/69) the arch was reinforced with a stuccoed structure that wiped out the mosaics under the arch

APSE
Mosaic “Christ among Sts. Peter and Paul introducing Sts. Cosmas and Damian, accompanied by S. Theodore and Felix IV with the model of the church and the Phoenix in the top left corner” of the early sixth century, at the time of Felix IV (526/530)

“To realize this vast spaciousness the perspective mediation of the architecture is not needed anymore, as in Santa Pudenziana, just the slice of color with the clear figures on the deep blue background. The modulation of light and shade fades and finally disappears: the figures of the mosaic of S. Pudenziana are still lit, these are bright. The sense of space is not cancelled, space is conceived as light and is made with colors. But the colors are symbolic, such as palm trees that allude to the heavenly garden, the blue stripe that alludes to the Jordan River: from the quality, from the sublimated substance of the colors emanates ‘spiritual’ light that fills the space, a space made out ​​of light” (Giulio Carlo Argan)

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF Sts. ROSALIA and ROSA
Above the altar “S. Rosalia”, on the walls “Stories of St. Rose” by an anonymous artist

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. ALEXANDER
Above the altar “Christ crucified” by an anonymous artist of the seventeenth century, maybe Dutch
Walls and vault “Conviction, glory and martyrdom of St. Alexander” about 1655 by Francesco Allegrini (1587/1663), son of Flaminio

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. BARBARA
Above the altar “S. Barbara” about 1650 copy by an anonymous artist from the original by Cavalier d'Arpino in S. Maria in Traspontina
On the walls “Stories of St. Barbara” c. 1640 by an anonymous artist influenced by Cavalier d'Arpino

St. MARY OF THE SOUL

S. MARIA DELL'ANIMA

Via di S. Maria dell'Anima 64

Built in the fourteenth century as a chapel for the Hospice for German, Dutch and Flemish Pilgrims at behest of the gunsmith Dordrecht and his wife

Rebuilt in the years 1500/23 maybe by Giuliano Giamberti aka Giuliano da Sangallo (1445/1516)

Mid-1700s CHOIR renovated by Paolo Posi (1708/76)

Fully restored in 1843

Further restoration 1874/75 by Emilio Stramucci with interior decoration by Ludovico Seitz (1844/1908) representing German personalities and Saints

FAÇADE

Three portals and a copy of the sculptural group “Virgin Mary between two souls in purgatory” (original in the Chapel of the Fallen) maybe by Andrea Contucci aka Andrea Sansovino (1460/1529) or by Bartolomeo Lante

BELL TOWER built in 1502

It is the German national church whose model were the German Hallenkirchen

“Saints” in the nave and stained glass window above the entrance “Virgin Mary with Child enthroned with saints” 1875/82 by Ludovico Seitz

TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE

“Tomb of Cardinal Andrea d'Asburgo” 1600 by Gillis de la Rivière (?/1602)

TO THE RIGHT OF THE ENTRANCE

“Tomb of Cardinal Willem van Enkevoirt” 1536/38 by Giovanni Mangone

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF S. BENNO

“St. Benno receives from a fisherman the keys of the cathedral of Meissen in Saxony” 1618 by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620)

“The Bishop Benno, who lived in the eleventh century, was declared a saint in 1523 by Pope Adrian VI (buried in this church) in opposition to the rampant Lutheran movement, which soon after would destroy Benno's reliquary throwing it in the Elba River; the saved relics were brought to the Duke of Bavaria (to whom Saraceni was about to send some of his works) in the 'Bavaria Sancta' where the Catholic cult of relics was a bulwark against the Protestant Reformation and of which Benno was declared guardian saint. (...) The fish is a clear reference to Christology, and the host-fisherman is almost certainly a portrait of an influential member of the community, the merchant and patron George Piscatorius” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Altarpiece “Holy Family” by Giacinto Gimignani (1606/81)

On the left “Tomb of Cardinal Johann Walter Sluse” 1687 with bust by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86)

On the right “Tombs of Johannes Savenier and his nephew Gualtero Gualteri de Castro” with a bust by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)

ON THE 3^rd PILLAR ON THE RIGHT

“Tomb of Adrian Vryburg with cherubs” 1629 by François Duquesnoy (1597/1643)

“From 1618 he was active in Rome, where he remained until a short time before his death. He was successful in the Roman scene, becoming one of the most prominent figures of the Classicist style. (...) The tombs (...) in S. Maria dell'Anima (...), enriched with figures of little angels, indicate not only his mastery in dealing with marble but also the anti-Baroque classical composure that was his artistic ideal” (Enciclopedia Treccani)

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

“Crucifix” by G.B. Montano (1543/1621)

“Life of the Virgin Mary” by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)

4^th CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Copy of the “Pieta” by Michelangelo begun in 1532 by Lorenzo Lotti aka Lorenzetto (1490/1541) and completed by Giovanni Lippi aka Nanni di Baccio Bigio (about 1513/68)

AT THE END OF THE NAVE - MEMORIAL CHAPEL

1937 Karl Holey (1879/1955) who rebuilt the Cathedral of Vienna and the Salzburg Cathedral after the Second World War

MAIN ALTAR

“Fugger altarpiece: the Holy Family with saints” 1522 by Giulio Pippi aka Giulio Romano (1499/1546) for the banker Jacob Fugger of Augsburg, his last work before going to Mantua

It was repainted in 1619 by Carlo Saraceni in 1682 by Carlo Maratta, in 1819 by Pietro Palmaroli and in 1880 by Ludovico Seitz, although the work is considered by Giulio Romano for about 85%

“It is particularly significant because it seems to anticipate some of the grounds that the artist will develop after a few years. Thus the luminous effect that envelops the characters isolated in a dark space, recalls the night of the Sala di Psyche at Tea Palace in Mantua, in the same way as the ' architecture in the background with octagonal coffered vault and Doric pilasters that frame the niches , prefigures certain architectural solutions of the palace of Mantua” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

APSE

On the right “Nativity of the Virgin” and on the left “Death of the Virgin” mid-1700s by Ludovico Stern (1709/77), son of Ignazio Stern

Central window “Trinity” by Ludovico Seitz (1844/1908)

On the right “Monument of Adrian VI (1522/23)” with the four cardinal virtues: “Fortitude, Temperance, Justice and Prudence” by Baldassare Peruzzi (1481/1536)

Adrian VI was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands and he was the last non-Italian pope before John Paul II (1978/2005)

On the left “Tomb of the Duke of Cleves” 1576 by Gillis de la Rivière (?/1602) and Nicolò Pippi (?/1601-1604 )

TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE SACRISTY

“Tomb of Lukas Holstenius” by Antonio Giorgetti (active since 1660/d. 1669)

ON THE 3^rd PILLAR ON THE LEFT

“Tomb of Ferdinand van der Eyden” 1631 by François Duquesnoy (1597/1643)

4^th CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

On the altar “Deposition”, in the vault “Descent of the Holy Spirit” and on the walls “Sacred Stories” 1540 masterpiece by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati (1510/63)

“Today, unfortunately, the frescoes are so faded that even critical judgment on them would be diminished. Anyway it is admirable the beautiful decorative texture of the side walls, whose narrowness does not appear to have represented a major obstacle for Salviati. On each of them the mighty figure of a saint stands in a pose with imposing balanced gestures and rhythmic articulation, surrounded by a rich ornamental frame. (...) The altarpiece accentuates almost too violently the nakedness of the body taken down from the cross. What in Rome appears as a novelty is the extraordinary exuberance of the decorative system of illusionary type” (Hermann Voss)

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. BARBARA

“Stories of St. Barbara” about 1538 by the Flemish artist Michiel Coxie (1499/1592), known as the Flemish Raphael. He died 92 years old, falling from the stairs

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“Sts. John of Nepomuk and John Sarcander” 1880 by Ludovico Seitz

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. LAMBERT

There are the relics of St. Lambert

Altarpiece “Martyrdom of St. Lambert” 1618/19 by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620)

“The patron Lambertus de Ursinus Vivariis placed the painting with his namesake saint in his family chapel. He chose a subject connected with his name and with the criminal profanation in a sacred place (the Cathedral of Liege), alluding to the desecration of the memory of the martyrs and of the role itself of holiness that the Protestants carried out during the wars of religion that had shocked the Netherlands” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

Frescoes “Stories of St. Lambert” 1650/53 by the painter from Antwerp Jan Miel (1599/1663)

SACRISTY

1636 Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657) and later Paolo Marucelli (1594/1649)

In the vault “Assumption” 1636/39 by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (1610/62) from Viterbo, a pupil of Pietro da Cortona

Paintings on the walls with the theme of “Life of the Virgin Mary” by Gilles Hallet (1620/94), Giovanni Maria Morandi (1622/1717), Theodor van Loon (1581-82/1649) and Anton von Maron (1733/1808)

St. LAWRENCE IN MIRANDA

S. LORENZO IN MIRANDA

Via in Miranda 10

It was built maybe in the seventh or eighth century for the Guild of Apothecaries in the structure of the TEMPLE OF ANTONINUS AND FAUSTINA of the year 141 AD dedicated to Antoninus Pius (138/161) and to his wife Faustina

According to tradition, St. Lawrence was sentenced to death here

We do not know where the name “Miranda” comes from

First mentioned by the sources in 1192

Urban V (1362/70) ordered to strip some of the marbles to use them in the Basilica of St. John Lateran

Rebuilt in the years 1601/14 by Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657)

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Altarpiece “Annunciation” by Alessandro Fortuna, one of the rare paintings by this pupil of Domenichino who died very young

On the left of “Kiss of the side with a donor” about 1573 beautiful work by Giovanni De Vecchi (about 1537/1615)

MAIN ALTAR

1643/46 architecture by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona (1597/1669)

On the altar painting “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence” also by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona

On the left “Madonna and Child with Sts. Philip and James” by Raffaello Vanni (1587/1673) from Siena

1^st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Altarpiece “Madonna and Child with Saints” very damaged, about 1626 by Domenico Zampieri aka Domenichino (1581/1641) who perhaps designed the stuccos too

Under the church big SPEZIERIA (old farmacy)

St. FRANCIS OF PAOLA

S. FRANCESCO DI PAOLA

Piazza S. Francesco di Paola 10

1623/40 Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657)

Expanded 1645/50 by Giovanni Pietro Morandi for Olimpia Aldobrandini Pamphilj

Completed with the interior decoration and the FAÇADE at the beginning of the eighteenth century by Luigi Barattoni (active in the first quarter of the eighteenth century) who rebuilt the adjacent former Convent of the Minims originally built in the seventeenth century

The lower part of the façade is made of travertine, while the simpler upper part is in plaster

Consecrated in 1728 by Benedict XIII Orsini (1724/30)

Restored in 1826 for Leo XII Sermattei (1823/29)

BELL TOWER

Twelfth century with belfry of the fifteenth century, formerly Torre dei Borgia (Tower of the Borgia family)

National Calabrian church dedicated to the Calabrian saint of the fifteenth century S. Francesco di Paola, founder of the Minim Friars and patron saint of sailors

VAULT

Fake gilded coffered ceiling and emblems in perspective 1953 by Cesare Minestra

COUNTER FAÇADE

Rococo choir with pipe organ

Among choir and portal stucco relief “Glory of St. Francis of Paola” maybe by Luigi Barattoni

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF Sts. ANNE AND JOACHIM

Altarpiece “Sts. Joachim and Anne” 1720 by Filippo Luzi (1665/1722), a pupil of Lazzaro Baldi

Vault “Glory of St. Anne” by Onofrio Avellino (about 1674/1741), a pupil of Francesco Solimena

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS OF PAOLA

A copy of the painting on wooden board of the fifteenth century “St. Francis of Paola” in the church of Montalto Uffugo (Cosenza)

Walls “Miracles of St. Francis of Paola” and vault “Glory of St. Francis of Paola” by Giuseppe Chiari (1654/1727)

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS DE SALES

Above the altar “St. Francis de Sales receives the cord of the Third Order by St. Francis of Paola”

Wall to the right “St. Francis de Sales blesses the sick”

Wall to the left “St. Francis de Sales writer”, all works by the Roman Giovanni Antonio Grecolini (1675/1725)

On the wall of the nave: commemorative inscription for the Italian patriot Natale Del Grande (1800/48)

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHANCEL ABOVE THE DOOR ON THE RIGHT

“Funeral Monument of Lazzaro Pallavicini” Governor of Piceno 1744 by Ferdinando Fuga (1699/1782) with bust by Agostino Corsini (1688/1772)

MAIN ALTAR

Pavilion supported by “Angels” with in the upper part “Eternal God between angels” in stucco about 1655 masterpiece by Giovanni Antonio De Rossi (1616/95)

“It is evident in this work the intent to put together themes from Bernini and Borromini on the basis of the effect of 'surreal' appearance, of the method of display of faith, but between the visions of the sacred proposed by the two masters the distance remains unbridgeable as it is demonstrated by the very different way in which the angelic image enters their figurative repertoire. For Bernini the angel does introduce a dynamic element that communicates with the architectural structure without joining the structure himself. (...) For Borromini the angel, most of the time, enters into the architectural compound and accepts the rules, becomes an angelic herm following the example of the classical world” (Paolo Portoghesi)

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHANCEL ABOVE THE DOOR ON THE LEFT

“Funeral Monument of Giovanni Pizzullo” founder of the convent in 1646

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. MICHAEL

Altarpiece “St. Michael the Archangel” first half of 1600s by Stefano Perugini

Walls and vault “Stories of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Francis of Paola” 1728 by Giacomo Triga (1674/1746), a student of Benedetto Luti

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF BLESSED NICHOLAS THE WISE

Altarpiece “Blessed Nicola the Wise of the Langobards receives the cross from the Redeemer” about 1786 by the Sicilian Francesco Manno (1752/1831)

Walls on the right “Adoration of the Shepherds”, on the left “Adoration of the Magi” and on the vault “Assumption into glory” by the Roman Stefano Pozzi (1699/1768)

In the four corners “Angels in stucco” maybe by Luigi Barattoni

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF GASPARE DEL BONO

“Gaspar Del Bono in prayer” 1787 by the Calabrian Vincenzo Milione (about 1732/1805)

Walls on the right “Joseph's Dream”, on the left “Flight into Egypt” and on the vault “God the Father Blessing” by Stefano Pozzi

SACRISTY

Maybe designed by Filippo Breccioli (1574/after 1627)

At the center of the ceiling painting “Virgin Mary giving to St. Francis of Paola, the emblem of the order” about 1641/42 first work by G.B. Salvi aka Sassoferrato (1609/85) similar to the fresco “Apparition of the Virgin to Sts. Nile and Bartholomew” by his master Domenichino in the Abbey of Grottaferrata

In the lunettes eighteenth-century cycle “Stories of St. Francis of Paola” by Agostino Masucci (1691/1758) and Filippo Luzi (1665/1722)

SALA DEL CAPITOLO (Chapter Room)

Chapel adjacent to the sacristy with frescos:

On the altar “St. Francis of Paola adoring the Crucifixion” about 1640/41 by Francesco Cozza (1605/82)

On the left wall “Agony in the Garden”

On the right wall “Way to Calvary”

Vault “Angels with symbols of the Passion” all paintings by Stefano Pozzi (1699/1768)

CONVENT OF THE MINIMS FROM CALABRIA

Domenico Castelli (1582/1657). It was attached to the church in the first half of the seventeenth century

Rebuilt in the early eighteenth century by Luigi Barattoni (active first quarter of the eighteenth century)

It is partly occupied by the ISTITUTO CENTRALE DEL RESTAURO (Central Restoration Institute)

In the entrance hall of the convent:

“Immaculate Conception” by Stefano Pozzi

“St. Francis of Paola venerating the Virgin Mary” 1787 by Vincenzo Milione (about 1732/1805)

St. AMBROSE DELLA MASSIMA

S. AMBROGIO DELLA MASSIMA

Via di S. Ambrogio 3

Erected, according to tradition, over the house of the father of St. Ambrose (about 334/397) who would have lived here before being transferred as consul in Milan where he later became bishop, in the area once occupied by the TEMPLE OF HERCULES MUSAGETE

According to tradition, at the time of St. Leo III (795/816) it became the property of a certain Maxima, hence perhaps the name, who built a Latin cross church with monastery

The specification De Maxima in the name of the church appears in the sources only in the thirteenth century and, in fact, it is most likely derived from the nearby Cloaca Maxima, the oldest sewer of Rome, or from a commercial building known as Porticus Maxima

It was called S. Stefano de Maxima and S. Maria in Formosa but in the fifteenth century it returned to its original name

Rebuilt in the years 1606/26 maybe by Carlo Maderno (1556/1629) for the De Torres family

Complete with dome and side altars in 1633 by Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657)

The FAÇADE was rebuilt in 1863 on the model of the previous one and on the same year the church was restored and the interior embellished with inlaid marble altar frontages taken from Ligurian churches

Since 1861 the monks of Subiaco live in the premises

1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Nineteenth-century painting “Sts. Marcellina, Ambrose and Satyr” which replaced the painting by Pietro da Cortona “Martyrdom of St. Stephen” stolen in 1810

2nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Statue “St. Benedict” of the Roman Orfeo Boselli (about 1600/67), who was inspired by the style of François Duquesnoy

RIGHT TRANSEPT

“Crucifixion” copy with variations from the original by Francesco Trevisani (1656/1746) in S. Sylvester in Capite

MAIN ALTAR

Canvas of 1974 painted on the occasion of the visit of Pope Paul VI to the Church

PENDENTIVES OF THE DOME

“Cardinal Virtues”: “Justice defeats Envy”, “Fortress defeats Fear”, “Temperance defeats Lust” and “Prudence defeats Luck” about 1633 by Francesco Cozza (1605/82), pupil of Domenichino

“This is actually the triumphs of the cardinal virtues on the personifications of the vices opposing them, as they are described by Cesare Ripa in his Iconology. (...) Inspired by similar depictions of Domenichino in S. Carlo ai Catinari, Francesco Cozza is shown here firmly rooted in his training with the first generation of Bolognese classicists” (Francesca Cappelletti)

LEFT TRANSEPT

“S. Mauro heals a paralytic” by Ciro Ferri (1634/89)

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Frescoes “Life of the Virgin Mary” maybe by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640) and his school

Altar “Medieval Icon” discovered in S. Benedict in Piscinula in 1846, heavily restored. Only the face of the Virgin Mary is original

1^st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Canvas “Ss. Joseph, Ambrose and Marcellina” of the second half of 1800s

REFECTORY

Fresco transferred to canvas in 1963 originally in the portico of the church from which it was detached in 1862 “Deposition with the patrons Benedictine Sisters” about 1497 by Antonio Aquili aka Antoniazzo Romano (about 1435-40/1508)

“The scene follows the iconography of the Nordic Vesperbild (image of the vesper), a subject of popular piety derived from Northern Europe and common in the Umbria region, but very unusual in Rome. Towards the end of the fifteenth century Michelangelo will be the one (...) to give fame and nobility to this Nordic popular subject. In the Roman painting the theme of the Pietà is inserted in a more complex figurative system with the presence in the background of the symbols of the 'Arma Christi' (Arms of Christ), according to an association quite common starting from the second half of the fourteenth century to encourage the faithful to meditate, prompting emotional involvement” (Anna Cavallaro)

“Death of St. Benedict” about 1609 by Baccio Ciarpi (1574/1654)

“In Rome he had Pietro da Cortona as one of his pupils. His works show a conventional narrative language in a reformed key, enriched with a luminosity influenced by Caravaggio” (Enciclopedia Treccani)

SCIARRA PALACE

PALAZZO SCIARRA

Via del Corso 239

Reconstruction as a palace of the homes of the Colonna family, of which the Sciarra constitute a branch

The palace was called Palazzo Sciarra in honor of Sciarra Colonna, who gave the famous “slap” of Anagni in 1303 to Pope Boniface VIII (1294/1303)

Reconstruction began after 1550, continued in 1610 maybe with Flaminio Ponzio (1560/1613) and ended in about 1641 with Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657)

Library 1745 by Luigi Vanvitelli (1700/73) who restored also other rooms for Cardinal Prospero Colonna

Restoration in the years 1875/82 by Francesco Settimj (active 1875/88) and 1882/95 by Giulio De Angelis (1850/1906) who also built in the block of the building the Teatro Quirino (it had originally built in wood in 1871) the first theater of united Italy and the Galleria Sciarra

Giulio De Angelis reduced considerably the size of the building with the opening of Via Minghetti and the construction of theater and gallery

Beautiful PORTAL 1641 by Orazio Torriani which, according to popular tradition, was carved from a single huge block of marble

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was considered one of the four wonders of the city with Palazzo Farnese, Palazzo Borghese and the Caetani Staircase in Palazzo Ruspoli

In 2010 the work of restoration of the interior finished. It was sponsored by the FONDAZIONE ROMA (Rome Foundation), which has its headquarters in the building and made it home to temporary exhibitions with the nearby Palazzo della Cassa di Risparmio di Roma also called Palazzo Cipolla

The Rome Foundation has a permanent art collection in the palace with many important works ranging from the fifteenth century to present day. Most of the works have a close connection, for the subject or for the artists responsible for them, with the city of Rome, the focus of the activity of the foundation

Among the masterpieces:

 Tempera on wood “Imago Pietatis” about 1480/82 maybe by Piermatteo Lauro Manfredo aka Piermatteo d'Amelia (1446-48/about 1506)

“The attribution to the painter from Amelia is supported by iconographic and stylistic comparison with works of different nature, but of the same subject, in Orvieto and Terni. (...) This Christ shows, in the exquisitely linearity that pervades it, the close relationship with Florentine culture, to which refers indirectly also the clear luminosity similar to the one of Piero Della Francesca and the strong geometric presence of the uncovered tomb, which is the only spacial element of the work. (...) The strong plastic emphasis seems to prove the progressive approach of the artist towards Antoniazzo Romano, with whom he worked closely in the second half of the eighties in Rome” (Laura Auciello)

Oil on board “Pieta” by Marcello Venusti (about 1512/79)

Oil painting “Madonna reading and Child with Sts. Elizabeth and John the Baptist” by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati (1510/63)

Oil on canvas “Moses frees the daughters of Jethro” by Ciro Ferri (1634/89)

Oil on wood “Madonna and Child enthroned with the Archangels Michael and Raphael” by Angelo Caroselli (1585/1652)

“The oldest sources document in the biography of the artist, his outstanding erotic inclinations: “He was very dedicated... to love... He painted with great assiduity, and delight, when surrounded by vague maidens was flattered by some sweet sight...” (Passeri) (...) It is interesting to examine his overwhelming production (...) of works for private buyers, partly still on the antiquities market, painted in fifty years of activity. They attest to a plurality of interests and to an eclectic background that would associate Caroselli to the naturalists of the third decade (Valentin, Régnier, Paolini), or to Venetian models, or even to the formal paradigms of the painters from Bologna (Annibale Carracci, Domenichino). An explicit archaic will determines in some of his most beautiful works (Madonna enthroned with the Archangels Michael and Raphael) an impressive neo-Renaissance scheme (the references are to Piero Della Francesca, Bronzino, Allori, to the sixteenth century Venetian painters), as a conscious attitude of rejection and failure against the triumphant baroque absolutism” (Anna Ottani Cavina - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

Oil on canvas “Achilles meets Teti near the Centaur Chiron” by Bernardino Cesari (1571/1622) brother of the Cavalier d'Arpino

Oil on canvas “Landscape with Roman ruins” by the Flemish Willem Van Nieulandt II (1584/1635)

Oil on canvas “Landscape with idealized view of Rome” by the Flemish who settled in Rome Jan Frans van Bloemen aka Orizzonte (1662/1749)

Two oils on canvas “View of St. Peter's Square” and “View of Monte Cavallo” by Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1691/1765)

Oil on canvas “Portrait of Giacinta Orsini Boncompagni Ludovisi” by the great Pompeo Batoni (1708/87)

Oil on canvas “Start of the race of Berbers in Piazza del Popolo” by the English Thomas Jones Barker (1813/82)

There are also works of the twentieth century:

“Cabins in the Pontine Marshes” by Onorato Carlandi (1848/1939)

“Pollarole (Fight of commoners)” by Alberto Ziveri (1908/90)

“Training in Parioli” by Ferruccio Ferrazzi (1891/1978)

“Hunting the Tiger I” and “Hunting the Tiger II” by Marino Mazzacurati (1907/69)

“Lungotevere Ripetta” and “S. Giorgio in Velabro” by Francesco Trombadori (1886/1961)

Bronze sculpture “Twentieth Century” by Arnaldo Pomodoro (1926)

“Allstars” by Mario Schifano (1934/98)

“The room unvoiced” by Emilio Tadini (1927/2002)

“Mirror” by Enrico Baj (1924/2003)

“Michelangelo” Tano Festa (1938/88)