Tuesday, December 31, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF THE TURTLES

FONTANA DELLE TARTARUGHE
1581/84 designed by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602), the designer of many Roman fountains
Elegant bronze sculptures of "Youths" by Taddeo Landini (about 1550/96)
They are on top of four shells made out of portasanta marble
The upper basin is made out of gray African marble
"Turtles" (they replaced the dolphins of the original project) added during a restoration in 1658, maybe by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) or Andrea Sacchi (1599/1661)
Since 1906 the turtles were stolen several times but they were always recovered. Eventually in 1979 one was stolen and it was never recovered: the ones visible today are copies, which have replaced also the three original ones now in the Capitoline Museums

FOUNTAIN OF THE NAIADS

FONTANA DELLE NAIADI
Basin built in 1888
GROUPS WITH BRONZE NYMPHS AND SEA MONSTERS
Four nymphs sculpted in 1901:
At the center
"Glaucus fighting a Merman" 1912 all works by the Sicilian Mario Rutelli (1859/1943)
In Greek mythology, the Naiads were the nymphs who lived in rivers and lakes, in fresh water. The nymphs who lived in the salt waters were known as Ocean Nymphs or Nereids, therefore the very attractive nymph of the fountain of the oceans is not really a Naiad
Apparently the face of Glaucus is the portrait of the Roman poet Trilussa, according to the testimony of the great grandson of the artist, the politician, former mayor of Rome, Francesco Rutelli
It is the ending fountain of the ACQUA PIA ANTICA MARCIA aqueduct restored by Luigi Canina (1795/1856) for Pius IX Mastai-Ferretti (1846/78)
"While the Naiads present a model of firmness Art Nouveau style, the Glaucus shows clearly the suggestion exercised on the Palermitan sculptor by the work of Bernini" (Giorgio Muratore)
The first ending fountain of the Acqua Marcia was a meaningless round basin in the area where now is the Obelisk of Dogali: it was inaugurated on September 10, 1870, ten days before the breach of Porta Pia and this did lead to the popular saying: "Acqua Pia, oggi tua domani mia" (Acqua Pia, now yours tomorrow mine) in reference to the end of the temporal power of popes
The nudity of the Naiads created a big scandal, so much that a popular legend has it that Rutelli was forced to change his original plan for Glaucus in the middle: instead of a naked woman and a naked man embraced, now the naked man embraces a fish

Monday, December 30, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF THE BEES

FONTANA DELLE API
1644 Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) for Urban VIII Barberini (1623/44) with the famous bees symbol of his family
Originally in the coat of arms there were horseflies, but then they thought that bees would have been much more dignified for an ambitious family
The fountain was removed in 1880 from its original location in Via Sistina and abandoned in a warehouse where it crumbled
It was reconstructed here in 1917 by Adolfo Apolloni (1855/1923) with only a fragment of the original shell with one bee
Bernini had carved the number XXII as year of the pontificate of Urban VIII when there were still two months to the completion of the 22nd year. This was considered a bad omen and then the figure was changed to XXI. Too late: the pope died eight days before arriving to the fateful anniversary

FOUNTAIN OF THE AMPHORAS

FONTANA DELLE ANFORE
1926 Pietro Lombardi (1894/1984)
It originally was in Piazza Testaccio and it was moved here in 1935
It hints to the jars for oil of which Monte Testaccio is made out of, a whole hill consisting of a landfill used in ancient Rome for about 300 years
The fountain was very successful and therefore other eight fountains were commissioned to Lombardi in various districts of Rome

FOUNTAIN OF THE BOWL

FONTANA DELLA TERRINA
1590 Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602) for Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85) originally in Piazza Campo de' Fiori
It was put in storage to make room for the monument to Giordano Bruno from 1889 until 1924 when it was placed here
The huge travertine cover that has come to characterize it as a bowl was added in 1622 to protect it from dirt

FOUNTAIN OF THE SMALL BOAT

FONTANA DELLA NAVICELLA
Assembled in 1931 using a "Marble model of a Roman ship" copy of a votive offerings from the nearby Castra Peregrina (area of S. Stefano Rotondo)
The ancient Roman piece of marble was placed on a base with the coat of arms of Leo X Medici (1513/21) who had restored S. Maria in Domnica

FOUNTAIN OF THE UGLY BOAT

FONTANA DELLA BARCACCIA
1629 by Pietro Bernini (1562/1629) helped by his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) for Urban VIII Barberini (1623/44) in memory of the flood of the Tiber in 1598
The low water pressure available, which could only supply a very low fountain generated the original idea of the half sunken boat

Sunday, December 29, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF THE ACQUA PAOLA IN VIA GARIBALDI

FONTANA DELL'ACQUA PAOLA IN VIA GARIBALDI
1608/12 Flaminio Ponzio (1560/1613) with Giovanni Fontana (1540/1614), brother of Domenico and expert in hydraulics, for Pope Paul V Borghese (1605/21)
They used marble from the Temple of Minerva in the Forum of Nerva and four columns from the old Basilica of St. Peter
It is the ending fountain of the Acqua Paola aqueduct, restoration of the Aqua Traiana dating back to 109 AD
It is popularly known as Er Fontanone, the big fountain
"Compared to the Fountain of the Acqua Felice, which intentionally inspired by the Acqua Paola, there is a difference even greater than what we have seen in the Sistine and the Pauline chapels in S. Maria Maggiore. The static scheme of the Roman arch here is embedded in a gently oscillating boundary. The means of two pairs of volutes and a segmented pediment generate a 'silhouetted' mixed-line, without stiffness, blending the massive volume with the landscape of the Janiculum Hill. This spectacular great machine perforated by light which, filtering through the holes overlapping the water outlets, introduces an ambiguous indication of depth, is one of the landmarks of the irreplaceable views of the Baroque city. The painter Scipione, in the thirties of the twentieth century happily called it 'the front of Rome'" (Paolo Portoghesi)
The semicircular basin was added in 1690 by Carlo Fontana (1634/1714) for Innocent XII Pignatelli (1691/1700) because the water before then came down the hill in the form of a waterfall
Currently the running water is recycled
Inside there is a small deposit of monuments and tombstones from various areas of Rome
When the water of the Acqua Paola aqueduct came in Trastevere for the first time the population was very disappointed because water was non-potable, and even today it is said that "to be worth like the Acqua Paola" is a synonym of "being worth little or nothing"

FOUNTAIN OF THE ACQUA PAOLA IN PIAZZA TRILUSSA

FONTANA DELL'ACQUA PAOLA IN PIAZZA TRILUSSA
1613 Jan Van Santen aka Giovanni Vasanzio (1550/1621) with Giovanni Fontana (1540/1614), brother of Domenico and expert in hydraulics, for Pope Paul V Borghese (1605/21)
It was originally on the opposite bank at the end of Via Giulia
It was moved here in 1898 according to the design of Angelo Vescovali (1826/95), who had designed the embankments of the Tiber. It was rebuilt with only slightly more than half of the original material
It is also popularly known as Fontanone di Ponte Sisto (Big Fountain of Sixtus Bridge), whereas in the past it used to be called Fontanone dei Cento Preti (Big Fountain of the One Hundred Priests) as the original location in Via Giulia was adjacent to a monastery called Hospice of the One Hundred Brothers

Saturday, December 28, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF THE VINEGARY WATER

FONTANA DELL'ACQUA ACETOSA
1616 Jan Van Santen aka Giovanni Vasanzio for S. Pius V Ghislieri (1566/72) who believed that the waters, rich in iron, coming out of this spring would be healthy
The fountain was destroyed and rebuilt in 1662 by Andrea Sacchi (1599/1661) and Marcantonio de Rossi (about 1607/61) for Alexander VII Chigi (1655/1667)

FOUNTAIN OF THE MERMAN

FONTANA DEL TRITONE

1642/43 Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) for Urban VIII Barberini (1623/44)
Originally the pressure of the water was stronger and it used to generate a much higher jet than now
Until the end of 1700s, in front of this fountain a macabre spectacle used to take place: the dead bodies of unknown people found in Rome were exposed and a crier would call on the population to recognize them
“He completely abandoned the previous formal treatment. Very far from the elegance of decorative Florentine fountain, this massive structure puts the viewer in front of a full scale sculpture as a natural product. The god of the sea, conch and fish are welded into an organic whole and no one can help but be captivated by the atmosphere of such a fabulous setting” (Rudolf Wittkower)
“The Merman was a symbol of immortality gained through literary studies. This esoteric symbolism is probably connected with the papal coat of arms in the huge tails of the dolphins. Everyone knew that Urban VIII was a good Latin poet, and so the Merman seems to proclaim his poetical immortality. The image is perhaps even more complex because the dolphins were symbols of princely benevolence and the bees of divine providence” (Howard Hibbard)



FOUNTAIN OF THE PRISONER

FONTANA DEL PRIGIONE
1585 Domenico Fontana (1543/1607)
Originally one of thirty fountains in the garden of the Villa Peretti Montalto destroyed for the construction of the Termini train station and moved here
It is called the Fountain of the Prisoner for a statuary group with Apollo, Venus, Aesculapius and a prisoner originally placed in the niche of the fountain and lost except for the headless body of Aesculapius placed now above the fountain
Originally the fountain was fed by the Acqua Felice, now by the Acqua Paola

FOUNTAIN OF THE CRYING

FONTANA DEL PIANTO
1593 designed by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602) and sculpted by Pietro Gucci
Formerly in Piazza Giudea in the Jewish Ghetto. It was removed with the demolition of the Ghetto in 1885
It was rebuilt here in 1930

Friday, December 27, 2013

PESCHIERA FOUNTAIN

FONTANA DEL PESCHIERA
The fountain was built in 1949
It is the ending fountain of the PESCHIERA-CAPORE AQUEDUCT fed by springs near Cittaducale (Rieti) and inaugurated in 1964, even if the work lasted from 1937 until 1980
With its about 14,000 liters of water per second (about the same amount of all eleven ancient Roman aqueducts put together), a length of about 130 km (81 miles) of which 90% underground and the power of a hydroelectric plant, it is considered one of the largest and most complex artificial water systems in the world

FOUNTAIN OF NEPTUNE

FONTANA DEL NETTUNO
1576 inner and outer basins by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602) for Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85)
It remained undecorated for 300 years until the 1873 contest that decided the decoration
At the center "Neptune's fight with an octopus" by Antonio Della Bitta (1807/c.1879) 
Around "Nereids, cherubs and sea horses" by Gregorio Zappalà (1833/1908) placed in the fountain in 1878
Zappalà had designed a black woman (a "Mora") to give a symmetrical company to the "Moro" of the fountain on the south side of the square, but the Neptune by Della Bitta was chosen instead

Thursday, December 26, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF MOSES

FONTANA DEL MOSÈ
1587/89 Domenico Fontana (1543/1607) with the collaboration of his brother Giovanni Fontana (1540/1614), expert in hydraulics
It was the end of the Acqua Felice aqueduct, restoration by Sixtus V Peretti (1585/90) of the ancient Aqua Alexandriana, the aqueduct built by the emperor Alexander Severus (222/235) in 226 AD
Very much criticised "Statue of Moses" 1588 by Leonardo Sormani (before 1530/after 1589) and Prospero Antichi aka Prospero Bresciano (active since 1580/d. after 1592) with obvious anachronism of the act of separating the waters while holding the tablets of the law that he would have obtained only later
The statue ended up being nicknamed Mosè ridicolo, ridiculous Moses
Prospero Bresciano was so upset about the criticism that he died of a heart attack or, in another version, he committed suicide
NICHES with bas-reliefs made in 1589:
On the left "Aaron leads the Jewish to drink" by G.B. Della Porta (1542/1602)
On the right "Joshua makes the Jews cross the dry Jordan River" by Flaminio Vacca (1538/1605) and Pietro Paolo Olivieri (1551/99), who also did the "Frieze with coat of arms of Sixtus V between two angels"

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF THE BLACK MAN

FONTANA DEL MORO
1576 central basin by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602) for Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85)
Larger basin by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) originally designed by Francesco Borromini (1599/1667)
"Statue of an Ethiopian man fighting with a dolphin" 1654 by Giovanni Antonio Mari (active from 1635/d. 1661) designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini commissioned by Olimpia Maidalchini sister in law of pope Innocent X Pamphilj (1644/55)
"Mermen and other ornaments" copies made in 1874 by Luigi Amici (1817/97) from the originals executed in 1575 by the Florentine sculptors Simone Moschino (about 1560/1610) and Taddeo Landini (about 1550/96), by the Flemish Egidio della Riviera De Molines and by Giacomo Silla Longhi (active since 1568/d. 1619) from Varese
The originals are in the garden of Villa Borghese's Lake
"Four Masks", also copies of the originals at Villa Borghese. They were moved with the four Mermen from the fountain in Piazza del Popolo by Giacomo Della Porta, that had been removed in 1823 by Giuseppe Valadier
One of the four masks was heavily damaged in 2011 by a deranged man who wanted to draw attention on himself
"The most radical of the iconographical innovations of Bernini was his contribution to the history of the baroque fountain. A tradition of fountains with figures existed in Florence more than in Rome and that tradition Bernini took up and revolutionized" (Rudolf Wittkower)

FOUNTAIN OF THE BIG MASK

FONTANA DEL MASCHERONE
1626 maybe Girolamo Rainaldi (1570/1655) for the Farnese family
"Basin in porphyry marble" and "Marble Mask", ancient pieces from which, during some festivals, wine would pour, graciously offered to the common people by the Farnese family

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF THE MERMEN

FONTANA DEI TRITONI
1715 Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri (1655/1721) with eight pointed heraldic star belonging to pope Clement XI Albani (1700/21) in the tank
"Mermen" by Francesco Maratta brother of Carlo Maratta
"Rocks" di Filippo Bai
Not far to the south FOUNTAIN FOR CATTLE made in 1717 also by Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri formerly close to the Fountain of the Mermen and moved here after the construction of the banks of the Tiber. It was the only watering place for animals of the many that existed in the center of Rome

SAILORS' FOUNTAIN

FONTANA DEI NAVIGATORI
1704 Alessandro Specchi (1668/1729)
Reassembled partially here in 1930 after the construction of the banks of the Tiber at the end of 1800
It was originally part of the structure of the Porto of Ripetta (Little shore port) and the lantern was used as a beacon for sailors

Monday, December 23, 2013

FOUNTAIN OF THE RIVERS

FONTANA DEI FIUMI
1649/51 Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) who won the favor of Pope Innocent X Pamphili (1644/55) after a difficult period in his career
The pope was also an admirer of the great Francesco Borromini (1599/1667), Bernini's great rival, but ousted, with this work, from the role of pope's favorite architect
Borromini had directed and designed the work for the pipes that connected the Aqua Virgo aqueduct from the area where the Trevi Fountain is now to Piazza Navona and had been appointed architect of the fountain. He was therefore doubly disappointed at the choice of Pope Innocent X who supplanted him with his rival whom he also blamed for stealing his idea of using allegories of rivers for the fountain
NORTH-EAST
"Nile" (Africa) by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli (1619/71)
The face is covered to indicate that the sources were unknown at the time
NORTH-WEST
"Rio de la Plata" (America) by Francesco Baratta (about 1590/about 1663)
The face of an incongruous black African goes to show the little knowledge of American ethnic groups at the time. The coins symbolize the wealth of the new world. The actual longest river in the world, the Amazon was not chosen because it had become a recent colonial possession of Portugal, a big enemy of Spain which had close relations with the Pamphilj family. In 1640 Portugal had rebelled against a Spanish rule that had lasted for 60 years
SOUTH-EAST
"Ganges" (Asia) by Claude Poussin (active since 1644/d. 1661)
The oar indicates that it was almost entirely navigable
SUTH-WEST
"Danube" (Europe) by Ercole Antonio Raggi (1624/86)
His hand holds the papal coat of arms, being the only continent entirely Christian
"The number of fountains created by Bernini is relatively small, but the greater was its effect. Contemporaries were fascinated not only by his new, truly poetic use of realistic elements as rocks, shells and natural products, but also by his revolutionary way of treating the water itself. Because he replaced the traditional thin jets of water with an exuberant and powerful harnessing of the elements. It was the constant movement of water roaring and murmuring, which helped Bernini to fulfill the dream he had long caressed: to create true movement and pulsating life. Throughout the arrangement of the fountain there is a manifest reference to the rivers of Paradise at the foot of the mountain on which the Cross stands. This monument of the triumph of Catholic victory therefore also contains the idea of salvation of humanity under the sign of the cross" (Rudolf Wittkower)
Animals, plants and rocks were painted by Guidobaldo Abbatini (1600/56), the faithful painter collaborator of Bernini, with colors later completely disappeared. This fact makes us wonder about Bernini's continuous interest and research, in this work as well, for an authentic blend of architecture, sculpture and painting in a single baroque phantasmagoria
OBELISCO AGONALE (Agonale Obelisk)
Height 16.53 m (54 feet)
With fountain, base and dove on top it is more than 30 meters (95 feet) high
It is a Roman imitation from the time of Domitian (81/96) of an Egyptian obelisk. Domitian's name is written in hieroglyphics
It was originally placed in the ISIS CAMPENSIS (the Temple of Isis, the Egyptian goddess near the Pantheon) or maybe, some say, in his villa at Albano
Filippo Coarelli and Jean-Claude Grenier believe it comes originally from the TEMPLUM GENTIS FLAVIAE which was located on Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, where the Octagonal Hall or Minerva Hall, former Planetarium is now
It was moved by Maxentius in 311 (306/312) to the center of the circus in his villa of the same name
It has been proved that it wasn't originally at the center of the Stadium of Domitian as some say
It was broken into four pieces when it was found

LIGHTHOUSE OF JANICULUM HILL

FARO DEL GIANICOLO
1911 Manfredo Manfredi (1859/1627) for the Italians emigrated to Argentina who wanted to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Italian unification
Its night light is blinking white, red and green, the colors of the Italian flag

FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE IN VALLE GIULIA

FACOLTÀ DI ARCHITETTURA DI VALLE GIULIA
1926 designed by Enrico Del Debbio (1891/1973) and completed only in 1932
"What is most surprising is the ease with which Del Debbio passes from one style to another: from Baroque to the almost Liberty style, from Rationalism tinged with the colors of Futurism to the Neo-Academical, from Neo-Realism to Classicism up to a sweetened "Brutalism" that, at times, slightly recalls the poetic material of Mario Ridolfi" (Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi)

Sunday, December 22, 2013

HEADQUARTERS OF THE VII FIREFIGHTERS BRIGADE

EXCUBITORIUM
Discovered in 1865/66 and excavated in the following years
Private house converted into a barracks at the end of the second century AD. Headquarters (not just a guard post) of the Seventh Brigade of the Cohort for the surveillance of Regions IX (or XI) and XIV
The brigade was established by Augustus (27 BC/14) in 6 BC with duties similar to the current firefighters and night policemen
The floor is 8 meters (26 feet) deeper than the actual level
LARGE HALL
Originally paved with mosaics in black and white disappeared when the Excubitorium was used as a bomb shelter during World War II
At the center a hexagonal basin for a fountain and, on one side, a rectangular exedra with the remains of frescoes and graffiti that identify it as the chapel dedicated to the Genius of the barracks of the Excubitorium
The other rooms around were probably the rooms of the brigade and a bathroom
Many graffiti in the atrium dating from 215/245 AD and often, bearing the words sebaciaria and milites sebaciarii, derived from the word sego the material of the torches that were used during the night reconnaissance of the brigade

FORMER PANTANELLA FACTORY

EX STABILIMENTO PANTANELLA
PASTIFICIO (Pasta Factory)
1929/31 Pietro Aschieri (1889/1952)
"A specific feature of the poetry of Pietro Aschieri is, at the end of the twenties, his interest in the value of the 'mass' on which he focuses, thoroughly investigating the possible plastic effects. This is the theme present especially in the Pantanella Pasta Factory in which the 'weight' of the building shell, already evident from the type of finish is accentuated by the deep incisions of the openings, by the inclination of the entrance portal and by the insertion of very light glass surfaces. To this overall effect contributes also the shelter corner that seems to bring out, with its projections, the fullness of the building" (Piero Ostilio Rossi)
BISCOTTIFICIO (Biscuits factory) 1954 and OFFICES BUILDING 1960 Silvano Ricci
The structure was redeveloped in the years 1996/2003 by Bruno Moauro and occupied by apartments, shops and a Bingo Palace

Saturday, December 21, 2013

EUR DISTRICT

EUR
First project 1937 by Giuseppe Pagano (1896/1945), Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960), Ettore Rossi (1894/1968) and Luigi Vietti (1903/98)
Second project 1938 Marcello Piacentini and Gaetano Minnucci (1896/1980)
"The new plan brings to the extreme the starting scheme by eliminating uncertainties and contradictions and reaching paradoxically, albeit in a purely academic perspective, greater consistency. The play of axial visions and orthogonal routes becomes tighter" (Piero Ostilio Rossi)
Works were interrupted in 1943 for World War II and started again in 1951, with a further boost for the Olympics in 1960
Project of 1952 by Marcello Piacentini and reworking, at least until 1955, by Giorgio Calza Bini (1908/99) Piacentini's working partner
Area of about 420 hectares (1,037 acres)
Designed and built for the Universal Exhibition which was to be held in the capital to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Fascist March on Rome (1922) in 1942. The event was later canceled due to World War II
The original name was E 42 (meaning Exhibition 1942), then changed in EUR acronym of ESPOSIZIONE UNIVERSALE ROMA, Universal Exposition of Rome
In the toponymy of the Municipality the district is officially referred to as QUARTIERE EUROPA (Europe District) but it is known anyway by its acronym
The rationalist architecture in vogue in the fascist period found here its outburst aimed at creating an ideal city ruled by harmony and reason, but at the same time, imbued with metaphysical architecture and therefore not humane. What's left of it can be guessed among the more recent superstructure and it is certainly full of fascinating dreamlike substance
Another positive aspect, not much present in the rest of the city, is the harmonization of green spaces with built-up areas which creates a considerable attractiveness of the urban fabric
"To understand the urban planning genesis and the architectural significance of E42 one needs to remember that the new 'imperial state' had helped to substantially change the climate in which the Italian architects were to operate. It is also important to note that in those years, because of both the changed political conditions in some countries, and both for the stalemate in which the architectural research had ended up, a general return to classicism was in fashion in all of Europe" (Piero Ostilio Rossi)
Besides the RESIDENTIAL AREA, it is HOME TO OFFICES including:
Confindustria (Association of Industrial Enterprises), Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment, SIAE (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers), ICE (National Institute for Foreign Trade)
CENTRAL OFFICES OF INSTITUTIONS:
ENI, Banca di Roma, Italian Post Office, INAIL
ITALIAN OFFICES OF MANY MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES
MUSEUM AREA:
Museo della Civiltà Romana (Museum of Roman Civilization), the Museo Nazionale dell'Alto Medioevo (National Museum of the Middle Ages) and the Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini (National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography Luigi Pigorini) as well as a new planetarium with the attached Museo dell'Astronomia (Astronomy Museum), opened in 2004
A new, innovative and controversial CENTRO CONGRESSI ITALIA (Italy Conference Center) is currently being built in an area of 27,000 m² (6.7 acres), between Viale Cristoforo Colombo, Viale Asia, Viale Shakespeare and Viale Europa. It was designed by Massimiliano Fuksas (1944) 
It's called NUVOLA (Cloud) and it will indeed contain a huge cloud-like structure

MULTIFUNCTIONAL BUILDING

EDIFICIO POLIFUNZIONALE
1963/65 Lucio Passarelli (1922) with his brothers Vincenzo (1904/85) and Fausto (1910/98) plus other members of their staff
One of the most interesting works of Italian architecture of the post-World War II period
Curtain wall at the bottom and rough cement in the upper part
It houses the Passarelli studio

BUILDING FOR SHOPS AND OFFICES IN LARGO S. SUSANNA

EDIFICIO PER NEGOZI E UFFICI IN LARGO S. SUSANNA
About 1932 Giuseppe Samonà (1898/1983)
Not officially attributed to the great Sicilian architect since it was built for the Caltagirone family without a license 

Friday, December 20, 2013

BUILDING FOR SHOPS AND APARTMENTS IN VIA TEMBIEN

EDIFICIO PER NEGOZI E ABITAZIONI IN VIA TEMBIEN
1949/54 Angelo Di Castro (1901/89)
Curved façade with long balconies, very original for the city of Rome
"The architecture is crossed by horizontal bands of deep bottling terraces, digging deep into the surface of the building, helping to create a powerful chiaroscuro. The architectural result, quite unusual in the Roman area, confirms the success of foreign magazines that spread in Italy the production of Central Europe" (Giorgio Muratore)

BUILDING FOR APARTMENTS IN VIA GERMANICO

EDIFICIO PER ABITAZIONI IN VIA GERMANICO
1920 Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960)
Residential building in Secession style, typical of Central Europe at the end of 1800 and early 1900, so called because of the will to separate from official academic art and its institutions

APARTMENTS' BLOCK IN VIALE LIBIA

EDIFICIO INTENSIVO IN VIALE LIBIA
1953/54 Ugo Luccichenti (1898/1976)
While using the maximum building area available, he did not gave up on solutions of architectural value
"His activity is tied hand in glove with that of the Società Generale Immobiliare (General Realty Company), a company key protagonist of the capital's urban development and real estate throughout the last century, both for new buildings (...) both as regards with famous city 'demolitions', especially around the Vatican, under whose control the company went after the Lateran Treaty of '29 (...). Luccichenti for nearly thirty years has been a key player, able to mix in his works practicality and structural testing, economic needs and a refined language, his being 'engineer' while his being an 'architect'. For nearly thirty years he has been able to incorporate and consolidate the European and Italian lessons, from Giò Ponti to Mallet-Stevens, from Moretti to Mendelsohn, perfectly able to encode expressionist and rationalist influences, breaking codes just to give them new life through precise and never banal interpretations (...). Few like him have managed to combine architecture with the relentless demands of commitments" (Luca Nicotera - (h) ortus, architecture magazine)

Thursday, December 19, 2013

ESSO BUILDING

EDIFICIO DELLA ESSO
1978/80 by the Spanish architect Julio Lafuente (1921) and Gaetano Rebecchini
Still bold and futuristic architectural solution consisting of three gigantic inverted triangles
Highly controversial restructuring work is underway that it seems would affect the original beauty and originality of the structure

BUILDING WITH GARAGE AND MARKET

EDIFICIO CON AUTORIMESSA E MERCATO
1956/57 Riccardo Morandi (1902/89)
The front of the building is sawtooth shaped corresponding to the arrangement of the parking spaces
Excellent parking solution in elevation, which unfortunately has not been much imitated in Rome where building underground parking lots in such a rich archaeological area is an absurd and extremely costly habit
"In an interview given to the magazine Domus (October 1984) he made clear that to solve the same structural problem there are many ways, all of them valid from the static, economic and functional points of view, but the final choice, according to his view, it's up to the designer and it regards the aesthetic and social aspects giving character and beauty to the work. a vision diametrically opposite to that of Pier Luigi Nervi who, although he belonged to the same cultural environment, declared that a correct structure is automatically beautiful" (Alessandra Capanna - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

GOLDEN HOUSE OF NERO

DOMUS AUREA
Built for Nero (54/68) after the fire of 64 by Severus and Celer and adorned with paintings by Fabullus
About 260 hectares (about one square mile)
The only remaining pavilion - 300 x 190 m (1,000 feet x 630) - continued to be occupied until a fire destroyed it in 104 AD. It was then inserted in the foundations of the Baths of Trajan, which kept it preserved underground
Until now 150 rooms have been excavated, 30 of which could be visited until the recent closure
It was inserted in 1932 in PARK OF OPPIAN HILL made by Raffaele De Vico (1881/1969)
"Definitive statement of the new style of painting already begun in the Flavian period, the so-called IV style: inspired by the criteria of stage sets, it scans with thin walls and complex architecture open to illusory prospective backgrounds and enriched by a large repertoire of fantastic decorative elements, checkered landscape, textile motifs" (Simona Fortunelli - TMG)
"It addresses the various models and traditions, whose contrast is indeed one of the characteristics of the IV style. In its qualitatively better, or at least richer, expressions everything is held together by an abundance of small and almost redundant various decorative elements, according to a clear sense of horror vacui (fear of emptiness), which gives a decidedly baroque look to the whole" (Gian Luca Grassigli - TMG)
It is divided into two parts:
1) TO THE WEST
It circles around a large courtyard oriented north-south, perhaps Domus Transitoria, the previous residence of Nero:
GARDEN WITH PORCH
NYMPHAEUM with mosaic "Ulysses offers wine to Polyphemus"
HALL OF THE LITTLE HOWLS VAULT probably triclinium (dining room) beautifully decorated with ceiling fresco friezes around a central motif inspired by the Hellenistic painted curtains
On the right ROOM OF THE BLACK VAULT
Under the group of rooms to the south of the grotto, excavations have revealed the presence of REPUBLICAN HOUSES of the second century BC with remains of mosaic floors and paintings of the so-called First Style
2) TO THE EAST
Rooms arranged around a large irregular polygonal recess followed by a sector in a radial pattern around an octagonal hall, certainly added later, and costituting probably the actual Domus Aurea:
ROOM OF THE GOLDEN VAULT
CRYPTOPORTICUS
CTAGONAL ROOM
ROOM OF ACHILLES IN SCIRO with painted lunette "Achilles with women's clothes unmasked by Ulysses"
When a young Roman fell by chance into a slot on the side of the Oppian Hill at the end of the 1400s, he found himself in a strange cave, filled with painted figures. Soon the young Roman artists began to go in to see for themselves
The frescoes then discovered faded later to pale gray stains on the plaster, but the effect of these "grotesque" (from the Italian word "grotto" which means cave) decorations, in fact, was thrilling for the entire Renaissance period
When Pinturicchio, Raphael and Michelangelo went down under the ground in order to study these images, they had a revelation of what was the real ancient world. They, and other artists, like Marco Palmezzano, who worked in Rome in those years, began to spread throughout the rest of Italy such "grotesque" style
Besides the signatures of famous visitors and later engraved on the frescoes, such as those of Giacomo Casanova and the Marquis de Sade, a few inches away from each other, it is possible to read the names of great painters such as Domenico Ghirlandaio, Martin van Heemskerck and Filippino Lippi
ORATORY OF St. FELICITA
Retrieved from one of the service areas that were not involved in the Trajan construction and later were used as dwellings
There are graffiti and paintings almost completely disappeared dating back from the I/II to the V century AD