1703/05
lost masterpiece by Alessandro Specchi
(1668/1729) built for Clement XI Albani (1700/21)
It was
obviously inspirational for Francesco De Sanctis when he conceived the Spanish Steps built in the
years 1723/26
During the
construction there was an earthquake in Rome which brought down two arches of
the second tier of the Colosseum and the fallen blocks were used by Alessandro Specchi as building material for the port
It was
unfortunately destroyed at the end of the nineteenth century to build the
embankments of the River Tiber
The only
remnants are the Fontana dei Navigatori
(Fountain of the Navigators) and the two columns that used to adorn the
staircase
“In the
relatively stagnant climate at the opening of the century Specchi offers a
proposal polemic, on one hand, against the official classicism - to which he
opposes a revival of Borromini modules - and emblematic, on the other, of the
new age for its character of friendly insert in the urban landscape. He solves
brilliantly the problem of the connection between the beach and an
architectural background not at all uniform: he identifies the major axis in
line with the modest façade of the church of St. Jerome, and he engages on it a
cylindrical wall which join two flights of descending stairs. Along these there
are two extensive sets of stairs, two concave ramps to accommodate those coming
from the river. The waving movement of Borromini façades is here transposed on
an urban scale to get a perfect interpenetration between architecture and
nature, between city and river” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio
Giuliano)
“Specchi
has crucial importance as the first symptom of the revival of dramatic creative
ambitions that characterizes the second and third decades of the century. In
his dynamic and open composition there is a bold critique of the eclectic
caution of his master Carlo Fontana and a protest against the waste of
potential for development implicit in Borromini's inheritance, which in other
parts of Europe had otherwise found fertile ground. The composition is related
to the one, perhaps suggested by Bernini himself, for the Spanish Steps (...),
but in its rigorous research for a plastic or linear continuity reveals a
penetrating reading of the last experiences of Borromini, especially the façade
of San Carlino. (...) The density of rhythm of Alessandro Specchi was unknown
to the more relaxed phrasing of the previous century” (Paolo Portoghesi)
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