TEMPIO DEL DIVO CLAUDIO
Via Claudia/Piazza Ss. Giovanni e
Paolo
Begun in
the year 54 AD for Agrippina, wife of Claudius (41/54) immediately after the
death of the emperor
Partially
demolished and turned into a monumental nymphaeum by the son of Agrippina, Nero
(54/68), who included it in his Domus
Aurea
Vespasian
(69/79) had it rebuilt after the death of Nero
It stood on
a great rectangular platform of 180 x 200 m (590 x 660 feet) supported by retaining
walls, still partly visible
From the Forma Urbis we know that the
temple was prostyle hexastyle with three columns on the sides
The
rest of the area, maybe surrounded by a portico, was occupied by a garden
TEMPIO DEL “DIO REDICOLO”
Via
della Caffarella
Second
century AD, mausoleum shaped as a temple considered to be the tomb of Annia
Regilla wife of Herod Atticus (101/177)
Herodes
Atticus was a wealthy Athenian chosen by Antoninus Pius (138/161) as tutor to
his adopted children Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus and charged with the
killing of his wife Annia Regilla who had brought him a dowry of properties on
the Appian Way
After being
acquitted he gave himself to blatant manifestations of mourning
The name of
the building derives from the mistaken identification with the temple of the “Return”
the divinity that would have forced Hannibal to go back
TEMPIETTO DI S. ANDREA
Viale
delle Mura Aurelie 4
1848. Small
temple by Gaetano Morichini with statue of “St.
Andrew” by Carlo Aureli pupil of Antonio Canova for
Pius IX Mastai Ferretti (1846/78)
It was
built to commemorate the place where the relic of the head of St. Andrew was found. It had recently been stolen from St.
Peter's Basilica
The relic
of the head of St. Andrew was donated in 1966 by Pope Paul VI Montini (1963/78)
to the Greek city of Patras as a gesture of detente toward the Orthodox Church.
The relic of the rest of the body of St. Andrew is located in the Cathedral of
Amalfi
TEMPIETTO DEL CARMELO
Piazza Costaguti
Built in
1759 as a small church with the name of S. MARIA DEL CARMELO used for Christian
sermons forced on the Roman Jews who often would fill up their ears with wax so
not to hear
1825
restoration for the rich Fratellini family, grocers who lived near the Ghetto
“It is
inspired by the portico of S. Maria della Pace. It represents an evolution of
the monumental shrines that besides being an object of devotion, ensured the
night lighting because they were provided with lights that were kept always on.
The image of the Virgin Mary is, in this case, placed in a chapel that would
have the function of a church” (Alessandra Bartomioli)
It was a
member of the Order of Carmelites, the Englishman St. Simon Stock, to create
the feast of Our Lady, which was called del
Carmine (of Mount Carmel), the most common form of the term Carmel, the
mountain range of Palestine where monks following the example of the Prophet
Eli used to live
Tradition
has it that on the Carmel mountain range Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock
on July 16, 1251
“For years,
the agency Italia Nostra is fighting for its recovery, but every attempt of the
Superintendent was blocked by the impossibility to access the building. The
last occupant was a shoemaker, who was renting it from a mysterious owner. Before
he died, in the seventies, he left the keys to a un unknown person. Now the
temple has its rusty iron door tightly closed. There are two people who say
they are renting it from a mysterious owner who had emigrated to Israel. But
research conducted in Israel by the Superintendent to find him came to nothing.
In the solution of the mystery, is now engaged the architect Arianna Cajano, who
is about to begin a procedure called in legal jargon 'intervention in place', whereby
the restoration of the monument will proceed and then the costs will be charged
to the owner. If he will not turn up, the Temple will become public property”
(Lauretta Colonnelli - Corriere della Sera - 16 January 2001)
The
restoration was actually executed and the temple was entrusted to the Jewish
community in Rome
TEATRO VALLE
Via del Teatro Valle 21
1726/27 Tommaso Morelli (active first half of the eighteenth
century) for the Marquis Camillo Capranica and for Domenico Valle who, although
he was called Valle, did not give the name to the theater, which was named for
the place called “alla valle” (on the valley), the ancient STAGNUM AGRIPPAE on
which it was built
The
original building was made of wood
Restored
1820/22 by Giuseppe Valadier (1762/1839) with
the neoclassical FAÇADE and Giuseppe Camporese (1763/1822)
who was the project manager
A collapse
in the stage, however, made Valadier drop out of favor and he was replaced by Gaspare Salvi (1786/1849)
Here were
held premieres of operas by Gioachino Rossini Demetrio e Polibio and Cenerentola (Cinderella), as well as the
premieres of four operas by Gaetano Donizetti and various drama works by
Gabriele D'Annunzio as well as Six
Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello
It is
the oldest of the Roman theaters still active
TEATRO TORDINONA
Lungotevere Tordinona - distrutto
1670 Carlo Fontana
(1634/1714) for Queen Christina of Sweden
It was
better known as TEATRO APOLLO (Apollo
Theater)
It was
demolished in 1888 to build the embankments of the Tiber River
It was the
first ever theater in Rome where women acted in 1798
Here were
held the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's operas Trovatore and Un ballo in
maschera
A commemorative plaque of
1925 by Cesare Bazzani (1873/1939) recalls these
events
TEATRO SISTINA
Via Sistina 128/131
1948/49 Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960) on the area of the
destroyed church of S. Francesca Romana (St. Frances of Rome)
The
capacity is about 1,600 seats
The first
show was a musical comedy with the Italian comedia Totò
Among the
international artists who performed in this theater: Louis Armstrong, Burt
Bacharach, Liza Minnelli, Dionne Warwick and Woody Allen
Since 2003,
the Teatro Sistina has been recognized by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture
as Teatro Stabile (permanent Theater) for Italian Musical Comedy
“The
popularity of the Teatro Sistina arises mainly due to the never-ending
activities of Garinei and Giovannini who, in 46 years of management, have given
to the theater (not only Italian) masterpieces as Aggiungi un Posto a Tavola
(Add a Place at the Table), Rugantino, Il Giorno della Tartaruga (The Day of
the Turtle), shows performed in over 45 countries worldwide and translated into
16 languages” (Official website of the Teatro Sistina - www.ilsistina.it)
TEATRO SALA UMBERTO
Via della
Mercede 50
It opened
in 1882 in the ground floor of an existing building at the behest of the
architect Andrea Busiri Vici (1818/1911) who
commissioned the decoration of the interior to Alessandro
Bazzani
Expansion
in 1890 by Giulio Podesti (1857/1909). At the
time there were 650 seats
It was used
for operettas, plays or concerts
The use as
a theater for drama or music and as a theater for movies has alternated over
the years: in 1913 it was transformed into a cinema by Attilio
Spaccarelli (1890/1975)
In 1928 it
became a theater for drama again and took the name of SALA UMBERTO in honor of
King Umberto I (king of Italy 1878/1900)
From 1930
onwards it was again used as cinema until 1981 when the representations of
drama came back again after the restoration
In
1991 it became a cinema again and, since 2002, it has been a theater for auteur
comedy with a capacity of 485 seats
TEATRO ROSSINI
Via S. Chiara 14
1874 Virginio Vespignani (1808/82)
Here were
represented mainly shows in Roman dialect
It was
closed in 1886 and reopened in 1950 by the will of Checco Durante, poet and
actor who used to express himself in Roman dialect, and who directed the
theater
Since 1990
the direction passed to Alfiero Alfieri, another talented actor specialized in Roman
dialect
The
theater originally had 600 seats, now reduced to 200 and it was renamed TEATRO
ROSSINI - RENATO RASCEL in 2005
TEATRO QUIRINO VITTORIO GASSMAN
Via delle Vergini 7
Originally
built in 1871 almost entirely in wood
Designed by
Giulio De Angelis (1850/1906) for Prince Maffeo
Sciarra
It was the
first theater to be built in Rome after it became capital of Italy
1882/95
masonry structure also designed by Giulio De Angelis (1850/1906)
“Giulio De
Angelis acquired a position of absolute, unquestionable originality in the
architecture of the first decades of Rome, the new capital of Italy. He proved
himself to have an independent and peculiar temperament – and to have mastery
of the most advanced construction techniques, linked to the industrial
production of his time” (Giuseppe Miano - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani
Treccani)
1889
rebuilding and expansion in Neo-Renaissance style by the architect Belloli and the engineer Moraldi
1915
renovation and expansion by Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960)
Restored in
1954 also by Marcello Piacentini and again in
1980 by Enrico Nespega
Here
were represented some world premieres of works by Luigi Pirandello, winner of
the Nobel prize for literature in 1934, and here the Italian comedian Ettore
Petrolini gave his farewell to the stage
TEATRO MARCELLO
Via del Teatro Marcello
Begun by
Julius Caesar and finished by Augustus (27 BC/14)
Probably
completed in 17 BC when it was used for the so called secular games, but the dedication took place only in 13 or in 11
BC, when it was named after Marcellus (42/23 BC), nephew and son-in-law of
Augustus who died at age 19
Marcellus
was the son of Augustus' sister, Octavia, and the husband of the daughter of
Augustus, Giulia
The theater
was built on the site where the provisional theater used to be erected in the
Republican period
In order to
build the theater two temples were destroyed, maybe the TEMPLE OF PIETAS and
the TEMPLE OF DIANA later reconstructed at the center of a large exedra behind
the stage
In 23 BC
Vespasian (69/79) restored the stage
Capacity of
about 15,000/20,000 spectators
Originally
the height was about 32.60 m (107 feet), the current height is about 20 m (65
feet)
Orsini Savelli Palace
Structure
built above the Theater of Marcellus since the Middle Ages for the Pierleoni
family, Jews converted to Christianity, one of whom became antipope with the
name of Anacleto II (1131/38) in opposition to Innocent II Papareschi
(1130/1143)
This
happened during the period of the turf war between the Pierleoni and the
Frangipane families, the most powerful ones in Rome at the time
The
presence here of the Pierleonis was perhaps the reason why many Jews were
forced to move from the Trastevere neighborhood to this area, which later
became the Jewish Ghetto
Current
building 1523/27 by Baldassare Peruzzi (1481/1536)
for the Savelli family. The line of the family ended in the eighteenth century
The
palace was sold to the Orsini family in 1716 and it was finally divided into
luxury apartments
TEATRO ELISEO
Via
Nazionale 183 a
1901 as
outdoor arena with the name of Apollo
Rebuilt
1906/10 masonry
“They were
very advanced technical solutions adopted and the coverage of the room is
probably the first built in Rome with reinforced concrete structures” (Piero
Ostilio Rossi)
Interior
completely renovated with rationalism in the years 1936/38 by Luigi Piccinato
(1899/1984)
The stage
was installed a rotating sector of 11 m (36 feet) in diameter, the first of its
kind in Italy
Modernization
in 1982 by Giancarlo Capolei with reduction to 956 seats
Between
the Teatro Eliseo and the Teatro Piccolo Eliseo there are EX-STORES ROVATTI
1901 with cast iron and reinforced concrete structures
TEATRO DI POMPEO
Largo di Torre Argentina/Campo de'
Fiori/Via del Sudario/Via di S. Anna
61/55 BC
for the consul Pompey
Restored in
the year 32 BC for Augustus (27 BC/14) who had the curia sealed and walled in
and moved the statue of Pompey behind the scene
Restored
again for Domitian (81/96), Diocletian (285/305) and Maximian (286/305)
associated with Diocletian
It was the
first theater in masonry in Rome
Diameter of
the auditorium 160 m (525 feet)
The
capacity was up to 17,580 spectators
The scene
had large statues of the Muses with Apollo, five of which still existing in the
Louvre, the National Museum of Naples and in the courtyard of Palazzo Borghese
At the
center there were two groves of sycomore trees bordered by lines of fountains
On top of
the auditorium there was the TEMPLE OF VENUS VICTRIX opened in 52 BC and
corresponding to the modern Palazzo
Pio Righetti
Behind the
scene there was the huge PORCH of about 180 x 135 m (590 x 443 feet)
On the side
of the porch opposite to the theater there was a great big rectangular exedra
known as CURIA OF POMPEY that was used as a Curia for Senate meetings. There
was a statue of Pompey
In the
Curia of Pompey Julius Caesar was killed on March 15, 44 BC
Traces of
the Curia are visible in the sacred
area of Largo Argentina
ARCH OF
GROTTAPINTA
In the Passetto
del Biscione, so named for the remains of paintings with columns, swags and
putti
S. MARIA IN GROTTAPINTA
Known
from 1291. Deconsecrated
TEATRO DI BALBO
Via delle Botteghe Oscure/Via
Paganica/Via dei Funari
13 BC for
Lucius Cornelius Balbus the Younger
The theater
was built with the proceeds of his triumph over the Garamantes (Africans) of
the year 19 BC
Lucius
Cornelius Balbus the Younger was the last one not of imperial family to
celebrate a triumph
The theater
was damaged by the fire of the year 80 AD
It is the
third and smallest theater in the Campus Martius
According
to the Regional Catalogues it contained
11,510 spectators
The
diameter is 90 m (295 feet)
In the
middle there was a temple, maybe the TEMPLE OF VOLCANO IN THE CAMPUS MARTIUS
The space
behind the stage was occupied by Balbi’s
Crypt
TEATRO DELL'OPERA
Piazza Beniamino Gigli 7
1878/80 Achille Sfondrini for Domenico Costanzi who was owner
of the land was the impresario until his death
Restored
radically in the years 1926/28 by Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960)
Further
restoration in the years 1957/60 with FAÇADE also by Marcello
Piacentini
Bronze
relief on the façade “Five Muse” by Luigi Scirocchi
Among the
world premiere of operas held in this theater: Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
FRESCO IN THE DOME by Annibale
Brugnoli (1843/1915)
The LAMP is considered the largest in the world with a
diameter of 6 m (20 feet), height of 3.5 m (11.5 feet), volume of 36 cubic
meters and weighing more than 3,000 pounds (473 stones)
It was made
in Murano and it is a masterpiece of glass art
It is
thoroughly cleaned every five years
TEATRO BRANCACCIO
Via Merulana 244
1913/16 Carlo Sacconi
The
original name was Teatro Morgana Morgana
Theater
It has a
capacity of 1,400 seats
It was
later used as a cinema, as variety hall and for concerts
Among the
artists who performed there, there were Louis Armstrong, Paul Anka and the
Italian comedian Totò
In 1968
here performed The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and in 1971 Jethro Tull
It was
again used as a theater since 1978
From 2001
to 2007 the art direction was entrusted to the actor Gigi Proietti with great
success
In
2011 here were performed the musicals Beauty and the Beast and Mamma Mia but
for lack of spectators the theater had to close
TEATRO ARGENTINA
Largo di Torre Argentina 52
Opened in
1732 and designed by the Marquis Girolamo Theodoli (1677/1766)
for Duke Giuseppe Sforza Cesarini
In 1826
were added LOBBY, FOYER and FAÇADE (hitherto missing) by Pietro Holl (1780 / 1855-56)
In 1843 it
was bought by Prince Alessandro Torlonia
Renewal in
the years 1859/61 by Nicola Canevari
In 1869 it
passed to the City of Rome for 100,000 scudi
Total
reconstruction 1887/88 by Gioacchino Ersoch (1815/1902)
The
restoration of 1926 by Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960)
and the restoration of the years 1967/71 have almost completely cleared Ersoch’s
reconstruction
The
restoration of 2011/12 have given back the original soft color to the façade
In 1816 here
was performed the world premiere of the opera The Barber of Seville by
Gioachino Rossini which ended in a fiasco
Already for
the second performance the success was huge and the public went to Rossini’s house
Rossini to celebrate after the show. The composer disappointed by the premiere
had not gone to the theater and, hearing the uproar, at first he was afraid
that people were coming there to beat him up
The Teatro
Argentina was also the venue of the world premieres of the works by Giuseppe
Verdi I Due Foscari in 1844 and La Battaglia di Legnano in 1849, the
latter during the revolutionary period of the Roman Republic at the presence of
the national heroes Giuseppe Garibaldi and Goffredo Mameli
From
the first half of the twentieth century prose was staged in this theater
TEATRO ADRIANO
Piazza Cavour 22
1898 Luigi Rolland (about 1898/1914), Belgian architect,
father of Luigi Moretti
He used
reinforced concrete, a new technique at the time
The theater
was mainly used for opera
From 1936
to 1950 were held here the concerts of the Academy of St. Cecilia and later it
was transformed into a double movie theater
In 1965
here played the Beatles
In
1999 it was transformed into a MULTIPLEX CINEMA
TARENTUM
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II/ Largo
Ottavio Tassoni
Temple on
the Campus Martius near the present Ponte
Vittorio Emanuele II (Victor Emmanuel II Bridge) dedicated to Dis
and Proserpina revered underground on an altar that was dug up for each
ceremony
Here also
took place the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) about every century (110
years)
Near,
perhaps along Via Giulia, was the TRIGARIUM land reserved for horse racing in
trighe until 500 BC and for the rites of the Equus October that consisted of a run, with the sacrifice of one of
the winning horses and of a competition between Sacravienses and Suburani,
the inhabitants of two ancient neighborhoods of Rome
On today's
Via del Banco di Santo Spirito near the church of Sts. Celsus and Julian was the
ARCH OF GRATIAN (367/383), VALENTINIAN II (375/392) and THEODOSIUS (379/395)
dating to about 379/383
Corresponding
with the PONS NERONIANUS (Bridge of Nero) was the ARCH OF ARCADIUS (395/408),
HONORIUS (395/423) and THEODOSIUS about 406, built after the victory of
Stilicho at Pollentia on the year 405
STUDIO FORTUNY
Via Flaminia 122
1801/1810 Giuseppe Valadier (1762/1839) for Stanislaw
Poniatowski grandson of the last king of Poland, Stanisław II August, born
Stanisław Poniatowski (1732/98)
The
building was the stable of the nearby Villa
Poniatowski
It was
originally made of a single plan but was raised with an additional plan and
converted into a studio by the Spanish painter and engraver Mariano Fortuny Marsal (1838/74) who shared it with
his pupil Attilio Simonetti
STAZIONE TIBURTINA
Piazzale della Stazione Tiburtina
FIRST STATION
1939 Angiolo Mazzoni
Del Grande (1894/1979)
SECOND
STATION
Grand and
modern restructuring largely completed in 2012 by ABDR
Associates Architects directed by Paolo Desideri
The new
bold and remarkable structure is not yet fully used
It is the
second railway station in Rome and it is dedicated to Count Camillo Benso di
Cavour
SOME
FIGURES that give an idea of the magnitude of this station:
50,000 m²
(12.3 acres) of surface
4,000 m² (1
acre) of land for the primary services of the station
36,000 m²
(8.9 acres) of areas of secondary services, technical and connective
7,000 m²
(1.7 acres) of exterior glazing
10,000 m²
(2.5 acres) of commercial areas
140,000
visitors a day
1,100
parking spaces of which 430 covered
20 tracks
29 lifts
and hoists
52
escalators
“The
gallery, free minimum width of 10 meters, is characterized by the presence of suspended volumes (volumi sospesi, VOS) and is dotted with pillars
supporting the roof. The environmental comfort of the large space of the
gallery is guaranteed by the use of bioclimatic devices that, in addition to
reducing energy consumption and, therefore, operating costs, limit the use of a
system of forced ventilation and air conditioning. Microclimate thus obtained
will be characterized, consistent with its nature of space for passage, by an
attenuation of feeling hot or cold compared to the outside (...). The ‘volumes’
(VOS) suspended within the large gallery, characterize the space, building with
their reach toward the central area, those suggestions that are typical of a
public space, especially when this is both a railway station, a commercial
space, and a kind of urban street, able to connect two parts of the city”
(Official website of the Italian Railway www.rfi.it)
STAZIONE TERMINI
Piazza dei Cinquecento
FIRST
STATION
1862/63
with the name Stazione Centrale delle
Ferrovie Romane (Central Station of the Roman Railways)
In the
sixteenth century in this area had been built the Villa Montalto-Peretti owned by Cardinal Felice Peretti, later Pope
Sixtus V (1585/90)
The villa
was later acquired by the Massimo family, who gave it to the Papal State just
when the construction of the train station was being planned, and, as a result,
the villa was demolished
The station
was built in conjunction with the opening of the rail link from Rome first to
Ceprano and later to Napoli
SECOND
STATION
1868/74 by Salvatore Bianchi (1821/84) for a city of just 200,000
inhabitants
After
switching to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, the works suffered several
interruptions and slowdowns
The
decision was made to build a central station for Roma in this area, despite it
would have had more sense to build a station for each line, such as Paris or
London
The first
two railway lines of the Papal States had in fact the last stops in the Porta
Maggiore (the Rome-Frascati, 1856) and in Porta Portese (the
Rome-Civitavecchia, 1859, later extended to Pisa). There were also existing
projects for the Rome-Ceprano and Rome-Ancona
However, it
was decisive the influence of the powerful Belgian Monsignor Francesco De
Merode who had interests in the Termini area and in the current Via Nazionale,
the street that him himself planned
The Master
Plan of 1931 included two main stations in Rome: one in the north, on Campo
Parioli where later the Olympic Village was built, and one in the south in the
area of Casilino Mandrione. The two stations would have connected by a tunnel
and Termini would have been a transit underground station
It was an
idea that, with hindsight, was not so bad and would have avoided the huge wound
of the railroad tracks that cuts the center of Rome
But then in
1936 it was decided to organize the Universal Exhibition and, with the new idea
of developing Roma towards the sea, it was decided to have Termini as the only
main station
THIRD
STATION
Begun in
1938 with the sides longer than 2 km (1.2 miles) by Angiolo
Mazzoni Del Grande (1894/1979)
“Angiolo
Mazzoni Del Grande always tried new ways of expression, up to level of the
heterogeneous language that defiled the rationalist lexicon with a rich
materiality that Marinetti called futurist, but that demonstrates the need to
meet the demands of the administration of which he was a dependent, in some
circumstances, the result of mediation in situations of discord among its
stakeholders, particularly complex and evident in the events related to the
history of the important railway junctions of Florence, Rome and Venice”
(Alessandra Capanna – Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
Front building
1947/50
designed by two groups of architects joint winners of the competition: the one
of Leo Calini (1903/85) and Eugenio Montuori (1907/82) and that of Massimo Castellazzi (1901/77), Vasco Fadigati (1902/?), Achille Pintonello
(1902/?) and Annibale Vitellozzi (1902/90)
The
building is 53 m long (174 feet) and the huge CANTILEVER ROOF extends for 19 m (63 feet) to the
outside with a bold technical solution. It is nicknamed the dinosaur
Bas-relief
1951 by the Hungarian artist Amerigo Tot (1909/84)
“The front
building remains one of the most interesting works in the Italian post-war and
it is a concrete testimony of the renewal effort that architectural culture had
undertaken in those years” (Piero Ostilio Rossi)
Termini
Station was renovated in 2000 and a huge shopping mall was opened in the
basement
It is the
first train station in Italy and the second in Europe after the Gare du Nord in
Paris for number of passengers
It has been
figured out that every day about 480.000 people enter this train station, as
mentioned on the official Stazione Termini web site
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EXPLORATIONS
The
building is located on the former site of a popular quarter of the second
century AD
The
frescoes found during construction are now exposed on the top floor of the
nearby archaeological museum of Palazzo
Massimo
At the
side of the front building and inside the station itself are visible sections
of the ancient Servian Walls
STAZIONE OSTIENSE
Piazzale dei Partigiani
1938/39 Roberto Narducci for Hitler's visit to Rome in 1938
The station
was finally completed in 1940
High relief
on the façade of the right propylaeum “Bellerophon with the winged horse
Pegasus” 1940 by Francesco Nagni (1897/1977)
The FLOOR includes
mosaics in black and white with images linked to the history of Rome
Roberto
Narducci specialized in projects for post offices throughout Italy, but
especially in railway stations. He was also in charge of the reconstruction of
many railway stations after the destructions of World War II
STAZIONE FERROVIA ROMA-LIDO
Piazzale
Ostiense
1920/23 Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960)
He
abandoned the secessionist influence of his previous works and he designed here
a kind of rural architecture
“Piacentini
was inspired by two main ideas: the sea and classical antiquity. Besides, at
that time the area was still almost in the country: there were only some
monuments such as the Pyramid and, beyond it, Aventine and Testaccio hills.
From the outside the station looks like an archaic temple, with its four
pillars to support the pediment. And then the false fragments of sarcophagi and
bas-reliefs with heads of the Gorgons, embedded in the outer walls. But the new
railway was leading to the sea and he had to quote, that starting from the palm
trees, planted at the beginning of the tracks. And then the decorations: on the
ceiling crabs and flowers with petals of shells. And at the entrance three
panels as graffiti on lime imitate the ancient mosaics of Ostia and those of
the Villa of Pliny in Castel Fusano and have as subject marine mythological
scenes: in one of them, two men have just caught a mermaid weeping. And yet
nymphs and seahorses, in addition to Neptune and Poseidon. A sister station in
Ostia was destroyed by bombing of World War Two” (Esther Palma - Corriere della
Sera of 25 October 2004)
STAZIONE DEL VATICANO
Piazzale della Stazione del
Vaticano - Città del Vaticano
1929/33 Giuseppe Momo (1875/1940), architect of the Reverenda Fabbrica di S. Pietro, the
Reverend Factory of St. Peter
“Giuseppe
Momo was a professional expert also in technical and structural issues,
destined to become the architect of the dramatic transformation of Vatican
City. (...) His approach to formal problems, after a brief period when he
followed the Liberty style, was marked by a strong eclecticism. It's pretty
amazing his ability to move competently in architectural repertoire inherited
from past eras, choosing from time to time with ease and without privileging any
period, the building type best suited to solving problems effectively present
for the function and history of the sites, for the technical innovations and,
not least, for the symbolic importance of these buildings” (Daniela Fonti)
Marble
reliefs and sculptures “Thought” and “Action” by Edoardo
Rubino (1871/1954)
The
sumptuous marble decoration of the interior was designed for the meetings that the
pope should have had welcoming his guests, but that actually never happened
Inside “Four
huge black monolithic columns “ from the Apuan Alps
It was used
for passenger traffic only on very few occasions and much more for freight
traffic although now even that is reduced to zero
The first
pope to use the station Vatican was John XXIII (1958/63), on October 4, 1962,
for his pilgrimage to Loreto and Assisi, on the eve of the Ecumenical Council
John Paul
II (1978/2005) despite having traveled by train many times around the world,
used the Vatican station only once, on January 24, 2002 to reach Assisi in a
special pilgrimage together with representatives of the various religions of
the world for the Day of Prayer for world peace
It has been
several years that the building has been divided into three floors and
transformed in the DEPARTMENT STORE OF THE VATICAN where are sold apparel products
and leather high fashion, expensive watches, perfumes, computers and even
alcohol and cigarettes, all with prices at least 20% lower than in Italy, since
there are no taxes to be paid in the Vatican
Only
employees of the Vatican and members of the clergy can shop in this store and,
a short distance, they can also get gas at the GAS PUMP OF THE VATICAN where they
save about 25% compared to Italy
STATUE PARLANTI
Also known as Congresso
degli Arguti (Congress of the Smart People)
Common people used to hung on
these statues messages known as pasquinate
(lampoons), from Pasquino, the statue that started the tradition, a sort of
today's “blog” that gave voice to the opposition to the regime
Abbot Luigi
Piazza
Vidoni
“Man wearing a Toga” of the late
Imperial period moved to Piazza Vidoni after the demolitions for the opening of
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II
Baboon
Via del Babuino 51
“Silenus” (or maybe the Sabine
god Fidio Sanco) placed in 1576 on Via del Babuino (which took its name from
the statue) at No. 51 for Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85)
Set in a rustic setting in 1738
for the Boncompagni Ludovisi family
In 1878 it was removed but it
was reinstated in 1957
It was so famous that the “lampoons”
hung here were called “babuinate”
Porter
Via del Corso 307
“Water
carrier with barrel” on the left side of Palazzo
De Carolis
It dates from the time of
Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85), although it is erroneously attributed to
Michelangelo by popular tradition
Madame Lucretia
Piazza
S. Marco
The name
may come from Lucrezia d'Alagno, friend of Alfonso of Aragon and Paul II Barbo
(1464/71) who commissioned the nearby Palazzo
Venezia
It's
actually a giant statue of “Goddess Isis” found in the Isei Campensis, the ancient
temple dedicated to Isis and placed in Piazza Venezia in about 1500 by the
Cardinal Lorenzo Cybo
Piazza del Campidoglio
Colossal
reclining statue of “Ocean” of the first century AD found in the Forum and now
in the courtyard of the Palazzo Nuovo
of the Capitoline Museums
Piazza
di Paquino
Maybe “Menelaus
with the body of Patroclus” or “Ajax with the body of Achilles” Roman copy from
the original of about 200 BC found on Via del Parione in 1501
It was
perhaps part of the decoration of the Stadium
of Domitian, and it was placed in Piazza Pasquino by Cardinal
Oliviero Carafa
It took its
name from that of a judgmental and talker tailor who lived nearby and who had
recently died
It is the
only one of the talking statues that continues to speak today
Among the
many lampoons, whose authors were authoritative intellectuals, there was the one
on the occasion of the excommunication by Pope Innocent X Pamphili (1644/55)
for anyone who had smoked tobacco, a novelty recently imported from the New
World, in the Basilica of St. Peter
“On
the neck of the famous statue was hung a sign with Latin verses saying: 'You exercise
your power against a leaf blown away by the wind and you pursue a dry straw’.
The pope wanted to know the author, and Pasquino 'said': 'Job, 13, 24'; it was
indeed verses from the Holy Scriptures. Even the pope promised a prize to the
author, but since some time before the person responsable for a reckless
lampoon against the sister of Pope Sixtus V had a bad end, this time the author
was careful not to be discovered and made Pasquino answer : 'Free of charge. Don’t
worry about it…’'“ (Italo De Tuddo)
