St. JOSEPH AT THE HOUSES' END

S. GIUSEPPE A CAPO LE CASE

Via Francesco Crispi 24

1588 next to the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites

It was rebuilt in 1628 with the monastery for Cardinal Marcello Lante

In the original church there used to be the famous painting “St. Teresa of Avila receives a gold necklace from the Virgin Mary” about 1613 (some say about 1618) by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582/1647) now in the new Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Via della Nocetta 83

The painting was immediately very successful with the public

Involving the viewer emotionally and assuming the role of mediation between the world of the faithful and of the divinity, it constituted one of the first expressions of baroque sensibility in Italian art

“At this stylistic stage Lanfranco leaves the more robust plasticity sometimes derived from Ludovico Carracci and the use of light derived from Bartolomeo Schedoni only to get new elegance and a formal refinement, derived from early Roman 'Correggiesque' works by Annibale Carracci, combined with an atmosphere enveloping light and shade and a phosphorescent light (backlighting effects), reminiscent of the contemporary works of Orazio Borgianni. This phase lasted from about 1614 to 1618 and it is documented by a large number of works, often requested from outside Rome, which mark the success and prestigious location that Lanfranco had reached” (Erich Schleier - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

1^st ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

“Holy Family” 1938 by Cleto Luzzi ( 1884/1952 )

2^nd ALTAR RIGHT

“S. Melania” by an anonymous nineteenth-century artist

MAIN ALTAR AND TABERNACLE

Bartolomeo Breccioli (?/1639), deteriorated

Fresco “Dream of St. Joseph” about 1635 by Andrea Sacchi (1599/1661)

One of his sisters was a nun and used to live in the monastery. The painting was later restored by his pupil Carlo Maratta

Behind the altar there are the HOLY STAIRS 1718 by Tommaso Mattei (1652/1726), a pupil of Carlo Fontana

The sisters climb the stairs on their knees praying. It was built because, as the nuns were in seclusion, they could not go on pilgrimage to the original Holy Stairs

1^st ALTAR ON THE LEFT

Painting “St. John the Baptist, Prophet Elisha and Angels” by an anonymous seventeenth-century artist

In the former monastery the GALLERIA D’ARTE MODERNA DI ROMA CAPITALE (Gallery of Modern Art of Rome Capital of Italy) is now housed

RUSPOLI PALACE

PALAZZO RUSPOLI

Via del Corso - Via Fontanella Borghese 56

Begun in 1556 by Giovanni Lippi aka Nanni di Baccio Bigio (about 1513/68)

Continued 1583/86 by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1511/92) for the Rucellai family from Florence who sold it in 1629 to the Caetani family

Completed 1633/37 by Bartolomeo Breccioli (?/1639)

Incorporates the former CINEMA ETOILE

Since 1713 it became property of the Ruspoli family who possess it still

It is the seat of the Fondazione Memmo and it hosts temporary exhibitions

STAIRCASE also known as Caetani Staircase 1640 by Martino Longhi the Younger (1602/60) with 120 steps each carved from a single piece of antique marble

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was considered one of the four wonders of Rome along with Palazzo Farnese, Palazzo Borghese and the entrance to Palazzo Sciarra

GALLERY ON THE SECOND FLOOR

Frescoes “Genealogy of the triumphs with deities and allegorical figures” 1589/92 by Jacopo Zucchi (about 1542/96) and busts

NARI PALACE ON MONTERONE

PALAZZO NARI A MONTERONE

Via Monterone 2

Beginning of 1600s Bartolomeo Breccioli (?/1639)

Interior decorations for the Marquis Fabrizio Nari including the spectacular vault in the corner LIVING ROOM OF THE SECOND FLOOR:

In the center “Triumph of truth over deception”

Around four biblical episodes with “Esther's Stories” 1673/75 all painted by the excellent painter and architect from Rieti Antonio Gherardi (1638/1702)

“The pictorial quality is uncertain and the paintings were considered by the critics, until the discovery of documents, dating to the period previous to the ceiling of S. Maria in Trivio. Such apparent stylistic weakness is likely to be due to the modification of the initial project, which provided a breakdown of the vault similar to that of S. Maria in Trivio, due to a sudden restoration of the ceiling desired by the client. From the point of view of style Gherardi refers explicitly to the canvas with stories of Esther painted by Paolo Caliari, called Veronese, in church of St. Sebastian of the Gerolamini in Venice” (Ivana Corsetti - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

MATTEI DI PAGANICA PALACE

PALAZZO MATTEI DI PAGANICA

Piazza Enciclopedia Italiana 3

1541 maybe Giovanni Lippi aka Nanni di Baccio Bigio (about 1513/68) for Ludovico Mattei conte di Paganica

Partly built over the auditorium of the THEATER OF BALBUS

In 1640 Bartolomeo Breccioli (?/1639) expanded the building for the Mattei family towards Via delle Botteghe Oscure, on land purchased in 1548, demolishing old houses owned by them

Since 1928, it is the headquarters of the INSTITUTE OF THE ITALIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA with a library of 85,000 volumes mainly of encyclopedic works