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Apartments in this quarter:
 "TITIAN", a
one bedr., sitting room apartment accommodating up to 4 persons overlooking the square
"VIVALDI", large deluxe apartment. Three
bedrooms, sitting room, dining room, ample kitchen, two bathrooms accommodating up to 7
persons
"CARAVAGGIO", a large, fine and quaint
studio, with separate kitchen, bathroom, foyer accommodating 2 persons
"MARCO POLO", a one bedroom, sitting
room attic with large roof garden with spectacular views of all Rome, accomm. 2 persons.
You will find the map of the quarter, with precise indication of
where the apartments are, in the section A2 of the map of Rome, please click here. Once
you will be in the page, click on section A2, the exact location of the
apartments will be shown. If you want to go directly to section A2, please click here.
As mentioned, the Piazza Navona
and the Campo de' Fiori quarters are in the same area, as if they were
one quarter. Considering their countless aspects we will consider them separately, and in
their highlights, or it would take a thick book.
Campo de' Fiori owes its name to the "flowers field" (the
apostrophe is typical of the Romanesque dialect) present before the erection of the
buildings in the 15th century. The palazzi encircle a square with inns, bookshops, and the
famous colourful market still held every morning except Sunday. It is the centre of a
quarter with many facets. |
Piazza Campo De' Fiori |
After the market, in the afternoon it is an intriguing meeting point,
especially of people with a ring of creativeness. At night it is one of the most
attractive places, with many good pizzerie, restaurants, bars and cafes with people
engaged in lively conversations, rekindling the unique Roman atmosphere of history, art,
love for life. Surprisingly, despite its poetic name and its amiable look, the square has
been in the past a place of assassinations. Julius Caesar was murdered in a subsidiary
building of the Roman senate within the area of the square.
Giordano Bruno
(right photo), a philosopher who advocated the separation between the political and
religious power of the Church, was condemned and burnt alive by the Inquisition in 1600,
right in the place where his statue stands today. The statue was built by the patriots who
fought for the reunion of Italy, and which brought to the separation between the temporal
and spiritual power of the popes.
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Giordano Bruno's statue |
Annunziata's stand
Wandering in the picturesque flower and vegetable
market is a pleasant and inspiring experience. If you are friendly with the peddlers they
will pamper you. Try the stand of Annunziata, which is also inexpensive. Tell her
that you have seen her photo in the internet. Her stand is at the end of the square, near
the Farnese Cinema. |
Lucrezia Borgia was born nearby, and her brother was murdered here. Caravaggio played a
game of a sort of tennis in the piazza, then murdered his opponent in a surge of rage.
As a way to express continuity with Giordano Bruno's lifestyle, the square is a
meeting point of intellectuals and of those who have an "alternative" life
style, and who dissent from the mainstream or from the establishment. Their meeting point
is traditionally the statue and the Cinema Farnese, at the east end of the square.
Nearby, towards north and the adjacent Piazza Navona, there is the elegant and majestic Palazzo
della Cancelleria (below). Built at the end of the 15th century for Cardinal
Riario, it is traditionally attributed to Bramante. It seems likely that
he only contributed to design the magnificent courtyard.
Leo X
confiscated the palace from Cardinal Riario, making it a residence of prelates, and the
"Cancelleria" (Chancellery) for the drafting of pontifical acts. Today it enjoys
the extraterritorial privileges granted to the Vatican under the Lateran Agreement. The
long, elegant travertine facade is given rhythm by a series of pilasters. The main door
was designed by Vignola. Under Paul III, in 1546 Vasari decorated the Sala Grande with
frescoes showing scenes of the Pope's life. It is known as the "Hall of the hundred
days", referring to the time it took to Vasari to complete the work ("It
shows!", was Michelangelo's comment on it).
The granite columns of the courtyard came from the original church of San Lorenzo in
Damaso (4th century), whose remains are beneath the palazzo. Beneath the ruins of the
church excavations have found remains of the ancient Roman Foro Boario. Only in Rome this
amazing overlapping occurs.
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|
Palazzo della Cancelleria |
In the opposite direction, towards the Tiber, Via de' Baullari brings towards Piazza
Farnese, one of the finest squares of Rome, although at one time it was animated by
frequent celebrations and spectacles, including bullfights. The majestic Palazzo Farnese,
the largest of the patrician palazzi, gives the name to the present austere Piazza.
The palazzo was
begun in 1514 by Antonio da Sangallo for Cardinal Alessandro Borghese, the future
pope Paul III. In 1546 Sangallo died, and Michelangelo was entrusted with
its continuation. He was responsible for the design of the second floor, the cornice, and
the two upper orders of columns in the courtyards. At Michelangelo's death in 1564 Giacomo
della Porta completed the building, erecting the facade and the splendid loggia
overlooking Via Giulia. In the 18th century the palace was inherited by the Bourbons of
Naples. Today it the seat of the French Embassy and of the magnificent library of the Ecole
Francaise de Rome, a research institute for historians and archeologists, mainly with
Italian books.
It is said that the travertine marble framing the windows comes from the Coliseum. While
the palazzo has an austere look, the courtyard, is particularly elegant, with three
orders of classical columns (Doric, Ionic and Corinthian), in a rhythmic succession of
windows and open arches. In the interior, the magnificent Salotto Dipinto with
frescoes by Francesco Salviati and Taddeo Zuccari. The Galleria is also
remarkable, with the brilliant frescoes depicting the loves of the gods and goddesses, by
the brothers Annibale and Agostino Caracci (16th century). |
|
Palazzo and Piazza Farnese |
The church of Santa Brigida |
In the Piazza there is also the fine church
of Santa Brigida, and two fountains, parts of which
are enormous granite basins taken from the Baths of Caracalla. The right
fountain is shown in the photo. From the right flank of the Palazzo Farnese one reaches
the street Via Giulia, precisely where there is the lovely church "Chiesa dei
Morti".
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The church "Chiesa dei Morti" |
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At the beginning of the 16th century Pope Julius II replaced the maze of streets from the
Capitol to the Vatican with a long straight street to which he gave his name. For
centuries this aristocratic street has been adjacent to a picturesque neighborhood
bustling with travelers and tradesmen.
Left: Via Giulia
Right: The Mascherone Fountain (big mask fountain) |
|
The area was also a reference for people of various nationalities. The
Spaniards had their national church in Via di Monserrato. Since 1362 the English had an
hospice, which became the Venerable English college, the most ancient
British institution abroad. The Bolognese, the Sienese, the Neapolitans had churches in
Via Giulia. The visitors had their inns ("alberghi" or "locande").
There were print shops and bookshops, and crafts of all kinds,
still existing. The names of the little winding streets are very characteristic, revealing
the underlying historical and social background. Via dei Cappellari
is hence the Hatters St., Via del Pellegrino the Pilgrim St., Via dei Giubbonari
the Uniform makers St., Via dei Baullari the Trunk makers St., Via
dei Chiavari the Locksmiths etc. Bookshops can still be found in the Via del
Pellegrino, trunks are still made in Via dei Baullari, Via dei Giubbonari has many clothes
shops and houses. Together with the famous morning market, there are also many grocery
stores, something infrequent in the historical centre (because the high cost of property).
The church of San Carlo ai Catinari, at the end of Via dei Giubbonari,
was dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo, and was built at the beginning of the 17th century
by Rosato Rosati. It belongs to the Barnabites. The facade is by G. Storia. The dome, one
of the highest in Rome, and can be recognized for its round shape (please click here to see it from one of
our apartments). On the pendentives paintings by Domenichino illustrate the four
cardinal virtues. Above the high altar hangs Pietro da Cortona's "St. Charles
Borromeo during the procession of the Holy Nail". |
Via dei Cappellari |
| Towards the Capitol Hill (Piazza Venezia), one
finds the fine church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. The church is the
mother house of the Theatine Order, founded in 1524 by St. Gaetano di Thiene. It has the
highest dome in Rome after St. Peter's. Began in 1591 by Grimaldi and G. della Porta, it
was continued by Carlo Maderno, who designed the dome and the facade, while the facade was
completed by Rainaldi and Fontana in 1664. The relative nudity of the nave contrasts with
the rich frescoes, of which the most notables are those of the Evangelists in the four
pendentives, by Domenichino.
St. Andrea della Valle (right) |
|
Walking towards the Capitol Hill (Piazza Venezia, towards East), one
reaches the Area Sacra dell'Argentina, and the remains of Pompey's
Theater and Curia. Pompey built the theatre on his own land, and topped it with a
temple dedicated to Venus Victrix (the goddess of victory). The theater, which could seat
18,000 spectators, was inaugurated in 65 BC, with literary and musical events, and with
hunts lasting several days, in which 100 lions, 20 elephants, and lynxes were massacred
(it seems that the other animals must always pay for the evil spirit of the humans). The
inner curve of the theatre is faithfully echoed by the shape of the buildings of Via
Grotta di Pinta, one of the most remarkable examples of urban continuity in Rome. Parts of
the theatre's walls still exist in the basements of the buildings of the area. Behind the
stage a portico of massive dimensions was erected, having at its end an exedra, which
became the Curia (meeting place) of the Senate. This is were Julius Caesar was
assassinated. The Curia is part of the Area Sacra of Largo Argentina.
The Republican Temples of Largo Argentina (site
of Julius Caesar's assassination) |
|
Via Grotta di Pinta: palazzi following the curve
of the Theater of Pompey |
In this area there are ruins, below the street level, including four
temples from the time of the Republic, together with the ruins of Pompey's Curia
(left photo). In the same photo, to the right, you can see the Teatro Argentina,
where Rossini presented the premiere of the Barber of Seville in 1816. All the great
Italian composers subsequently had their works produced here.
Walking towards Piazza Venezia
and Capitol Hill (Campidoglio) one finds the splendid Jesus Church (Chiesa del
Gesu'), built beteen 1568 and 1578.
It is the church of the Jesuite order, which became the model of Counter-Reformation
churches in Europe. The facade is by Giacomo della Porta. The interior is by Vignola, and
is exceptionally rich, with sumptuous details in coloured marble and lapis lazuli.
Perphaps the major masterpiece is the fresco in the vault of the nave, the "Triumph
of the name of Jesus". The author is Giovanni Battista Gaulli, also called Baciccia,
contemporary of Bernini (17th century), and having his exhuberant style. Also the Chapel
of St. Ignatius of Loyola by Andrea Pozzo (1696-1700) is renowned for its opulence.
(Right)
Chiesa del Gesu' |
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To the Piazza Navona - Via della Pace
quarter, which is adjoining.
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