Here is a list of the main landmarks of the area of Rome's Trastevere.
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| Raphael's Galatea, placed inside Villa Farnesina. According to an urban legend, the Villa Farnesina was a place where many artists, poets, cardinals and also royalty were entertained in Agostino Chigi's famous parties. The villa was also a place where Agostino Chigi met with his lover, the courtesan Imperia. (Photo by: mykaul) |
Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance villa, located in the central district of Trastevere in Rome. This artistically and architecturally influential edifice, was built in the 16th century for a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II by the name Agostino Chigi. The villa was designed by the Sienese artist and pupil of Bramante, Baldassarre Peruzzi, who was aided by Giuliano da Sangallo. This villa is different from its contemporaries by its design: as opposed to the other Renaissance villas which were shaped as decorated versions of defensive castles, mostly featuring rectangular blocks with rusticated ground floors and enclosing a courtyard; this villa is a true example of an urban palace or palazzo. Originally, this villa was intended to be a summer pavilion (or more precise: a place for lavish banquets because Agostino Chigi was fabulously wealthy), with an open entrance of the loggia and rear wings open to the garden. Nowadays, these parts are closed.
The interior of the villa is filled with works of art, also mostly commissioned by Agostino Chigi. There are works by many famous and notable artists, like works by Raphael, Sebastiano del Piombo, Giulio Romano, and Il Sodoma. The stars of the villa are definitely Raphael's frescoes in the Loggia depicting the classical and secular myths of Love and Psyche, and The Triumph of Galatea; frescoes by Sebstiano del Piombo; Peruzzi's decorations of Sala della Prospettiva; the vault of the main hall; as well as the Sala di Galatea. The themes of paintings and frescoes were inspired by the Stanze of the poet Angelo Poliziano, a key member of the circle of Lorenzo de Medici; so most of the works depict near naked nymphs and other mythical creatures.
The villa got its name after the second owners: in 1577 Chigi died and his business collapsed, so the Farnese family bought the property. Later on the villa was a property of the Bourbons of Naples and in 1861 to the Spanish Ambassador in Rome. Nowadays, the villa is a property of the Italian state, and is home to Accademia dei Lincei, a renowned Roman academy of sciences, and the Roman Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe (print room or Department for Drawings and Prints).
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| The hall of busts inside Palace Corsini. (Photo by: antmoose) |
The Palazzo Corsini is a 18th century Baroque palace, placed in the Trastavere district in Rome, just beside the Villa Farnesina and was built for the Corsini family. The villa was as an extension of the previous edifice, the villa of the Riario family. The villa was built in the period between 1730-1740 in late Baroque style, based on designs of Ferdinando Fuga. The previous building, the villa of the Riario family, was home to Christina, Queen of Sweden, who arranged there the first meetings of the Roman Accademia dell'Arcadia. Afterwards, the Florentine cardinal Neri Corsini, nephew of Clement XII (formerly Cardinal Lorenzo Corsini), bought the villa and land, and commissioned the new villa.
Nowadays, the palace is home to the National Academy of Science (Accademia dei Lincei) and the Galleria Corsini. The gardens of the villa, are nowadays the property of the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza", a botanical garden.
Galleria Corsini, or more precisely the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica di Palazzo Corsini' or National Gallery of Antique Art in the Corsini Palace, is situated in the first floor of the palace and features the national Arte Antica collections, which is the typical art from the 11th century onwards, mostly Italian art from early-Renaissance to late-18th century. Several other places in Rome hold the same collection, like the Palazzo Barberini and Galleria Borghese. Most of the gallery's collection comes from the collection of the Corsini family, and from collections of Pope Clement XII and his nephew. Since 1883, when the property was sold to the Italian state, the collection is displayed in its original location.
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| The beautiful apse mosaic "Coronation of the Virgin" by Pietro Cavallini in the Santa Maria in Trastevere. (Photo by: Mossaiq) |
Santa Maria in Trastevere, the one of the oldest churches in Rome, with its foundations dating probably from the 4th century. According to some historical evidence, the basic floor plan and wall structure of the church date back to the 340 AD; and this is most probably the first church in which mass was celebrated. There was a Christian house-church founded by Pope Saint Callixtus I (217-222) around 220 AD, whose remains are preserved under the altar, known under the name Titulus Callisti.
The house-church was erected on the site of the Taberna meritoria, which served as an asylum for retired soldiers. The area was given over to the Christians by the Emperor Septimius Severus; when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers. In the 4th century, Pope Julius I (337-352) rebuilt the church-house Titulus Callixti, and it became the Titulus Iulii commemorating his patronage, one of the original twenty-five parishes in Rome. The edifice was restorated two times in the fifth and eighth century. In the period between 1140-43, the church was once again rebuilt on the old foundations under Pope Innocent II; and the richly carved Ionic capitals reused came from the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla. The present day edifice is a Romanesque church, dating from the 12th century. It was built by Pope Innocent II and was dedicated to Virgin Mary. The church retained the original plan of the previous basilica, and the original foundations as well as the granite columns with Ionic and Corinthian capitals which came from the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla.
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| Orto Botanico in Rome is filled with exotic and rare species of plants. (Photo by: Yannick Carer) |
The church's facade originates from the 18th century, when it was done by Carlo Fontana. He designed a Classicistic facade as well as the octagonal fountain in the piazza in front of the church (Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere). The only early part of the facade is the image of Mary, considered the earliest iconographic depiction of the Virgin nursing Jesus. The church's interior is filled with a number of works by many famous authors, like late 13th-century mosaics by Pietro Cavallini called the "Coronation of the Virgin", ceiling paintings by Domenichino called "Assumption of the Virgin".There are also a number of relics, like a relic of Saint Apollonia, her head, a portion of the Holy Sponge, the relics of Pope Callixtus I and the body of Lorenzo Cardinal Campeggio.
Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, originates from the 5th century and as the name says is devoted to St Cecilia. The church was founded, according to the archaeological evidences, sometimes in the 5th century by Pope Urban I. According to a legend, the church was built on top of the saint's house; but during excavation works under the Chapel of the Relics the churc's baptistery as well as the remains of a Roman Imperial house were found. At the end of the 5th century, the church was awarded with the title Titulus Ceciliae. The church was rebuilt in the 9th century by Pope Paschal I, who moved the relics of St Cecilia from the catacombs of St Calixtus, and once again in the 18th century. From this period dates the church's facade, which was designed by Ferdinando Fuga. His design featured a courtyard decorated with ancient mosaics, columns and a cantharus (water vessel), as well as the Francesco Cardinal Acquaviva d'Aragona coat-of-arms.
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| The frontal facade of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. (Photo by: Gaspa) |
The church's interior, as many other Roman and Vatican churches, is filled with numerous masterpieces by many famous artists. Most notable are the mosaic depicting the Final judgment from the 13th century, based on designs by Pietro Cavallini, placed inside the chorus of the monks; the ciborium by Arnolfo di Cambio, also from the 13th century, placed in the presbitery; 9th century mosaics depicting the Redeemer with Saints Paul, Cecilia, Paschal I, Peter, Valerian, and Agatha portraited on the apse; Cappella dei Ponziani with a painted ceiling depicting God the Father with evangelists by Antonio del Massaro (Antonio da Viterbo or il Pastura) from the 18th century; Cappella delle Reliquie with frescoes and an altarpiece by Luigi Vanvitelli; Apotheosis of Santa Cecilia by Sebastiano Conca dating from the 18th century as well as Saints Valerian and Cecilia and a Decapitation of Saint Cecilia, two altarpieces by Guido Reni from the 17th century.
The star among this masterpieces is the graphic altar sculpture of St. Cecilia by Stefano Maderno from the 17th century; which was allegedly modeled upon the saint's body, which was exposed at the end of the 16th century (!). This sculpture is quite special because it is considered to be proto-Baroque and it precedes by decades the similar high-Baroque sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (for example, his Beata Ludovica Albertoni) and Melchiorre Caffà (Santa Rosa de Lima).
Church of San Francesco a Ripa is a Roman church, dedicated to the Saint Frances of Assisi. This peculiar name of the church derives from the Franciscan convent existing in the Trastevere quarter of Rome since the 10th or the 12th century, while the last part a ripa refers to the nearby river-edge of the Tiber. The construction of the present church started in the 17th century by Onorio Longhi. The facade was designed by Mattia de Rossi and finished in the period from 1681-1701.
The most notable part is the church's interior which holds a number of works by distinguished authors, like frescoes by Fra Emanuele da Como and monument to cardinal Michelangelo Ricci by Domenico Guidi; "San Giovanni from Capestrano", a fresco by Domenico Maria Muratori, an altarpiece by Stefano Maria Legnani; chapel of the Rospigliosi-Pallavicini by Nicolas Michetti and by Ludovico Rusconi; Saint Francis by Fra Diego da Careri, the Trinity canvas by Paris Nogari; the chapel Paluzzi-Albertoni designed by Giacomo Mola, a painting of Saint Anna and the Virgin by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, a bust of Laura Frangipani sculpted by Andrea Bolgi, frescoes by Giovanni Battista Ricci, "Annunciation" by Francesco Salviati, a sculpture by Camillo Rusconi, painting by Marten De Vos, an Assumption by Antonio della Cornia, a Birth of the Virgin by Simon Vouet; which are situated all around the numerous side chapels. The star of this collection is definitely the statue of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The sculpture captures Blessed Ludovica in her death throes, portraying her as suffering but also in the light of her religious ecstasies as she awaits union with God. According to the popular belief, the Blessed Ludovica experienced a special nuptial union with Christ as portrayed in Bernini's work.
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| Tempietto, a small masterpiece by Donato Bramante. (Photo by: Patrick Denker) |
The church of San Pietro in Montorio is a church in Rome, mostly known for its courtyard called Tempietto, which is a small commemorative martyrium designed by Donato Bramante. The church itself was built on top of a 9th century church on the Janiculum hill, which was dedicated to Saint Peter. The church was believed to be erected on the exact spot of Saint Peter's crucifixion, by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.
The most interesting is the church's interior, which is decorated with prominent works of 16th and 17th century artists. These works include Sebastiano del Piombo's Flagellation and Transfiguration, made after the drawings of Michelangelo; Il Pomarancio, a fresco by Niccolò Circignani; frescoes coming from the Renaissance school of Pinturrichio; works by Baldassarre Peruzzi; Conversion of St. Paul by Vasari and several others; an altarpieces by Giulio Mazzoni; the funerary monument of Cardinal del Monte and Roberto Nobili are by Bartolomeo Ammannati; Baptism of Christ by Daniele da Volterra, frescoes by Giulio Mazzoni. The church also includes works by the famous Dutch Caravaggisti, Dirck van Baburen's Entombment for the Pietà Chapel and David de Heen's The Mocking of Christ and The Agony in the Garden. Definitely, the most interesting is Gian Lorenzo Bernini's the Raimondi Chapel, decorated with Francesco Baratta's "Saint Francis in Ecstasy" and sculptures by Andrea Bolgi and Niccolò Sale. The church contains tombs of Irish princes, like the tombs of Gaelic Chieftains Hugh O'Neill, The O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Prince Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.
The Tempietto, as mentioned before, is a small commemorative martyrium built by Donato Bramante, considered to be a masterpiece of High Renaissance architecture. This is due to the fact that Tempietto is quite harmonious building, almost a piece of sculpture. Its appeal lies in the harmonious structure and perfect proportions, consisting of Doric columns, a Doric entablature modeled after the ancient Theater of Marcellus, and a dome. This 16th century edifice stands in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio, and marks the traditional spot of Saint Peter's martyrdom.
