Papal Rome
St Peter’s is the main attraction of Rome and the Vatican museums with the Sistine Chapel are also in the group of main attractions. The Vatican museums reflect the fact that the Papal state was for centuries one of the main centers of the world.
We start our walk on the Tevere river bank at the Ponte Umberto bridge, opposite one of the most conspicuous buildings in Rome, the national courthouse.
Palazzo di Giustizia
(B2).
The national courthouse is an enormous, cream-colored, ornate pile in historical style, designed by Gugliemo Calderini, built 1889-1910, dominating the river view.
We walk downriver along Lungotevere Castello to the next bridge, Ponte Sant’Angelo
Ponte Sant’Angelo
(B2).
The most beautiful bridge in Rome is from antiquity, built by emperor Hadrian in 136 to connect the Martian Fields (Campus Martius, Campo di Marzo) with his mausoleum on the other side of the river.
The three central arches are original and the two bankside arches are 17th C. The statues of St Peter and St Paul on the southern end of the bridge are from 1530. The other ten statues are by Bernini, from 1667-1669.
At the northern end of the bridge the imposing mausoleum of emperor Hadrian lies open before the eye.
Mausoleo Adriano
(B2).
The circular building is predominantly original, built by emperor Hadrian in 135-139 to contain his ashes, completed by emperor Antonius Pius. It is in the Etruscan mausoleum style, originally with a conical earth mound on top of the building, crowned by a statue of Hadrian himself.
When emperor Aurelian fortified Rome in 270 he included the mausoleum as a fortress in the city wall. Pope Gregorian I built a chapel on the mound in 590, dedicated to archangel Michael (Sant’Angelo) whose statue replaced the one of emperor Hadrian. Later the mausoleum was converted into a papal castle which has up to now carried the name of Castel Sant’Angelo.
Pope Nicolas V built a brick building on top of the circle in mid-15th C. Pope Alexander VI built the Passetto escape corridor between the castle and the Vatican in 1493 and the octagonal defence towers around 1500. The castle withstood an attack by the French king Charles V in 1527 during his sack of Rome. Pope Clementine VII fled through the Passetto to the castle. Later the castle became a barracks and a prison.
The mausoleum is now a castle museum which we enter from the river side.
Castel Sant’Angelo
Hours: Open Tuesday-Saturday 9-14, Sunday 9-13, Monday 14-19. (B2).
We walk up ramps and stairs to get into the main courtyard with the original statue of Sant’Angelo from 1544. A 18th C. bronze statue by Pieter Verschaffelt has replaced it at the top of the castle. The ramp is mostly original, with black and white mosaics, ending in Hadrian’s burial chamber.
The museum is mainly of military nature. On the top floor there are apartments of three popes, Pius IV, Julian II and Paul III. Bramante decorated the apartments of Julian II where there is an excellent view over the city. The library and archives of the Vatican is also on this floor.
The main garden, Cortile di Onore, laid out by Pope Alexander VI of Borgia, is on the level below the apartments, also the main courtroom, a few prison cells and the chapel of Pope Leo X, built by Michelangelo in place of the old chapel. One of the most famous prisoners was the monk and scientist Giordano Bruno.
We turn right from the castle and walk the avenue Via della Conciliazione all the way to Piazza San Marco in front of St Peter’s. From the piazza we turn right along the Vatican buildings.
Vaticano
(A2).
This is not Italy, we are in the papal state of the Vatican. Here the post boxes are blue, ensuring swift delivery of your letters. But you have to use Vatican stamps, not Italian. This is a separate state with special ambassadors to the capitals of the world, the papal nuncios.
Building started in 500 and got an impetus after 1377 when the Pope moved back to Rome from Avignon. At that time the Vatican took over as papal headquarters from the Lateran palace which had been destroyed in a fire. Most of the buildings are 15th and 16th C.
The buildings were gradually filled with artworks and antiques which now make up the Vatican museums.
We continue along the Vatican buildings on Via did Porta angelica, Piazza del Risorgimento, Via Michelangelo and Viale Vaticano to the entrance of the Vatican museums.
Musei Vaticani
Hours: Open Monday-Saturday 8:45-13, last Sunday of month 8:45-13. (A2).
Well organised and much visited, most famous for the Sistine Chapel, which sparkles after the recent cleanup. We can take four differently long walks through the museums, marked in different colors. We should choose the longest walk if we can possible manage.
We start in the Egyptian Collection with the 13th C. B.C. statue of Queen Tuia, mother of Ramses II and the 21st C. B.C. bust of Pharaoh Mentuhotep. Then we continue to the Greek-Roman Collection with the famous Belvedere garden of the original 1st C. violent-dynamic Late-Hellenic Baroque statue of King Laocoën and his sons fighting with snakes, found in the ruins of Nero’s Golden House.
Next comes the Etruscan Collection showing artefacts from the tomb of an Etruscan couple. The collections shows well the special position of Etruscan culture which often is considered to have originated in Asia Minor and was certainly different from the Greek and Roman ones. Etruscan civilisation preceded the Latin one in the area around Rome.
We continue along a long corridor with carpets, geographic maps from 1580-1583 and extensively decorated ceilings and arrive at the Rafaello Rooms.
Stanze di Rafaello
The collection shows Rafaello’s frescos from 1508-1517, including The Fire in the Borgo, The School of Athens, The Dispute of the Holy Sacrament, The Mass at Bolsena and The Liberation of St Peter.
Pope Julius II liked Rafaello’s work and commissioned him to decorate four rooms of his apartment, replacing earlier artworks. Rafaello died before he could finish his work.
This part of the Vatican museums probably ranks behind the Sistine Chapel as one of the main attractions.
We next pass the Chapel of Nicolas with frescos by Fra Angelico from 1447-1451 and the Borgia apartments with frescos by Pinturicchio from 1492-1503 and arrive at the Sistine Chapel.
Capella Sistina
(A2).
Built in 1475-1480, famous for the Michelangelo ceiling frescos, painted in 1508-1511 and the altar wall fresco painted in 1533. The ceiling frescos depict scenes from the Old Testament, like Creation of the Sun and Moon, Creation of Adam, Original Sin, and The Deluge.
The altar wall fresco depicts The Last Judgement. It is a dynamic picture marking a historical departure from the Renaissance style into the emerging Baroque style.
Several artists painted the 12 frescos on the walls of the chapel, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo, Perugino, Rosselli and Signorelli. These frescos show episodes from the lives of Moses and Christ.
We visit the Pinacoteca with famous paintings by 15th and 16th C. artists like Rafaello, da Vinci, Caravaggio and Bellini. Finally we come to the Archaeological Museum with mosaics from Caracalla’s Baths. We leave not by foot but in a special bus that traverses the Vatican gardens every half an hour between the Vatican museums and Piazza San Pietro. It is the easiest way to get to see the gardens.
Piazza San Pietro
(A2).
The elliptical piazza with colonnades of four rows of columns, designed by Bernini, built in 1656-1667. The purpose of the ellipse is to draw attention to the front of St Peter’s and to act as an embrace for the believers when they listen to the Pope.
On top of the colonnades are 140 statues of angels. A 1st C. obelisk from Heliopolis is in the middle of the piazza, brought to Rome during the reign of Caligula. The fountains are by Maderno to the right and Bernini to the left.
Preceding St Peter’s was the Old St Peter’s, built during the reign of Constantine the Great in early 4th C., probably in 326. The old cathedral was the main cathedral of Rome but not a papal church. It was built in this place because St Peter is said to have been crucified here during the reign of Nero.
We observe the front of the cathedral before we enter St Peter’s.
San Pietro
(A2).
Originally a Greek cross church designed and mostly built by Michelangelo in 1547-1564 and extended into a Latin cross basilica by Maderno and Bernini in early 17th C. The majestic dome was finished by Giacomo della Porta after Michelangelo’s death. In all it took a century and a half to build St Peter’s, from the first designs by Bramante in 1506 to the finishing of the piazza by Bernini in 1667.
St Peter’s is built in Renaissance style and decorated in Baroque style. The front is rather diminutive, designed by Maderno and built in 1607-1614. It largely hides the masterpiece of Michelangelo, the enormous dome. Statues of St Peter and St Paul are in front of the church. On top of the front there are statues of Christ and all his disciples except for Peter. The balcony of the pope is beneath the pediment.
The church is one of the biggest in the world, with 450 statues, 500 columns and 50 altars, heavily decorated with marble and artworks. It can take 60.000 people at the same time. It is just over 200 meters long with a central dome of 140 meters in height and 40 meters in width, modelled on the Pantheon. It is lighter in appearance than envisioned by Michelangelo, completely set with mosaics.
We observe some of the most beautiful artworks in the church, such as Pietà.
Pietà
To the right of the entrance we see the crown of Michelangelo’s work. It is Pietà, from 1499-1500, showing the sorrow of Maria after the death of Christ.
We go to the altar in the middle of the cathedral.
Baldacchino
The papal altar is in the middle of the nave under the dome. It is a throne from 1592-1605, overlooking the crypt where St Peter is supposedly buried. An enormous baroque baldacchino rises 20 meters on spiral columns above the altar, built by Bernini in 1624 from bronze that Pope Urban VIII robbed from the Pantheon.
In front of the altar to the right there is a bronze statue of Jupiter, originally from the Capitolum, but now said to depict St Peter. The foot of Jupiter has become shiny of believers’ kisses who do not know that this is a pagan god. In the apse there is the heavily baroque Throne of St Peter in Glory from 1666 by Bernini.
From the church entrance to the right we can access an elevator to the roof with good views over Rome and with stairs up to the dome with views down to the church. From the south side of the church there is an entrance into a 1th-4th C. graveyard which has been excavated. You have to book beforehand if you want to inspect it.
But this walk is over.
Imperial Rome
The classical center of Rome was in the valley west of the Capitolum hill and north of the Palatinum hill. It was Forum Romanum which was the central square of Rome in republican antiquity and Fori Imperiali which was a series of central squares in imperial antiquity.
During centuries these squares were the center of the Western world, from the time that Romans took over from Greeks as the standard-bearers of the west and until the popes moved the center a kilometer and af half to the south-east, to the Laterano square.
Most of the glory of the past has disappeared. There are broken columns and remains of walls which give an idea of the classical grandeur. Much of the Trajan Market and the Maxentian Basilica is still standing. There are some remains of imperial palaces, a few whole triumphal arches and the Curia, the meeting room of the senate. The enormous Colosseum is now the center-stage of this part of Rome.
We start the walk at the northern end, on the central square of modern Rome, on Piazza Venezia, where we can clearly see the Column of Trajan. We approach the column.
Colonna Traiana
(C3).
The Trajan column is surprisingly intact, having been standing here for nineteen centuries. Emperor Trajan built it in 113 to commemorate his victories in two wars against the Dacians in Romania. The column is 40 meters tall, including the pedestal.
The story of the wars is told in 100 marble reliefs spiralling up the column. They would cover 200 meters if they were laid out in a straight line. As many monuments of antiquity it was originally painted in bright colors. Originally the column was surrounded by library buildings from whom people could observe the marble reliefs at close hand.
For centuries a statue of Trajan stood at the top of the column. In 1587 it was replaced with a statue of St Peter. Behind the columns we see the remains of Basilica Ulpia, bearing the family name of Trajan. We see that in antiquity the level of the land was much lower than it is nowadays.
We pass the ruins and go uphill by way of the stairs of Via Magnanapoli up to Via Quattro Novembre, where the entrance is to the Trajan Forum.
Foro di Traiano
Hours: Open Tuesday-Saturday 9-13 & 15-18, Sunday 9-12:30, closed Monday. (C3).
The largest market or mall of imperial Rome was built in a semicircle at the bottom of the hill. It was built in 107-113 by Apollodorus of Damascus, the architect of Trajan. It is a complex of 150 shops and offices on several storeys, considered at that time to be one of the wonders of the classical world.
The shops are grouped together according to the merchandise. There is a mall of wine shops and spices, Via Biberatica. The cool shops at the bottom of the complex probably sold vegetables and fruit. On the second floor there were shops for olive oil and wine. Higher up there were shops of less perishable goods and distribution offices for the corn dole.
Above the ruins of the Trajan market there is a military tower from 1227-1241, one of the best preserved remains of medieval architecture in Rome. It is Torre delle Milizie.
We return down the steps and walk along Via Alessandrina by the railing separating us from the Trajan forum, past Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi, the palace of the Rhodos or Maltese knights, built in 1464-1471 in Venetian Renaissance style as we can see from the oriel balcony facing the forum. We now come to the Augustus Forum.
Foro di Augusto
(D3).
This market was built in 31 B.C. by emperor Augustus to celebrate his victory over Brutus and Cassius at Philippi in 41 B.C. In the middle there are remains of the Temple of Mars the Avenger (Martius Ultor), which thereupon became the family temple of Augustus’s descendants.
On both sides of the temple there are remains of basilicas. Between the basilicas and the temples are steps which led the way to the ancient slum of Suburra, which was directly behind the wall. Half of the Forum of Augustus is hidden below the modern road of Via di Fori Imperiali.
We continue along the railing and come next to the Forum of Nerva.
Foro di Nerva
(D3).
The last part of the excavations on the other side of the railing, directly behind the Hotel Forum. This long and narrow market was opened by emperor Nerva in 98, adjoining the ancient street of Argiletum, which lead from Forum Romanum, along the Curia, to the suburb of Suburra.
Little can be seen of the ancient temple of Minerva which was in the center of this forum. The stones were used by Pope Paul V to build a fountain on Janiculum hill. Northeast of the forum there is a 13th C. tower, Torre de’Conti.
At that time there was yet another forum on the other side of the forum of Nerva. It was the Forum of Peace built by emperor Vespanian in 70. This forum is almost completely covered by Via dei Fori Imperiali and Via Cavour. It had a temple of peace and a library where now the church Santi Cosma e Damiano stands.
We now pass Via dei Fori Imperiali which was laid by Mussolini straight through the antique ruins. It should be removed to enable new excavations and will probably be, sooner or later. We return by the other side of the street and arrive at the Forum of Caesar.
Foro di Cesare
(C3).
Two thirds of this forum are visible, including three columns from the temple of Venus Genetrix, which the Julian family considered to be their ancestor, and broken columns from the money-changing market of Basilica Argentaria, which was alongside the ancient road of Clivus Argentarius. Julius Cesar built this forum in 51.
We take a detour from the south end of the forum into the alley of Via Tulliano in the direction of the Arch of Septimus Severus. On our right we see steps into a church cellar. These steps lead to the Mamertine Prison.
Carcere Mamertino
Hours: 9-12:30 & 14:30-18. (C3).
The prison is on two levels. In antiquity it housed famous prisoners such as Jugurta, King of Africa, in 104 B.C., and Vercingetorix, Chief of the Gauls, in 46 B.C. There are stories that St Peter and other Christina martyrs were also incarcerated here.
From here we have a good view of part of Forum Romanum, which we shall soon visit. First we have to retrace our steps along Via dei Fori Imperiali or along the footpath of Via della Salara Vecchia, to the entrance to the Roman Forum.
Foro Romano
Hours: Open daily 9-14, Monday, Wednesday-Saturday -30 min. before sunset. (C3).
The main square of republican Rome was originally a shopping center with brick buildings, but was then transformed into a marbled square of politics and religion up to the migration of tribes in the Middle Ages, when the Roman empire disintegrated.
Excavations have opened up this place so that we can imagine the layout of the city center in ancient times, if we take our time to stroll through the area. The western part was dominated by the two main basilicas, Basilica Aemilia and Basilica Julia, the oratorical platform of Rostra and the senate of Curia. The eastern part was dominated by several temples and the Basilica of Constantine and Maxentius.
The Roman Forum was a kind of a living room for political citizens during the Roman republic. All major political and religious activity was concentrated there, also the major financial transactions and much commerce. Originally the area was a sump that was drained by Cloaca Maxima to make buildings possible.
When we enter the area we have the base of Basilica Aemilia on our right side and the Temple of Antonius and Faustina on our left side.
Antonio e Faustina
(D3).
The temple was built by Antonius Pius in 141 and dedicated to his late wife Faustina. The six frontal columns are the original obelisks and the steps up to the temple are also original.
The front itself is a baroque addition from 1602. The temple had already been converted into a church in the 11th C., dedicated to San Lorenzo. The building is now closed to the public.
We turn our attention to Basilica Aemilia on the other side of the entrance.
Basilica Aemilia
(D3).
This basilica from 179 B.C. was named by the family that built it and was responsible for its upkeep. The remains are mainly from the 1st C. It was burnt down by the Goths when they sacked Rome in 410.
The basilica was a rectangular building with colonnades. It was a meeting place for politicians, financiers and businessmen all the way to its demise.
Between Basilica Aemilia and Basilica Julia on the other side of the Forum, is the Via Sacra.
Via Sacra
(C3).
The street of religious, political and military processions, the most important avenue in ancient Rome. When victorious generals came back from their successful campaigns they rode along this street in triumphal processions to the Capitoline hill to give thanks to Jupiter.
Triumphal arches were later built across this road, the Arch of Septimus Severus, the Arch of Titus and the Arch of Constantine.
We walk Via Sacra past Basilica Aemilia and come at its end to the ancient street of Argiletum, which lead to the Suburra. On the other side of Argiletum is the Curia.
Curia
(C3).
The meeting place of the Roman senate was built approximately here in 80 B.C. and restored in this place several times in ancient history. The present building is a restoration of Emperor Diocletian’s Curia in the 3rd C., built on its ruins.
This is a rather dour brick building. The original was more beautiful, as it was clothed in marble. The Curia was robbed of its famous bronze doors by Pope Alexander VII for use in San Giovanni in Laterano and are still there. The bronze doors to the present Curia are replicas.
Two relief panel decorations from the Rostra in Trajan’s time are on show inside the Curia building.
Outside the Curia we see the Arch of Septimus Severus.
Arco di Severo
(C3).
The arch was built in 203 by Septimus Severus after his and his sons’ victory over the Parthians to celebrate his decade in power. When his son Caracalla became emperor after the death of Severus he had his brother Geta killed and removed his names from the arch. The holes are still visible.
This is first triumphal arch with the columns separated from the wall behind them. It is one of the best preserved monuments in the forum. During the Middle Ages it lay half-buried in earth. Since then it has been excavated and has regained some of its older splendor, except for being rather eroded.
Beside the arch we see the Rostra.
Rostra
(C3).
A podium or a dais for Roman politicians. Such a platform was here all the way back to 338 B.C., and the present one is from Caesar’s time, 44 B.C. The name comes from a decoration made of ships’ prows (rostra), captured in the Battle of Antium in the 4th C. B.C.
Behind the Rostra there are some remains of temples, the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of Vespasian and the Temple of Concord.
Tempio di Saturno
(C3).
The most prominent of the remains of the temples at the western end of the Roman Forum are eight Ionic columns of the Temple of Saturn with a section of the entablature. A temple dedicated to Saturn was here since 497 B.C., the first temple in the forum. These remains are from the 4th C. Saturn was the god of the masses. Every year the Saturnalia revelries were held in his honor in December.
Beside these columns there are three Corinthian columns from the Temple of Vespasian. It was built in 79 by his son and grandson after his death.
Beside the Saturnine columns there a platform from the Temple of Concord, built in memory of the concord between the Roman patricians and plebeians in 367 B.C. Behind the Vespasian and Saturnine columns there are twelve Corinthian columns from a portico that Emperor Dominitian built at the end of the 1st C. for the twelve main Roman gods.
Behind all this temples the massive wall of Tabularium dominates the scene.
Tabularium
(C3).
The austere building was built of peperine in 78 B.C. as national archives and national treasury, filling the depression between the Capitolum and Palatinum. The portico and six of the nine pillars are original. The building on top of them is the Senatorial Palace which was built upon the ruins of the Tabularium.
We turn back from the Rostra. In front of us is the Column of Phocas.
Colonna di Foca
(C3).
The slender, Corinthian column is 13,5 meters high, built in 608 to thank the Byzantine emperor Phocas for visiting Rome and giving the Pantheon to the pope. It is the last monument known to be erected in the forum before its demise.
On the right side we see the foundation of Basilica Julia
Basilica Giulia
(C3).
The basilica was enormous, measuring 82 meters by 18 meters, with five aisles and three storeys, fronting Basilica Aemilia on the other side of Via Sacra. This basilica was built by Julius Cesar in 55 B.C. and finished by emperor Augustus in 12. It has been almost completely destroyed. Standing are the steps, the pavement and some column stumps.
The purpose of this basilica was to be a courthouse, where the 180 centumviri or magistrates tried cases in four courtrooms in public.
The remains of a row of columns are in front of the basilica. The columns were built in 300 to honor some Roman generals. On the side of the basilica, a little to the back, there are three white and slender columns from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, built in 484 in memory of a victory in the battle of Lake Regillus against the Tarquinian kings. The present remains are from a restoration in 12 B.C.
The Temple of Julius Caesar, erected by Augustus, is next to the basilica on the Via Sacra. On the far side of the temple we come to the Temple and the House of the Vestal Virgins.
Vestae
(D4).
The circular temple, originally surrounded by 20 columns, is from the 4th C., based on earlier Vestal temples which had been in the same place since the 6th C. B.C.
The Vestal virgins kept alight the sacred flame of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, and guarded the other holy items of the Roman state, such as the Palladium statue.
The Vestal virgins lived in the building behind, the Vestae. We can still see the garden with two ponds of water lilies and eroded statues of the virgins. Originally the house had 50 rooms on three storeys. Some of the rooms around the garden have been preserved.
We leave the Vestae and cross Via Sacra to Antonio e Faustina on the other side. On the way we pass the back side of the scant remains of the Regia, the office of the Pontifex Maximus, the High Pries of Rome. On the other side of the Via Sacra we turn right and see on our left side the Temple of Romulus.
Tempio di Romolo
(D4).
The circular temple from the early 4th C. is possibly dedicated to Romulus, son of emperor Maxentius. It is a brick building with a cupola on top, flanked by two rooms and with a concave porch in front with heavy and original 4th C. bronze doors.
This temple has been preserved as an entrance to the 6th C. church of Santi Cosma e Damiano, built into a part of the Vespanian Forum of Peace. Nowadays the church is entered from the Via dei Fori Imperiali side.
We continue on Via Sacra to the imposing Basilica of Constantine and Maxentius.
Basilica Constantino e Maxentius
(D4).
This giant basilica is partly still there, 35 meters high. It was the largest building in the forum and has three immense vaults, built by emperor Maxentius in 308-312 and finished by emperor Constantine.
This last basilica of antiquity covered an area similar to the Julian and Aemilian basilicas and is higher than they were. It was used for judicial and business purposes. Originally the roof was covered with gilded tiles which were stolen in the 7th C. to cover the roof of the old St Peter’s.
It bears witness to the feats of Roman engineers. The technique was the same as in the building of the vast baths of Caracalla and Diocletian in Rome.
Via Sacra continues to the Arch of Titus.
Arco di Tito
(D4).
A triumphal arch of classic proportions on a ridge in the Via Sacra. It was erected in 81 by emperor Dominitian to honor the victories of his brother Tito and father Vespanian in the war against the Jews.
The beautifully carved marble reliefs show Roman soldiers carrying off the booty, including the seven-armed chandelier from the temple in Jerusalem.
Here we turn right off the Via Sacra and climb uphill to the Palatine hill on the Clivus Palatinus path.
Palatino
(C4).
The oldest village of Rome was on the cool slopes of the Palatine hill. Emperor Augustus built his imperial palace in a wealthy suburb on the hilltop. The following emperors continued to build palaces there and the last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, Dominitianus, converted the whole hill into an imperial palace, Domus Flavia.
Little can now be seen of the former splendor of antiquity but many gems must be hidden under the Farnese-gardens that now occupy the major part of the hill. Excavations are going on in the area of Domus Livia. In addition the Augustinian and Flavian palaces, remains have been found of the Tiberian and Severan palaces.
With the change from republican to imperial Rome, the political center of the Western world gradually moved from the Forum Romanum beneath the hill up to the imperial Palatine hill. It then gradually began to decline in the 3rd C., when the emperors left Rome for other places in the far-flung empire. And the Christian popes never took a liking to this hill.
If we walk toward the modern archaeological museum we pass Domus Augustana on our left and Domus Flavia on our right. We start with the latter.
Domus Flavia
(D4).
The remains of the family temple of Domus Flavia are nearest to the road down to the Forum Romanum. Then comes the throne room and finally the judicial basilica, where the emperor distributed justice.
A courtyard, peristyle, is behind the remains of these buildings, originally surrounded by a colonnade. An octagonal pond in the middle is still there. Subterranean rooms are below the buildings and the garden.
Beyond the peristyle there was the triclinium, the dining room of the emperor, the most beautiful part of the palace. A part of the multi-colored marble floor has been preserved. Around the triclinium were drawing rooms, nymphaea. The one on the right has been partly preserved.
To the west are the remains of Domus Augustana.
Domus Augustana
(D4).
The palace was built around two gardens. The higher garden was in front of the present museum house and the lower one was behind it and to its left. The lower floors of the palace still rise in a concave form above Circus Maximus on the other side of the hill.
To the left of the palace is a stadium from the time of emperor Dominitian, originally surrounded by a giant colonnade. The ellipse at the southern end is an addition from the time of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric in the 6th C. A balcony is on the far side, probably for observing games in the stadium.
On the other side of the stadium are the remains of the baths of Septimus Severus and to the south the remains of his palace, which partly stands on arches stretching up from the Circus Maximus lowland.
We turn back to Domus Livia and pass through it to get to the excavation area around the House of Livia.
Domus Livia
(C4).
This was the relatively modest palace of emperor Augustus and his wife, Livia. Archaeologists have removed frescos from some rooms and put them outside for people to see.
The remains of a temple that emperor Augustus built for Apollo are in this area. Also the so-called huts of Romulus, which are remains of prehistoric dwellings. And the Temple of Cybele, where we can still see a few column stumps.
We continue into the Farnese gardens where the Tiberian palace was.
Domus Tiberiana
(C4).
The Farnese gardens were laid out in the middle of the 16th C. on the ruins of the former palaces of emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Trajan and Hadrian. The palace of Tiberius, Domus Tiberiana, was adjacent to Domus Livia. Then came the palaces of Trajan and Hadrian and on the far western tip was the palace of Caligula.
Nothing can be seen from above of these palaces but remains of outer arches can be seen from the Roman Forum below. Excavations would probably bring important things to light.
We return down to the Arch of Titus and there turn right on Via Sacra along a few columns from the Temple of Venus and Rome, which emperor Hadrian built in 121-136 and continue in the direction of the Colosseum. Once the entrance to the golden palace of Nero was here. We go to the right to observe the Arch of Constantine.
Arco di Constantino
(D4).
The triumphal arch was erected in 315 to commemorate the victory of Constantine over his co-emperor and rival Maxentius. It is beautifully designed and heavily decorated with marble reliefs.
Some of these were robbed from older 2nd C. monuments of Trajan, Hadrian and Aurelius. Already in the time of Constantine the practice had started to erect new and lesser monuments by spoiling older and better existing ones. This continued for centuries. Popes and cardinals were especially damaging, as can clearly be seen on the ruins of the Colosseum.
We now turn our attention to the enormous Colosseum.
Colosseo
Hours: 9-19, except Wednesday & Sunday 9-13. (D4).
The symbol of classical Rome. The elliptical circus is 188 and 156 meters in diameter and could seat 50.000 spectators when it was built in 72-96 during the reigns of the Flavian emperors Vespanian, Titus and Dominitian. Much of the outer walls are still there, but devoid of the marble and other decorations that made this building one of the wonders of the world.
Four storeys are on the outside, a Doric arcade at the bottom, then a Ionic arcade and a Corinthian one. The outer wall of the top floor was massive, originally covered with bronze shields. This order of the Greek column styles has since been an example for later architects. A canopy was stretched over the arena to protect spectators against the sun.
This engineering feat had 80 entrances and a complicated system of staircases to enable 50.000 spectators to leave in a hurry. The underground city of officials, slaves and animals below the arena is now visible. The games stopped in the 6th C., and in the 13th C it became a fortress. In the 15th C the popes started to rob it of material for St Peter’s. This malpractice was halted in the 18th C.
After making the rounds inside the Colosseum we cross the Piazza del Colosseo and climb the Esquiline hill to a few remains of the ancient Golden House of Nero.
Domus Aurea
(D4).
Colosseum was built in the former palace pond of the Golden House of emperor Nero. He built this palace in 64 after a major fire in Rome. The palace only existed for a few years and was famous for the bottomless luxury, including the piping of scents. The main dining room was rotated by slaves.
The emperors who succeeded Nero tore his palace down. The floor was used for the Baths of Trajan, which also has disappeared. Some remains of the Golden House can be seen in the slope down to the Colosseum.
We next take a taxi or walk for a kilometer and a half from the Arch of Constantine to the south on Via di San Gregorio and then to the south-east on Via delle Terme Caracalla. The imposing walls of the Caracalla Baths soon become visible.
Terme di Caracalla
Hours: Open Tuesday-Saturday 9-18, Sunday-Monday 9-13 . (D5).
The ruins give a good picture of a major bathing house from Roman times. It was built around three bathrooms in the middle. One room was hot, caldarium, one was tepid, tepidarium, and the third was cold, frigidarium. Clothing rooms are on both sides of the of the frigidarium and gymnastic halls are on the other side of the clothing rooms. A dry sauna, laconicum, is on either side of the caldarium.
The baths were based on a complicated system of waterways and heating. They were built by Caracalla and his successors in 212-235 and was at that time the largest ones in Rome. 1600 people could use it concurrently. The buildings were laid in marble and mosaics. It was in use for over three centuries until barbarians destroyed many of Roman aqueducts that brought fresh water to the city.
We can walk around the enormous rooms and inspect beautiful mosaics in the floors. Important concerts and operas are performed in the caldarium and in the garden in front of it. On the outskirts of the gardens there are gymnastic buildings and libraries.
We cross Via delle Terme Caracalla, turn right along it and then turn left into Via Druso and again turn left from Via Druso on Via della Navicella and then right on Via di San Stefano Rotondo with a church on the right hand side.
San Stefano Rotondo
Hours: Open Monday-Friday 9-12. (D4).
The biggest circular church of early Christianity, built in 468-483 and was then meant to be an exact replica of the mountain church in Jerusalem. This church was for a long time one of the main churches in Rome and has seen better times. In the 16th C. Pomarancio painted gruesome frescos of several martyrs on the church walls.
It was originally 45 meters in diameter with two concentric ambulatories around an altar and four chapels making the shape of a cross. The roof is carried by Ionic columns and lighted by 22 high windows. Pope Nicolas V spoiled the church by walling up the outer colonnade and removing the outer ambulatory.
We continue on Via di San Stefano to the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano.
Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano
(E4).
The highest obelisk in Rome is in the middle of the piazza. It is from the 15th C. B.C. brought to Rome during the reign of Constantine II.
The baptistery, Battistero, is on our right. It is from the early 4th C. In that century all Christians in Rome were christened there. It got its present octagonal shape in 432 and has since then been a model for other baptisteries in the world.
The Lateran Palace is in front of us. This palace replaced an earlier one and dates from 1586. It is the official palace of the Archbishop of Rome, alias the Pope. For centuries it was the political center of papal power.
We walk around the palace to get to the main entrance of San Giovanni in Laterano.
San Giovanni in Laterano
(E4).
Behind a baroque facade from the 18th C. is an original Romanesque church with parts from 314 when it was built by Constantine the Great. Originally it had five aisles. It was damaged in barbarian attacks in the 5th C., in an earthquake in 896 and a fire in 1308. This church was the cherished end of endless pilgrimages to Rome during ten centuries, 314-1309. It still is the cathedral of Rome.
Behind the vestibule we see the majestic bronze doors that were robbed from the Curia when the church was built. On the inside the church is mainly baroque, designed by Borromini and built from the older church in 1646-1650, incorporating the 16th C. timber roof and the big mosaic in the apse. Giant statues of the twelve apostles, made by Bernini’s disciples, dominate the cathedral.
Parts of the big mosaic in the apse is from the original church. It survived a renovation in the 5th C. and another in the 13th C. Borromini left it in peace in the 17th C. but then it was damaged in the 19th C. It is difficult to estimate how much of it is original.
From the main entrance we cross the Piazza di Porta San Giovanni to Scala Santa.
Scala Santa
Hours: Open daily 6-12. (E4).
The staircase and the chapel on top of it are parts of the old Lateran Palace and were moved here by Sixtus V when the new palace was built. The Sancta Sanctorum is the private chapel of the pope and the Scala Santa of 28 steps is believed by the faithful to have been brought from Pontius Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem by St Helena, mother of emperor Constantine.
The holy steps are covered with boards. Devout Christians climb the staircase on their knees, especially on Good Friday.
We continue downhill on Piazza di Porta San Giovanni to Porta Asinaria.
Porta Asinaria
(E4).
The Gate of the Donkeys is a minor gateway from the 3rd C. Aurelian city wall. It has played a part in the vicissitudes of Roman History.
In 546 barbarian mercenaries opened this gate for the army of Goth Totila who thereupon sacked the city. In 1084 emperor Henry IV entered it with an anti-pope to oust Pope Gregory VII. Later that year the gate was damaged by Robert Guiscard from Normandy, when he came to the rescue of the pope and burned down the Lateran district.
One of the flea-markets of Rome is held in the area around the gateway.
This walk is over.
Ancient Rome
On the last walk through Imperial Rome we saw many sights that date from the classical Roman times. On this walk we continue to inspect what remains of ancient Rome in the historical center of the city.
We start on the Aventine hill, the stronghold of the ancient plebeian party and end on the Capitoline hill, the ancient stronghold of the patrician party. On the way we pass through the area of the ancient riverside markets between those hills.
We take a taxi to Santa Sabina. It is on a viewpoint on the Aventine hill, where Caius Graccus made his last stand against the Roman senate of patricians.
Santa Sabina
Hours: Open daily 7-12:30 and 15:30-18. (C4).
One of the oldest basilicas and the first Romanesque church in Rome, from 422. with a nave and two aisles. After several alterations the church has now been restored to its original appearance.
Its beautiful Corinthian colonnades are the first Roman example of rows of columns replacing arches. The rifled columns come from a Roman temple. The mosaic above the entrance is the remnant of many pictures that originally extended around the church above the colonnades.
The original doors of cypress are from the 5th C. with 18 panels showing woodcuts from the life of Jesus and Moses. One of the oldest extant pictures of the Crucifixion in a public place is above the panels on the left side. From the garden beside the church there is a view over central Rome and to the San Pietro cathedral in the Vatican.
When we leave the garden we turn right and walk Via di Santa Sabina and continue along Valle Murcia. After 500 meters we come to Piazzale Romolo e Remo, where we have a view over the ancient Circus Maximus and behind it to the ruins of the imperial palaces of the Palatinum.
Circo Massimo
(C4).
This is now an esplanade with slopes of grass in the valley between the hills of Aventinum and Palatinum. It shows well the contours of the original and magnificent track, which was used exclusively for chariot racing. The teams were known by their colors of blue, green, etc.
The circus was the biggest track of Rome, originally measuring 500 meters and later 600 meters, having place for 150.000 spectators in the Julian period, growing to 250.000 spectators in the Dominitian and Trajan periods.
We walk to the left along Via dei Circo Massimo and continue along Via Greca down the hill to Piazza Bocca della Verità, in all 400 meters. Santa Maria in Cosmedin dominates the square on our right side.
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Hours: Open daily 9-13, 15-18. (C4).
The elegant Romanesque church tower and the portico is from the 12th C., but the church itself is from the 6th C., one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in existence, originally a Greek church. After many alterations it was restored to its ancient charm in the 19th C.
The church has many works by Cosimati, especially the mosaic floor, the bishop’s throne, the choir and the canopy over the main altar.
We look at the drain cover on the left side of the portico of the church.
Bocca della Verità
(C4).
The ancient drain cover on the left side of the portico of Santa Maria in Cosmendin is called Bocca della Verità. It is a frightening face which is supposed to bite the hand off people with a bad conscience.
The piazza outside, the Piazza Bocca della Verità occupies approximately the same area as Forum Boarium, the ancient meat market of Rome. Forum Holitorium, the fruit and vegetable market, adjoined it on the north side.
Facing the church on the other side of the square is the circular Temple of Vesta.
Tempio di Vesta
(C4).
A temple from the 2nd C. B.C., incorrectly named after the Vestas, possibly because it resembles the Vestan temple in Forum Romanum. Probably it was a temple for the god Hercules.
It is one of the oldest surviving marble temples in Rome, built of imported marble from Greece. The Corinthian colonnade is from the reign of Tiberius, who had the temple restored. It was spared in the Christian period as it was converted to a church.
Beside this temple is the Temple of Fortuna Virilis.
Tempio della Fortuna Virile
(C4).
The temple is now attributed to the luck of male people, but was in fact probably dedicated to the river god Portumnus. It is from the 2nd Century B.C., quadratic in design, supported by rifled Ionic pillars.
It is the best preserved temple in Rome was like Tempio di Vesta spared during the centuries because it had been converted to a Christian church.
Behind the temple there is Casa dei Crescenzi, an 11th C. fortress built from columns and capitals from ancient temples.
We go to the other side of the square, to the Arch of Janus.
Arco di Giano
(C4).
This arch is unique in having four sides with arches, not only two. It was built in the 4th C over cross-roads at the northern end of Forum Boarium, the ancient meat market of Rome. It honors the god Janus.
Behind the arch is a 7th C. church, San Giorgio in Velabro, with a Romanesque bell tower from the 12th C. It has a ionic portico in front.
In a side street leading off the square there is San Giovanni Decollato from 1490, the burial church of executed people.
We walk this street, the Via di San Giovanni Decollato, to Piazza della Consolazione, where we face the Tarpeian Rock.
Rupe Tarpea
(C3).
The rock is named after Tarpeia who secretly let the army of Sabines up the cliff and into Rome in a war in the 8th C. B.C. After that episode traitors were executed by throwing them off the same cliff.
At the top end of the piazza there is a church built in 1470 with a baroque front from the 16th C. It is Santa Maria della Consolazione, built to provide consolation to prisoners before their execution.
We go past the cliff down Vico Jugario to the avenue of Via di Tetro di Marcello. We cross that street to visit San Nicola in Carcere.
San Nicola in Carcere
Hours: Open 7:30-12, Monday-Saturday 16-19, Sunday 10-13. (C4).
The church is built on the ruins of three temples that were side by side above the Forum Holitiorum, the ancient fruit and vegetable market. From the outside we can see columns from the old temples incorporated into the side wall of the church.
The bank of the river Tevere at Forum Boarium and Forum Holitorum was the Roman harbor in antiquity. Ships came here to unload their goods from faraway countries. The harbor included the whole area from Santa Maria in Cosmedin to San Nicola in Carcere and had many temples.
Adjoining the harbor to the north was the military harbor of Rome. Both these harbors became unusable due to silting in the river. In imperial time the harbor was moved out to Ostia which was on the coast in those times, but has in turn also become silted and unusable.
We go behind the church and walk along the river bank, Lungotevere dei Pierleoni to the Fabricio river bridge.
Ponte Fabricio
(C4).
v
The only bridge that has been preserved intact from classical times. It was built in 62 B.C. and is thus over 20 centuries old. It connects the island of Tibur to the center of Rome.
Its broad arches show how competent, daring and sure of themselves Roman engineers were in matters of weight suspension and how well some of their works have withstood earthquakes, floods and wars.
The Tiber island is the site of a monastic order which specialises in caring for the sick. In antiquity this was the island of medicine. Where now the church stands there was at that time a temple of Aesculapius, the god of healing. The buildings on the island are now mostly part of a hospital.
After inspecting the island we return over Ponte Fabricio and walk between San Nicola in Carcere and Teatro di Marcello to Via di Teatro di Marcello where we turn right along the Theater of Marcellus.
Teatro di Marcello
(C3).
The building of the theater started during Caesar’s reign and was finished in the year 11, during Augustus’s reign, dedicated to his nephew Marcellus. The lowest tier has Doric columns, the second done Ionic ones, and the third one is believed to have had Corinthian ones. This architecture probably influenced the design of the Colosseum.
These columns are a part of the semicircular spectator stands. This was the largest theater in Rome next after the Pompeian amphitheater in the Martian Fields. It was 120 meters in diameter and could place 20.000 spectators. It was a venue of plays, concerts, readings and oratory.
Two tiers of arcades out of three are still there. The ruins were converted in 1150 to a castle and then to a palace. The additions are visible on the top floor.
We see columns in front of the theater.
Tempio di Apollo
(C3).
Three Corinthian columns stand in front of the arcade, the remains of a famous Temple of Apollo, built in 433-431 B.C. and renovated in 34 B.C. The Greek god Apollo was revered by many Romans, especially in fighting illness.
We pass the columns and turn left into Piazza di Campitelli, pass the heavily arcaded church of Santa Maria in Campitelli from 1661 and then turn left on the corner of restaurant Vecchia Roma into Via Tribuna di Campitelli and walk it and its continuation, Via di Sant’Angelo di Peschieria, all the way to Via Portico d’Ottavia, where we see the Portico of Octavia.
Portico d’Ottavia
(C3).
The portico is all what remains of an extensive complex, built by Caecilius Metellus in 146 B.C. The portico is part of a wall around two temples dedicated to Juno and Jupiter.
Emperor Augustus renovated the temple complex in 27-23 B.C. and dedicated it to his wife Octavia. Emperor Severus renovated it again in 203. The present portico is from that time.
Two of the columns in the portico were replaced in the Middle Ages by a brick arch which is in contrast to the rest of the monument.
We walk along Via Portico d’Ottavia to the west in the direction of Via del Progresso. We are in the Jewish Ghetto.
Ghetto
Jews first lived in Trastevere on the other side of the river. They were made to move to this area in the 13th C. Pope Paul IV built a wall around the district in the middle of the 16th C. It was then torn down again in the middle of the 19th C.
This area still retains some ghetto atmosphere. It has several restaurants with Jewish cuisine.
We turn right into Via Sant’Ambrogio to Piazza Mattei. There is a tortoise fountain in the square.
Fontana delle Tartarughe
(C3).
The tortoise fountain was designed by Giacomo della Porta, built in 1581-1588, and the bronze figures are by Taddeo Landini. Later the tortoises were added by an unknown artist. This is one of the most beautiful fountains in Rome.
From the square we continue into Via Paganica. We come to a big square with excavations in the middle.
Largo di Torre Argentina
(C3).
Excavations in the square show how much lover the level of the land was in classical times. The remains are of the oldest temples that have been found in Rome. They date from the republican age, partly from the 5th C. B.C. A tower from the Middle Ages is on the corner, giving its name to the square.
Nearest to the tower is the oldest temple, in Etruscan style. Then comes a circular temple from the 2nd C. B.C. Finally there is a temple that was built and rebuilt several times from the 4th C. B.C. to the 1st C. B.C. It is partly entwined with the remains of a church from the Middle Ages. Behind the temple there is a wall of a public toilet building from ancient Rome.
Behind the ruins, on the other side of the square, is the Teatro Argentina, where Rossini’s Barber of Seville debuted catastrophically in 1816. The famous café Bernasconi is beside the theater.
We walk east from the square on the avenue of Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and soon came to the imposing church of Gesú.
Gesú
Hours: Open daily 6-12:30, 16:30-19:15. (C3).
The first baroque church of Rome, built in 1568-1575, compactly designed by Vignola for the new order of Jesuits. It still is their head church. The majestic and dynamic front is by Giacomo della Porta in 1573-1584. The giant order of columns and the powerful scrolls became a model for many churches around the world.
The compact church was an expression of the Catholic counter-reformation led by the Jesuit order. It only has one nave, and chapels replaced the usual transepts. This made it easier for the congregation to see and hear the priests. It is also designed with acoustics in mind.
The extensive decorations inside are from the 17th C. when the baroque style had matured. Giovanni Battista painted frescos in 1672, including one of Jesus in the vault over the apse. The most extensive decorations are in the third chapel to the left, dedicated to Ignazio Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order. They were made by Andrea Pozzo in 1696-1700 using marble with inlaid lapis azuli.
We continue along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and its continuation, Via del Plebiscito all the way to Piazza Venezia.
Piazza Venezia
Hours: Open Tuesday-Saturday 9-14, Sunday 9-13. (C3).
This is the traffic center of Rome. It is the crossing point of its main traffic arteries, the supreme piazza of traffic jams. All taxi trips seem to cross this piazza.
On the Palazzo Venezia balcony Mussolini made some of his speeches. The most popular rendezvous point in the city is below that balcony.
We enter the palace on the piazza, the Palazzo Venezia.
Palazzo Venezia
Hours: Open 9-14, 9-13 Sunday, closed Monday. (C3).
Built in 1455-1471 by Pope Paul II who had his apartments here. Later many popes lived here, also Charles VIII, King of France. Mussolini had his offices here. The name of palace derives from the time that the Venetian ambassador in Rome lived here.
It is the first secular Renaissance building in Rome. Parts of it are older in style such as the massive corner tower. The Renaissance elements are obvious in the fenestration and in the double portico of the palace church beside the tower.
The church itself is older than the palace, originally from 336 and renovated in the 9th C. It is decorated in many styles. The palace is also much decorated in spite of its austere outer appearance. There is a famous palace garden and a museum of medieval art.
We leave the museum, walk into the piazza and turn our attention to an imposing monument
Monumento Vittorio Emanuele II
(C3).
The imposing, creamy-white monument dominates the Venetian square and spreads out in front of the Capitolum hill, obscuring the view to the ruins of ancient Rome. This is the absolute top of the wedding-cake variety of the Historic style in the latter half of the 19th C., designed in 1884 by Giuseppi Sacconi, but not finished until 1922.
An equestrian statue of king Vittorio Emanuele II is in front of the monument. He was the first king of a united Italy after its freedom wars. The national altar and the monument of the unknown soldier are in front of the statue.
We pass the monument to the right. When we come to the Capitolum steps we observe ancient ruins on our left side.
Insula
(C3).
In imperial time the poor people of Rome lived in barrel-vault Insulae like this one, which dates from the 2nd C. The Insulae were big apartment blocks. This one is the only survivor in Rome. It had at least six storeys and housed 380 people in its heyday.
The living conditions in such tenements were mostly squalid and more so the higher you were in the building.
Part of the upper storeys was converted into a church in the 14th C. The church tower is still visible.
Now we can choose either to climb the Aracoeli stairs or the Cordonata steps up to the hill of Capitolum. We take the first one which leads us to the church of Santa Maria d’Aracoeli.
Santa Maria d’Aracoeli
Hours: Open daily 7-12, 16-18. (C3).
The steps are from 1346, 122 in number. From the top of them, in front of the church, there is a good view over the medieval city center with the dome of St Peter’s in the background. This was once the most holy place in Rome with the Temple of Juno and the castle of Arx.
The church is from 1250, with Gothic rose windows. It contains many works of art from the Middle Ages, including a marble floor and stone tombs at the entrance, also frescos by Pinturicchio in the right corner chapel at the entrance.
The most famous item in the church is Santo Bambino, an olive-wood figure in the left transept, believed to have miraculous powers.
From the church we walk down steps into Piazza Campodoglio.
Piazza Campodoglio
(C3).
Michelangelo designed this piazza and the steps leading up to it. He also was influential in the design of the three palaces around the piazza. The piazza is beautifully laid in stone according to his designs. Old statues from imperial times of Castor and Pollux with their horses, found in the Martian Fields, are at the edge of the piazza, moved to this place in the 16th C.
Capitolum was the hill of gods in Rome. Already in Etruscan time, in the 6th C. B.C. a temple of Jupiter was standing here. Later the temples were three, dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. When Michelangelo started his work, the fame of ancient times had disappeared long ago and goats were grassing in the holy place.
A replica of an equestrian statue of emperor Aurelius is in the middle of the piazza. The original was moved to here from the Lateran piazza, where it had been allowed to stand as people thought it depicted the Christian emperor Constantine. The original was recently moved from the piazza to protect it from pollution.
We turn our attention to the palaces and start with the one in the middle, Palazzo Senatorio.
Palazzo Senatorio
(C3).
Built in 1143 upon the ruins of the ancient Tabularium and was the city senate at that time, towering over the Roman Forum behind. It is now the city hall of Rome.
Michelangelo spared the walls and only designed a new front, which was realised in 1582-1605 by Giacomo della Porta.
Now we turn to the palace on the north side of the piazza, Palazzzo Nuovo.
Palazzo Nuovo
Hours: 9-13:30 Tuesday-Sunday, Tuesday also 17-20. (C3).
Designed by Michelangelo and finished in 1654. In 1734 it became the world’s first museum. It specialises in ancient sculpture.
Among the sculptures are busts of most of the known philosophers and poets of ancient Greece and of all of the rulers of ancient Rome. The original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, that formerly was in the square, is now in this museum. It also contains the Venus from Capitolum and a replica of the Dying Galatian by the Greek sculptor Praxiteles.
The third palace on the piazza is Palazzo dei Conservatori.
Palazzo dei Conservatori
Hours: 9-13:30 Tuesday-Sunday, Tuesday also 17-20. (C3).
Built in the 15th C. for the magistrates of the city. Michelangelo redesigned it in the same style as Palazzo Nuovo and it was then rebuilt by Giacomo della Porta. It combines painting and sculpture from ancient and medieval times.
The most famous statue is an Etruscan 5th C. B.C. bronze of the wolverine that mothered the brothers Romulus and Remus. There is also Spinario, a 1st C. B.C. bronze showing a boy taking a thorn out of his foot. And a 3rd C. bust of Junius Brutus, the founder of the ancient Republic of Rome.
The paintings are in Pinacoteca Capitolina. Among them are works by Caravaggio, Veronese, Tintoretto, Cortona, Rubens, Titian and Van Dyck.
From the piazza we can walk down steps to the Roman Forum on the left of Palazzo Senatorio. Or we can walk to the right of the palace on Via del Campidoglio where there is a good view over the Roman Forum. This is the ancient Clivus Capitolinus, the road of processions from the Forum up to the Capitolum. This walk ends here.
Renaissance Rome
The district covers the ancient Martian Fields and their surrounding plain between the river and the hills of Capitolum, Quirinal and Pincius. It still retains some of its Renaissance character with narrow streets and winding alleys, barely or not passable by cars. It is also the most pleasant part of present Rome.
This part of the city center is where the action is. Many of the best restaurants cluster in this district around Piazza Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the parliament.
We start by taking a taxi to the other side of the river, to the church of San Pietro in Montorio on the hill Gianicolo just above the district of Trastevere. In the church garden we see the Tempietto.
Tempietto
Hours: Open daily 9-12, 16-18. (B4).
The small temple designed by Bramante is one of the most beautiful works of art in Rome. It is circular and classic, with a Doric colonnade of 16 columns, built in 1502. Above the colonnade there is a frieze and a balustrade. Then comes a second floor topped by a dome.
This small building of harmonious proportions showed the way to the high Renaissance period in architecture and is often used to decorate books on the history of architecture.
From the square in front of the church we have a good view over Rome, from Castel Sant’Angelo to the left, to the Vittorio Emanuele monument, Capitolum and the Basilica of Constantine and Maxentius in the middle and San Giovanni in Laterano to the right.
We walk down the stairs and the hillside road of Via Garibaldi to the next crossing and then down Via Memeli until we come to a staircase leading us down to Via della Paglia in Trastevere. We walk that street to the main square in Trastevere, Piazza Santa Maria di Trastevere. There we see the church by the same name.
Santa Maria in Trastevere
Hours: Open daily 7:30-13, 16-19. (B4).
The church is from 341, rebuilt in 1140 and furnished with the present bell tower. The colonnade in front is much more recent, from 1702.
It is famous for the mosaics in front and inside. The picture in the higher apse depicting Jesus and Maria is in Byzantine style by Greek masters in the 12th C. The six pictures below are by Pietro Cavallini in the 13th C.
We are in the district of Trastevere.
Trastevere
This district is not part of the ancient Rome. It was built by Etruscans and later also Jews and Syrians. Emperor Augustus made it a part of the city. The Aurelian city wall included it.
Since then it has been a district of tradespeople and artisans, who worked in the nearby harbor. Lately it has become fashionable and has been invaded by prosperous people. Restaurants are everywhere and street life is vivid in the evening.
We walk from the piazza on Via della Lungaretta to Piazza Sonnino, where San Crisogno is on the corner, built in the 5th C. and renovated in the 12th C. On the square we turn left, and walk to the Anguillara Tower.
Torre degli Anguillara
(C4).
A typical city tower from the Middle Ages, built in the 13th C., adjoining the Anguillara palace. It got its name from one of the most influential families in Rome in medieval times. Now it is an institute for studies in Dante.
We cross the river on the Garibaldi bridge. On the other side we turn left on Lungarotevere de Vallati, until we come to Piazza Pallotti, where we enter the pedestrian Via Giulia.
Via Giulia
(B3).
The main street in Renaissance Rome. It was the street of proud palaces of cardinals such as Palazzo Farnese and Palazzo Sacchetti. It has been rehabilitated in present times as a street of art and antique galleries.
It may be the only straight street in this old part of Rome and it is a street for pedestrians only. This makes is unique and pleasant for visiting strollers.
The garden wall around the Farnese palace is especially beautiful, with cascades of ivy falling over it.
We arrive at a fountain on the left side of street.
Fontana del Mascherone
(B3).
The grotesque fountain was put up in 1626 but has probably been stolen from a nearby building from classical times, now lost and forgotten. It combines an ancient mask and a granite basin to make a baroque whole.
We pass the Farnese palace and turn right on the next corner to get to the front of the Farnese palace
Palazzo Farnese
(B3).
The main work of Antonio Sangallo jr, designed in 1514. The building started in 1534 and was more or less finished by Michelangelo in 1546 and finally by Giacomo della Porta in 1589. Its outer form is often considered to be a perfect example of the Renaissance style in Rome. It is now the French embassy.
The proud palace is free-standing and rectangular. It has a courtyard with arcades and pairs of columns in the Romanesque style. On the outside it has horizontal Renaissance lines. On the first floor triangular and circular pediments alternate, after an example in the Pantheon.
Two giant stone tubs are in the square in front of the palace. They were robbed from the Caracalla baths in 1626.
We walk Via dei Venti to another palace, Palazzo Spada.
Palazzo Spada
Hours: Open Tuesday-Saturday 8:30-14, Sunday 9-13. (B3).
The palace was built in 1540 in the late Renaissance style of Mannerism. The walls are not smooth and strict but laden with friez
