San Marcello al Corso: a less known church.





According to tradition it was founded by the pope Marcellus, martyr under the emperor Maxentius and exiled from Rome after the riots caused by his severity against lapsed Christians who had renounced to their faith under the recent persecutions. Another version claims he was condemned to work as a slave attending the horses (he is the patron saint of horse breeders) at the catabulum:  the headquarters of the Imperial Post stables.
His remains are supposedly under the main altar of the church.
The present church, rebuilt several times, was designed by Jacopo Sansovino and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger after a fire in 1519.
The façade was added by Carlo Fontana at the end of XVII century while the interior was partly redecorated also in the XVIII century and restored by Vespignani in 1867. 
 

The church hosts a bizarre funerary monument:  the double tomb of Cardinal Giovanni Michiel known as Cardinal S. Angelo for his first title as cardinal of the church of S. Angelo in Pescheria (up above) and his nephew bishop Antonio Orso (down below). Designed by Jacopo Sansovino in 1520 (according to Giorgio Vasari). They seem to rest on a on a bunk bed. The bishop lies on a pile of books: an allusion to his donation of 730 codes to the library of the monastery.

The Cardinal was the nephew of the pope Paul II and belonged to a prestigious Venetian family. A candidate for the papacy during the conclave of 1492 which ended with the election of Rodrigo Borgia (Alexander VI), he died in 1503, poisoned by Cesare Borgia, the pope's son,  after 2 days of agony. The truth of those rumors was never proved. Cantarella, a variation of arsenic, was the poison of choice of the Borgias. If dosed right it wasn't immediate and obvious. The cook, accused, was executed and the enormous wealth of the cardinal was confiscated by the Borgias.



Crucifixion (detail). 1613

A huge Crucifixion by Giovan Battista Ricci is frescoed on the counterfacade. The Lombard artist was also an excellent draughtsman. Mainly active as a fresco painter during the pontificates of Sixtus V, Clement VIII and Paul V, Ricci was one of the busiest painters in Rome during this period, and was elected to the Virtuosi al Pantheon in 1583 and, five years later, to the Accademia di San Luca.  





 

A well preserved medieval fresco (XIV century) survives in the Grifoni Chapel. The Madonna is crowned by a couple of later cherubs painted by Perin del Vaga, a pupil of Raphael. They were particularly praised by Giorgio Vasari: '...i più belli che in fresco facesse mai artefice nessuno... '.

 

The baptistery of the ancient church was found in 1912: one of the few for the immersion rite surviving in Rome.  The bricks are still coated with marble (VIII century, although V century remains were also discovered).  

 

Archaeological remains under the church.

Opening hours - 7,30 am - 11 pm (weekdays) - Saturday and Sunday 9,30 am - 11 pm.

If you wish to visit the archaeological remains under the church ask at the Sacristy (a little donation is highly appreciated).

5 Must-see Fine Art Nudes in Rome.

1. Esquiline Venus (Capitoline Museums).
 

Nudes in art date from the Paleolithic age when curvy and bumper statuettes carved in stone, female bodies with abundant breasts, were regarded as symbols of fertility (Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000 B.C.E–25,000 B.C.E.)                        

Aesthetically the representation of the naked body over the centuries is the result of different cultural systems.

In Greece, in the V century B.C. the anatomy of the human body becomes the object of scientific studies and Polykleitos provides a 'code': his aesthetic theories for artistic perfection being based on mathematics. Ancient Greeks competed naked or covered only by a thong.  Athletes became models: nudity immortalized by artists, such as Myron, a promise of perfection and beauty. 

In the Middle Ages, this conception faces a metamorphosis due to Christianity and if the body becomes the sacred urn of the spirit, it could nevertheless lead to sin and damnation.
 

For Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo the nude is a symbol of purity,  based on classic models, refined by the study of human anatomy and alluding to strength and spiritual courage (Michelangelo's David). 



2. Hermaphroditus
(Palazzo Massimo).
 

In 1545, the Council of Trent marks the end of freedom to represent the nude in art and artists are encouraged to be inspired by biblical stories. In 1559, Pope Paul IV ordered to cover Michelangelo's nudes in the Last Judgement. Through art the clergy tries to control 'heretical' ideas.
 



3. One of Michelangelo's
Ignudi
Sistine Chapel
Ceiling.

In the 17th century, the attitude is controversial: 'sacred' and 'profane' coexist in artists like Caravaggio or Bernini. 
 

One century later naked human figures must be based, according to Winckelmann, on the ideals of Greek art with its fixed proportions for beauty. Repressive social conventions are rejected. Canova's conception of nudity in one of his major works, Paolina Borghese, reflects the tradition of ancient Rome, portraying a mortal as a goddess. It's still debated whether Napoleon's sister really posed nude as a model.
 

4. Bernini's Rape of Proserpina
Borghese Gallery.
 



5. Canova's Paolina Bonaparte
Borghese Gallery.

5 Historic Cafes in Rome.

 

1.Caffé Greco.  Opened in 1760 (Via dei Condotti). The most ancient in Rome and the second in Italy, preceded only by Caffé Florian in Venice (1720). So called for its first owner, Nicola della Maddalena, a Greek man.  A meeting place for intellectuals: Stendhal, Goethe, Byron, Keats, Ibsen, Wagner, Casanova, have all been here.  A Caffé celebrated in sketches and paintings which still decorate its walls forming a huge private art gallery with more than 300 works. And if lucky enough you can bump into Stellario Baccellieri known worldwide as 'the painter of the Caffé Greco': he portrayed celebs like De Chirico, Liz Taylor, Gina Lollobrigida and Lady Diana.



2.Babington's English Tea Room (by the Spanish Steps).  Founded in 1893 by Isabel Cargill and Anne Marie Babington. At the time tea could be found only in pharmacies. 19th century style interiors. It survived two world wars and the opening of a Macdonald's nearby!

3 & 4. Caffè Rosati and Caffé Canova in Piazza del Popolo. The Caffè Rosati was the pastry shop of the Italian Royal family. In the 50s it served coffee to Pasolini and Elsa Morante.  The Caffè Canova was popular among Via Margutta artists. An interesting art gallery is dedicated to Fellini who daily visited the bar for his espresso fix.

 

5. Caffé Canova Tadolini located in the workshop of Neoclassical sculptor Canova and his pupil Tadolini. Have a drink or lunch among sculptures and casts, dark hardwood floors, chandeliers and vintage furniture.

 

 

Spanish Steps. Some trivia.

People watching is a great pastime in a city like Rome and the Spanish Steps are the ideal platform, offering stage and seating at the same time. A must in Rome.  Here’s a list of trivia concerning the most famous stairway in town, celebrated by movies (Roman Holiday or The talented Mr Ripley), loved by fashion victims (high fashion designers are concentrated on Via Condotti), pilgrimage site for literature nerds (Keats’ ghost is still lingering here).

1. Once in the outskirts. 500 years ago this area was still ‘suburban’:  in a map by Pirro Ligorio we see ruins, vineyards and just a couple of ‘palazzi’.
2. Why Spanish?  For the proximity of the Spanish Embassy headquarters: even if the money to build the steps came from France, donated by the French diplomat Etienne Gueffier. The area was initially occupied by a muddy slope. The ‘stairway’ was built in 1726 by Francesco de Sanctis whose project won a competition:   137 travertine steps lead up to the heights of Trinità dei Monti with its French church and small obelisk. Even cardinal Mazarin took an interest in the project, a statue of the King Louis XIV had been foreseen initially.  Too much for the popes: a compromise was found and both ‘logos’, the Bourbon fleur-de lys and pope Innocent XIII’s eagle and crown appear in the sculptural details perfectly balanced. 
3. A busy hub for Grand Tour visitors entering from Porta del Popolo, access point from the North. In one of the rooms of the Casina Rossa (Piazza di Spagna, 26), Keats died in 1821 (aged 26). He was in Rome hoping warm climate would help him to recover from consumption. He’s buried in the protestant cemetery with his friends Severn and Shelley. The Keats and Shelley Memorial preserves also a library. The original furniture was  burnt on the pope’s order after Keats died.
4. The ‘twin’ palace, on the left, houses Babington’s Tea room founded in 1893 by two young English ladies who started their business with the initial sum of £100: at the time the only place where you could buy tea in Rome was from a pharmacy.  The tea room was so successful  that they opened another one in St. Peter’s square which no longer exists (there are now 3 in Tokyo). Stop there for a nice cup or Earl Grey and a cucumber sandwich.
5. At the base Bernini’s fountain shaped as an old boat not only recalls a flood in the piazza but it’s also a practical way to solve the problem of low water pressure. It ‘s still supplied by one of the most ancient Roman aqueducts (Condotti is the Italian for water pipes, that's why the name of the main avenue).
6. In the early 19^th century models used to gather here hoping to be employed by sculptors and painters who had their studios in via Margutta.
7. On the top Villa Medici (next to Trinità dei Monti) was the residence of the Grand Duke of Tuscany:  Ferdinando I de’ Medici. Now a French property housing from 1803 the French Academy in Rome. Built on the remains of the ancient Roman villa of Lucullus and used also as a prison: his most famous guest was Galileo.
8. The best period to come is May  when the steps are covered by azaleas.
9. In the upper church of Trinità dei Monti – you should not miss Daniele da Volterra's Descent from the Cross. The great artist became famous for having covered Michelangelo’s nudes (in the Sistine Chapel).
10. The Caffe' Greco in Via Condotti is almost 250 years old, opened by a Greek and mentioned also by Casanova.  Perfect stop to sip a quick espresso or sit in one of the cozy back rooms where artists like Keats, Byron, Goethe, Wagner, Listz used to meet. By the way: their cakes are delicious!

When Bernini worked for free.

Almost 25 years after the famous Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, Bernini dealt with a similar subject for the Cardinal Paluzzo Paluzzi degli Albertoni who wished to commemorate his great great grandmother Ludovica, beatified in 1671, 138 years after her death (the cause for canonization still pending).

Ludovica was a noble woman who, resigned to her parents' wish, married the wealthy and noble Giacomo della Cetera. They lived in Trastevere and raised three daughters together.  When she remained widow at the age of 33, she decided to enter the tertiary order of the Franciscans at the Church of San Francesco a Ripa, devoting herself to the care of sick and poor, in a very difficult period, during the Sack of Rome (1527) and the bubonic plague (1528). Died at the age of 60 she was immensely popular.  She was known for her religious ecstasies, including levitation, several miracles were attributed to her.  Buried in the family chapel in San Francesco a Ripa, her tomb soon became a venerated site of pilgrimage.

The cardinal Paluzzo descendant of the 'saint' was the most powerful man in the Curia.  His nephew had married the niece of the pope.
The pope Clement X Altieri was aged and weak: he soon adopted Paluzzi as his nephew. No wonder the powerful cardinal, the right-hand man of the pope, chose the greatest artist of the time for a monument celebrating his venerated ancestor.

Bernini presumably sculpted the statue almost for free: surprising considering who the sponsor was. The artist was a smart 'businessman' well aware of his talent.

In 1959 a scandal related to the project was discovered by Valentino Martinelli.  The incident was reconstructed investigating in the Vatican archives. 

In 1670 Bernini's brother and assistant Luigi fled to Naples. Guilty of raping a young boy in the vicinity of the statue of Constantine, in St. Peter's.
The news spread, money was offered to the boy's family while the queen Christine of Sweden, friend of Bernini, tried to intercede with the pope.

The people of Rome could not forgive: the artist was blamed also for the tremendous amount of money made at the papal court.
He was in his seventies, old, ill and frail, committed also to other projects.  He proceeded slowlier than usual.  The statue was completed in 2 years (1674), sculpted by him and not by pupils. 

In the Holy Year of 1675 his brother was supposedly released from exile. 

The scandal is not mentioned by Bernini's biographers although probably the artist worked for no compensation in reparation for his brother's crime.
The episode sheds a different light on Bernini:  a more humanized artist who cared deeply for his family and that facing frustration and humiliation carved his masterpiece as an act of love. A commitment that must have been unprecedented.

References:  Bernini and the Idealization of Death: The Blessed Ludovica Albertoni and the Altieri Chapel. Perlove, Shelley Karen (1990). The Pennsylvania State University Press.

The elevator to Cavallini's hidden frescoes.

There is another Last Judgement in Rome, less known than the one admired by millions of tourists each year in the Sistine Chapel, but as powerful and grand, painted almost 250 years earlier. To appreciate this masterpiece all you need to do is ring a bell.  Following modifications to the church the fresco is now in the cloistered nun's choir and can be reached only by passing through part of the convent. So ring a bell, follow the nun, a quick ride in the elevator and you are there, facing its vibrant colors in a close-up view.
The fresco was rediscovered in 1900 during some restoration works in Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, one of the most ancient titular churches in Rome. According to Ghiberti and Vasari it is by the Roman painter Pietro Cavallini, a pioneer in visual art in the late Duecento.

Pietro Cavallini worked for most his life in Rome, active also in Naples and possibly in Assisi.  Some scholars in fact attribute to Cavallini the fresco cycle of the Legend of St. Francis traditionally considered by Giotto. Not much is known about Cavallini's training.

The present church of Santa Cecilia was built under the pope Paschal I (817-24) who appears in the mosaic of the apse completed when the pope was still alive. Around 1300 the church was redecorated: a new ciborium by Arnolfo di Cambio was placed above the altar while the nave and the counter façade were frescoed by Cavallini. The precious cycle was largely destroyed when the cardinal Francesco Acquaviva had the interior redesigned in 1725.
Cavallini's Last Judgement  (around 1293) was rediscovered in the beginning of XX century, behind the choir-stalls of the Benedictine nuns. Large sections of the old fresco came to light again: the middle register of the Last Judgment, fragments of the Annunciation on the north wall, and two scenes from the story of Jacob on the south wall.  It is assumed that there were cycles of the Old and New Testament on the walls of the nave.

The monumental enthroned Christ and Apostles, the angels with feathers in graduated colors reveal a new sense of volumes, a blend of Byzantine, Roman and early Christian elements. The idea of portraying the apostles with the symbols of their martyrdom was a novelty derived from a French practice, just inaugurated at the time. The chiaroscuro models those faces who reveal true emotions, beyond the abstract Byzantine manner, inspired by the great pictorial tradition of late antiquity.  A new sense of real!

The discovery of new frescoes by Cavallini in Santa Maria in Aracoeli in 2000 brought about another wave of interest on the artist whose reputation decline was mainly due to Vasari who relegated him to a secondary role, as a pupil of Giotto.  While the innovations of Cavallini might have inspired the younger Giotto instead.



A Smarthistory Video on the frescoes:  http://youtu.be/pwHzN9aV1WY

When Moses twisted his head.

During the restoration of Michelangelo's Moses, completed in 2002, many unexpected findings were made, including significant modifications in the final years between 1542-45. The theory is supported by a great scholar on Michelangelo: Christoph L. Frommel.  In his biography on the artist Michelangelo una vita inquieta (2005) chief restorer Antonio Forcellino describes how the artist worked over time.  
According to a document recently discovered by Forcellino, Michelangelo would have turned the head of Moses 25 years after his first version.  A letter from an anonymous acquaintance of the artist reports (shortly after Michelangelo's death) how the master had turned the head of Moses at a later time. Frommel noticed how oddly enough art history makes no reference to the fact.
Other elements discovered during the restoration seem to confirm the theory:
- the massive beard pulled to the right, presumably because on the left there was not enough marble left after the torsion;
- the throne of Moses is lowered on the left and to place the left foot back the artist is forced to tighten the knee;
- for the first time since the days of Canova the rear part of the statue was examined: a belt survives (which disappeared from the front).
Apparently the reason who prompted Michelangelo to turn Moses' head was religious.
Moses does not turn around and grab his beard to 'tame his passion' and save the tablets as Sigmund Freud had suggested. 
According to Frommel Moses looks away from the altar where the venerated chains of Peter granted indulgences to countless pilgrims. 
Just as if he had seen a new golden calf.
Further evidence for Michelangelo's involvement with Reformation circles.

The Lanternarius at the Baths of Diocletian.

Lanternarius with cucullus - I-II century A.D.
Rome Tiber, Palatine bridge.
National Roman Museum (Baths of Diocletian)
Michelangelo's Cloister.

A little mysterious statue rests in the shade of the cloister in the National Roman Museum (Baths of Diocletian).  Among hundreds of statues of the Imperial age, it would easily risk to go unnoticed if it were not for the seductive charm it emanates, a sense of peace, an aura of mystery.  
Rather than statues of emperors or victorious generals,  those 'extras', background actors in history, have much more to say about daily life back then:  a little boy, a slave, holding a lantern, fallen asleep while waiting for his master.  It's chilly outside and the lanternarius is wrapped in his cucullus, a rough hooded jacket. 

Streets had no public lighting, except when shows were held at night at the circus or amphitheater. 
Therefore to venture out it was necessary to have a torch or a lantern, perhaps carried by a slave (lanternarius).  Especially in the heavy and noisy night traffic.
Caesar in fact in 45 b.C. prohibited the circulation of carts and chariots during the day (Municipal Julian Law), except to transport building materials for great public works.

The cucullus, later adopted also by medieval monks (and by the likes of Yoda in Star Wars) was the work coat used by Roman slaves:  just as the toga was worn by  Roman citizens so the cucullus was indicative of a slave, who needed to be outside in bad weather. 

The cucullus is the ‘cloak of invisibility’ associated also with the underworld and the most renowned cucullatus divinity of Hellenistic antiquity is Telesphorus (god of sleep):  a hooded, cloaked, barefoot child-god, venerated also in association with Asklepios, the healer god who visits patients at night.  Thus often on tombs similar funerary statuettes illuminated the path of the dominus through the darkness of death. 

 

  

 

Klimt's Three Ages at Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.

Mothers have always been a popular subject in Art,  depicted as goddesses, tender Madonnas,  timeless mythological figures.
There is one work in particular that comes immediately to my mind when I think of motherhood. An icon. It's by Klimt, probably the greatest Austrian painter who ever lived and one of the most expensive of all time, after death.
It is surprisingly in Rome.
Shown for the first time at the Biennale in Venice in 1910, it won the gold medal in 1911 at the International Exhibition in Rome for the 50th Anniversary of Italian Unity. It was purchased by Rome's National Gallery of Modern Art in 1912.
A tender portrait of a loving mother posing as a Madonna. In fact it's often referred to as Mother and Child.  



The Three Ages of Woman (1905) - Gustav Klimt.
Galleria d'Arte Moderna - Rome.

But a mysterious third woman appears in the background: old, naked, an unforgiving depiction of decay.  A disturbing vision. So disturbing that in the numberless reproductions, posters and postcards, it's often simply 'cut out'.
The old woman might have been inspired, according to some scholars, by Rodin's  Old Courtesan, in Vienna for the Secession Exhibition in 1901.  
Three women at different stages in life: an allusion to the never-ending cycle of life and death. 
Klimt had lost his son Otto in 1902 and besides an apparent tribute to motherhood there is a clear obsession with time ad death.  Nevertheless it evokes also youth, fertility and love.
The vibrant colors of his palette convey a less bitter and tragic interpretation of the theme.  But the decorative elements in the background, similar to the byzantine mosaics he loved, are something else:  those mysterious shapes have been interpreted as bacteria and protozoa, symbols of decay and decomposition. He was fascinated by microbiology.
Death and sexuality were regarded as inconceivable elements of chaos by his society. Nevertheless Eros and Thanatos were the source of  Klimt's inspiration. 
The ageing process, especially concerning women, was a popular subject already in the Renaissance depicted by artists such as Giorgione. It became a common theme also in Klimt's Symbolist era.
His works have even been criticized for being pornographic.  He was fascinated and obsessed by female bodies. And by women's clothing.  Some of the outfits he created for his creatures are truly spectacular. Not surprising they inspired designer John Galliano for one of his collections.
Not much is known about his private life but he was apparently the father of at least 14 illegitimate children with his various lovers.
He once wrote: "I have never painted a self-portrait. I am more interested in other people, especially women.'





Trappist: the historical Roman chocolate.

 

In Sicily it's Modica, in Tuscany Stainer, in Turin Peyrano or Caffarel, among others. 
In Rome the synonym for chocolate is Trappist, produced from 1880 by monks! 
Dark, with milk or hazelnuts, gianduia and for Christmas 'torrone' (nougat) of course.
Their recipes are ancient and strictly top secret, their logo:  the Colosseum with a cross!
Trappists are named after La Trappe Abbey in Normandy (France).  They are a reformed wing of Cistercian monks who were also originally from France (Citeaux) where the order was founded in 1098.  Trappists follow St. Benedict' s rule.
They used to speak only when necessary:  they actually have a sign language!  Even if they were actually much more rigorous until the Second Vatican Council in 1960s.
They still live by the work of their hands, not neglecting study and writing.  Monasteries are generally located in rural areas and produce cheese, bread, chocolate, beer, jams, liqueurs and also cosmetics!
Their beers contain residual sugars plus yeast so, unlike common beer, will improve with age.

Three Fountains Abbey, 1874.

The Trappist Abbey in Rome is located at the Tre Fontane (Three Fountains) on the Via Laurentina where they have three separate churches (one to St. Paul, one to the Blessed Mary and the third dedicated to the Saints Vincent and Anastasius).  The Church of St. Paul was raised on the spot where the saint was beheaded by order of Emperor Nero. Legend accounts for the three springs (fontane) asserting that, when severed from Paul's body, his head bounced and struck the earth in three different places, from which fountains sprang up. The church also holds the pillar to which St. Paul was tied according to tradition and some mosaics from Ostia Antica.

More on the Abbey:
http://www.sanpaolotrefontane.org/index.php
http://www.abbaziatrefontane.it/index.php (only in Italian).

Once the area was swampy and malarial:  that's why eucalyptus trees were planted:  their liqueur distilled from the leaves is very popular.   Their specialties are sold in the little shop by the entrance.  The monks also sell an aromatic vinegar which is said to cure headaches and rheumatism and the best chocolate you can find in Rome. 
Actually till 1970 all those goods were produced by the monks, now a factory in Frattocchie supplies the shop of the Tre Fontane.

Their specialties are also online:
http://www.bottegadelmonastero.it/index.php?manufacturers_id=20&sort=3a&language=en

A brief video on the factory (better without audio):
http://youtu.be/mHaCkTcmKn8

 

 

The 'X-rated' Fountain of the Naiads in Rome.

No other city celebrates water like Rome! Almost every square is adorned with a fountain more or less monumental!  Arriving by train,  the very first fountain we come across is the modern Fountain of the Naiads, dominating Piazza della Repubblica. 

The square, a step away from Termini station,  is also known as Piazza dell' Esedra, occupying the large curved space of the former baths of Diocletian.  The porticoes designed by Gaetano Koch at the end of XIX century, replace the ancient Roman buildings originally located around the exedra. 

The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels is actually an interesting example of converted architecture: one of the halls of the ancient Roman baths, transformed by Michelangelo into a church! Hard to tell from the exterior, since the façade is, simply, the brick wall of what was probably the ancient Tepidarium, respected and maintained by an artist that was so much ahead of his time.

The very first fountain, commissioned by the pope Pius IX in 1870, was dominated by four chalk lions by Alessandro Guerrieri, replaced in 1901 by the Fountain of the Naiads by Mario Rutelli.

Rutelli was a sculptor from Palermo, probably more known for being the great grand-father of Francesco, mayor of Rome twice between 1993 and 2001.  Mario's father was the famous architect who designed the Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele in Palermo: the third largest lyrical theatre in Europe.
Mario Rutelli designed also the statue of Anita Garibaldi on the Janiculum and one of the Victories on the Monument to Victor Emmanuel.

For Mussolini the fountain was ' the exaltation of eternal youth, the capital's first salute to art'.

The Naiads are nymphs, each one alluding to a particular form of water.
They can be identified by their allegorical  animal.




A frilled lizard for the nymph of underground streams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When first unveiled the four naked bronze statues of the Naiads, deemed to be 'obscene', were fenced with a railing.  Their 'lascivious' and 'provocative' poses were considered excessive by the prude conservatives of the time!



A horse for the nymph of the Oceans (detail).

The models who posed for Rutelli's sensual naiads were renowned for their beauty:  they came from Anticoli Corrado, a little village perched on a hill, not too far from Rome, known in XIX century for the legendary beauty of local women, apparently so attractive that the little borgo became the village of artists and models, literally colonized by sculptors and painters!



A giant snake for the nymph of rivers.

Fortunately, in spite of the opposition and the initial censorship, the naiads remained in place and the railing was finally removed. 









A swan for the nymph of the lakes.

Rutelli completed the fountain with some sculptures to be placed in the centre:  three human figures, a dolphin and an octopus tangled together. 
The first version in mortar placed in 1911 for the International Exposition was greeted with so much sarcasm, that the final bronze version was never added.
The group nicknamed the fish fry, was replaced by the statue of the sea-god Glaucus which received more positive feedbacks. 
The much criticized concrete fish fry lies abandoned in the gardens of Piazza Vittorio today. 

San Vito, a surprising church in Rome.

  

The little church dedicated to St. Vitus in the rione Esquilino, is only 10 minutes from the more known Basilica of St. Mary the Major. 

It's first recorded at the end of VIII century as S. Vito in Macello since it was near the macellum, the ancient Roman indoor market.

The location of the church is bizarre, almost leaning on the Arch of Gallienus.
The arch was originally an ancient Roman gate (Esquiline) in the Servian walls, the very first walls of Rome (IV century B.C.).  Rebuilt in monumental style in the Augustan period, it was dedicated to the emperor Gallienus and his wife Cornelia Salonina in 262,  by the equestrian Aurelius Victor (the inscription is on the architrave). From the gate two important Roman roads started:  the Labicana and Tiburtina.

The Church is actually dedicated to St. Vitus,  Modestus and Crescentia:  IV century martyrs under the emperor Diocletian, much venerated the Middle Ages.

St. Vitus is more known; Modestus, and Crescentia were, respectively, his tutor and his nurse, husband and wife.  According to the legend Vitus, the son of a Sicilian senator, was brought up by Modestus and his wife as a Christian. His father tried in vain, even torturing him, to shake his faith, but Vitus was resolute and did not betray the two.  They managed to escape by boat to Lucania but were captured and taken to Rome where St. Vitus also cured the emperor Diocletian's son of devil possession.  Accused of sorcery they were tortured and condemned to death.

An angel would have brought them back to Lucania where they died. 

The three saints are very popular in Southern Italy and Sicily.  Much venerated also in Prague where the huge cathedral is dedicated to St. Vitus, the patron saint of Bohemia.

In the late Middle Ages in Germany St. Vitus feast (June 15th) was celebrated in a singular way:  worshippers danced around his statue.  As a matter of fact he is the patron saint of dancers (besides actors, comedians). He is also invoked for protection against epilepsy, lightnings, animal attacks and... oversleep!  The expression 'St. Vitus dance' also refers to a neurological disorder characterized by uncoordinated movements. 

The church in Rome was originally a diaconia, a 'welfare center' for the care of poor people and the distribution of alms. It was rebuilt at the end of XV century by the pope Sixtus IV in the present location, near the original site.  The Cistercian monks to whom it was entrusted at the time, established also a small monastery, adjacent to the church.  Further restorations followed and with the expansion of the neighborhood beyond the Roman walls a new façade was opened on Via Carlo Alberto.  In the 70s such alterations were fortunately removed.
 

 

 

The interior is incredibly plain and sober:  one nave, the apse, a lacunar ceiling, almost white. 

So modest that, walking toward the altar, you don't expect the impressive fresco on the right wall.
 

XV century fresco

It's a Renaissance work attributed to Antoniazzo Romano or Melozzo da Forlì (XV century) depicting a Madonna and Child, between Crescentia and Modestus and, down below, from the left St. Sebastian, Saint Margaret (the dragon, one of her attributes, has almost disappeared, only the tail is visible) and St. Vitus with a dog.
 

St. Sebastian, St. Margaret, St. Vitus and ...the dog.

In the Italian iconography he appears with one or more dogs. 
Probably because of his birth:  June 15h is a date preceding summer which was associated by the Romans to the star Sirius, considered to be the 'dog star' because it's the brightest in the constellation of the dog (Canis Major).  But also other explanations are possible of course, even if less credited:  the dog could be related to the fact the saint was invoked against rabies, or more simply it is a symbol of his fidelity to Christ.

 

A modern fresco (XIX century) on the opposite wall shows a Madonna offering the rosary to St. Catherine of Siena and St. Dominic.

On the right wall there is also an ancient Roman funerary cippus (a tomb marker) still bearing the inscription.    Known in the Middle Ages as pietra scellerata (infamous stone), it was believed that martyrs were tortured and killed on it.  Its surface is consumed because according to traditional beliefs the powder obtained by scratching the marble cured a multitude of evils, especially hydrophobia (rabies).

Saint Labre, the clochard that lived at the Colosseum.

 

A moving sculpture portrays St. Benedict Joseph Labre on his deathbed: the funerary monument sculpted by Achille Albacini, a pupil of Canova, in 1892, is in the Church of Madonna dei Monti (left transept). 

But who was this eccentric saint canonized in 1881 and known as the 'beggar of the Colosseum'?

Born in the small village of Arnettes, near Arras, the eldest of 15 children, he had good parents and lived a comfortable life. 

Fascinated by the monastic life from a young age and despite his attempts to join Trappists, Carthusians and Cistercians, he was invariably rejected, judged 'unsuitable for communal life'.

In 1769 finally admitted to the Cistercian Abbey of Sept-Fonts decided, after a short stay, that his vocation was elsewhere.  Labre entered the Third Order of St. Francis. 

He reached Rome on foot and living from begging traveled to the major shrines of Europe (Loreto, Assisi, Santiago de Compostela, Einsielden, just to name a few).

He lived in Rome under one of the arcades of the Colosseum (XLIII, where the ticket boot is now).

Very popular in the city where the Romans had nicknamed him the Beggar of the Colosseum.

His health soon deteriorated:  he was only 35 years old.

He collapsed in the Church of Santa Maria ai Monti and was charitably transported to one of the backrooms of a butcher in Via dei Serpenti where in the afternoon he died.  It was a Holy Wednesday (April 16, 1783).  Huge crowds gathered for his funeral.  The police had to be doubled, soldiers accompanied the body to the Church: more honor could scarcely have been paid to a royal corpse.

He died a beggar in Rome.
Within a year of his death his reputation for sanctity had spread, it would seem, throughout Europe.

The process of beatification began only one year later.

Borgias' troubled burial.

The dark legend of the Borgias is known.
Alexander VI, the fourth Spanish pope who occupied the papal throne (the first 3 were Damasus I, Benedict XIII and Callisto III Borgia, the uncle) was a controversial figure:  the Borgias are associated with adultery, incest, simony and murders. Maybe such dark legend was exaggerated by Romantic mythology (Hugo, Dumas, Apollinaire), for sure they were not absolutely innocent.
Alexander died of malaria or perhaps poisoned,  after a long agony on August 18th, 1503,  after 11 years of papacy.
The master of ceremonies Johannes Burkhardt gave him the funeral honors:  the body was moved to the Sistine Chapel and then to St. Peter's. Being a very hot August, the burial was hurried to prevent decomposition.  He rested in the 'Chapel of the Spanish' (disappeared with the reconstruction of St. Peter's). Originally located by the obelisk when it was still on the left side of the Basilica. Buried next to his uncle Callixtus III, the other Borgia pope.  When the obelisk was moved to the center of the square under Pope Sixtus V, the Spanish Chapel of the popes was destroyed and their remains placed in a lead coffin. In the early seventeenth century the remains were moved to the Church of Santa Maria in Monserrato, the National Church of the Crown of Aragon  Only at the end of XIX century they were given proper burial in the Chapel on the right, the first as you enter:  some Spanish aristocrats raised funds for the Chapel (their remains had been abandoned in a corner of the Sacristy where only some curious traveller would have ventured eager to see what was left of the Borgia's legend).  The present Monument is by Moratilla.  The Borgias rest finally in peace after 400 years.  The Spanish king Alfonso XIII (the last one before the Franco Regime) was deposed here after his death in Rome in 1941. 

The unusual columns in Santa Maria in Aracoeli.

Madonna del Rifugio.

Santa Maria in Aracoeli is one of the oldest churches in Rome:  located on the highest summit of the Capitol hill where, according to Medieval legends, the Tiburtine Sybil would have announced Augustus the coming of Christ. Built on the ruins of the Temple of Juno Moneta, its first construction should date back to 6th century.  Rebuilt by the Franciscans in the XIII century, its grand stairway was offered as an ex-voto for the end of the plague in 1348. 

Edward Gibbon writes in his Memoirs:  'It was in Rome, on the 15th of October 1764, as I sat musing amid the ruins of the Capitol, while the bare-footed friars were singing vespers in the Temple of Jupiter [the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli] that the idea of writing the decline and the fall of the city first started to my mind'. 

A fascinating contrast between Classical art and Christianity pervades the interior of the church.  It could be epitomized by the curios ancient columns of the nave: colossal columns recycled from ancient monuments and painted between XIV and XV century!




St. Luke.

Madonna of the Column.

A mysterious column (the third on the left) bears the inscription A CUBICULO AUGUSTORUM.  Probably originally in the imperial palace, it is surprisingly perforated. 

That strange hole might have been used for astronomical observations.

 











The Toga: badge of Roman citizenship.

photo Toga Party Costumes - Buzzle

Toga was THE national garment of Roman citizens:  a woollen cloak with curved hem.
For men it was a symbol of their free-born status. 
Augustus revived the toga and invited Romans to wear it in the Forum and when attending races at the Circus.

Late antique writer Macrobius describes in his 'Satires' (3.13.4) the complexity of being a dandy for Hortensius: [...] to go out well dressed he checked his appearance in the mirror, and so draped the toga on his body that a graceful knot gathered the folds, arranging them not randomly but with care [...] He thought it a crime that folds should be moved from their place on his shoulder [...]

It was a statement which underlined the Roman citizenship.
Initially it was made of undyed white thick coarse woollen cloth.
A dark toga: brown or black (toga sordida) was used by poor citizens, accused people or for mourning.
Victorius generals in their processions wore the special toga picta (purple wool and gold thread).  Also worn by kings initially, emperors later, equites and priests.
The toga praetexta was for high rank people:  it had a purple stripe (clavus).
Young Roman boys, once they turned 16,  were allowed to wear the toga virilis or liberior (since it meant they were free from parental control.)  It was also named toga pura because it was white.
For the Romans dress was, like nowadays, an expression of social rank, gender and age. 

March 9th is the only day to visit Santa Francesca Romana Monastery.

For the anniversary of her death (March 9th, 1440) the Monastery where she spent the last years of her life is exceptionally open to the public (only one day a year actually - March 9th from 9 to 11,30 and from 14,30 to 18,00).  Santa Francesca Romana chose a monastic life after the death of her two children for the plague and the illness of her husband.  She was born in a wealthy and aristocratic family and she wanted to become a nun since she was 11 but at the age of 12 she was forced to marry (a happy marriage in the end which lasted 40 years). A life of constant tension between the Vocational instict and the inner sense of family.  She was canonized in 1608 for a life spent to help the poor and the sick.  She founded the Olivetan Oblates of Mary (a confraternity of pious women) and the Monastery of Tor de Specchi near the Capitole hill.  The Monastery is a beautiful exemple of the artistic transition between Medieval and Renaissance art (the very precious frescoes by Antoniazzo Romano illustrate the life of the saint and offer a valuable insight of the period including some very interesting iscriptions in Roman dialect).  In 1925 pope Pius XI declared her the patron saint of automobile drivers because of a legend that an angel used to light the road before her with a lantern when she traveled keeping her safe from hazards. Within the Benedictine Order , she is also honored as a patron saint of all oblates.
On this day admission is free for all those who wish to remember a little known Saint and visit the Monastery where she is buried.