The first church of San Martino a Mensola dated to the Roman era, though it was already in ruin by the ninth century when a bishop of Fiesole, S. Andrew of Scotland, ordered its restoration around the year 816. Very little remains now of the ninth century form, as the church was already in ruins again by 1300. A major rebuilding programme, from 1451 to 1472, gave the building the Brunelleschian form we enjoy today. The loggia is, however, seventeenth century. The church was heavily damaged in the second world war, but Bernard Berenson came to the rescue; his famous Villa i Tatti (now the Harvard Centre for Italian Renaissance studies) is just up the hill. Restorations in the 1970’s and another that has just finished have repristined the church and made it the Renaissance jewel that it is today, still largely undiscovered by tourists.

The church’s simple yet grand interior, with white walls punctuated by grey “pietra serena”, is divided into three aisles. The central bay terminates in a Renaissance square apse, while the two side aisles have round apses of Romanesque origin. San Martino has five chapels which all host important fourteenth- and fifteenth-century works of art. Let’s start our tour to the left of the entrance and work clockwise:

· To your left is the Ubaldini chapel with a Madonna and Saints by Neri di Bicci, commissioned in 1477.
· To the left of the high altar stands a lovely Annunciation once attributed to Fra Angelico but probabily the work of Zanobi Machiavelli. Its pure Renaissance form mirrors that of the church itself.
· The family crest of the Zati, patrons of the apsidal chapel, is visible in many places in the church. The altarpiece is by the “Master of San Martino a Mensola”, identified by Luciano Bellori with Francesco di Michele, a Florentine painter active at the end of the 15thc. Underneath the high altar is an important reliquary of the Benedictine abbot St. Andrew of Scotland, with tempera paintings by the school of Agnolo Gaddi (ca. 1389).
· To the right of the high altar, the Betti chapel houses a beautiful Madonna Enthroned with Saints Lucy and Margaret by Taddeo Gaddi, a work from around 1340, but cut down to its rectangular format in the Quattrocento in order to enter the frame by Cosimo Rosselli. We know that this altarpiece belonged in the church prior to the 15th-c restorations because of the unusual presence of exclusively female saints. This would have been appropriate as a commission from the nuns who, at that time, lived in the nunnery adjacent to this church.
· To the right of the entrance is a painting by an unknown Florentine painter from the first half of the Cinquecento (near the school of Cosimo Rosselli?), a Virgin with saints Andrew and Sebastian.

Bibliography:
Melli, Lorenza. “Restauri nella Chiesa di San Martino a Mensola a Firenze,” in Kermes (no. 36 supplemento), 1999.
Raspini, Giuseppe. San Martino a Mensola. La Chiesa, il museo, il monastero (Firenze: Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, 1977).

Italian version of text:
La chiesa antichissima dedicata a San Martino, Vescovo di Tours, risale al’età romanico, ed era già in rovina nel sec. IX. Un vescovo di Fiesole di nome Andrea di Scozia si mise a restaurarlo nel’anno 816. Poco rimane della forma della chiesa stabilita nel sec. IX, caduta in rovina già nel 1300. Fra il 1451 ed il 1472, la chiesa è stata restaurata di nuovo, donandole l’aspetto rinascimentale di ispirazione brunelleschiana che godiamo oggi. La loggiata risale al sec. XVII. Nella seconda guerra mondiale la chiesa fu gravemente danneggiata, ma riparata con l’aiuto di Bernard Berenson, proprietario della famosa Villa i Tatti (ora una biblioteca e centro studio della Harvard University), la cui villa sorge sulla stessa collina. Restauri negli anni settanta ed un altro intervento appena finito hanno reso la chiesa una dei pochi perfetti gioelli rinascimentali ancora poco scoperti dai turisti.

Il semplice interno della chiesa, di pietra serena scolpita e muri bianchi, è diviso a tre navate e ha tre absidi di cui quelli laterali sono di origine romanica e quello centrale quadrato e’ rinascimentale. Ci sono cinque altari con cinque pale d’altare degne di nota del tre- e quattrocento. Iniziamo il nostro giro artistico a sinistra dell’entrata principale, in senso orario.

· A sinistra nella cappella Ubaldini, c’é una Madonna e santi di Neri di Bicci, commissionato nel 1477.
· A sinistra del’altare principale si nota la belissima Annunciazione una volta attribuita a Fra Angelico ma probabilmente opera di Zanobi Machiavelli. La sua pura forma rinascimentale rispecchia quella della chiesa stessa.
· La cappella maggiore, sotto il patronato degli Zati (la loro stemma si nota in più posti della chiesa), contiene l’opera del “Maestro di San Martino a Mensola”, identificato da Luciano Bellori con Francesco di Michele, pittore fiorentino attivo alla fine del XVe secolo. Sotto l’altare principale c’é un’importante reliquario dell’abate benedettino S. Andrea di Scozia, con dipinti a tempera della scuola di Agnolo Gaddi (ca. 1389).
· A destra, la cappella Betti ospita una bellissima Madonna in trono tra le sante Lucia e Margherita di Taddeo Gaddi, opera del 1340 circa, ma tagliata in forma quadrata nel Quattrocento per entrare in una cornice di Cosimo Rosselli. Questa pala apparteneva in questa chiesa prima del restauro quattrocentesco, fatto confermato dalla poco comune raffigurazione esclusiva di sante femminili che é da ricondursi ad una commissione delle monache che in quel tempo abitavano nel monastero femminile benedettino annessa alla chiesa.
· Finalmente, a destra dell’entrata, notiamo l’opera di un pittore ignoto fiorentino dei primi del Cinquecento (vicino a Cosimo Rosselli?), una Vergine tra i santi Andrea e Sebastiano.

Today we were privileged to have the best kind of guide to the city of Lucca: a local. Or, failing that, try this: Authentic Tuscany (Touring Club Guide). On a cold winter’s day, we managed to see only three of the city’s 100 churches (for which it gained its name “La citta’ delle cento chiese”), consume one long lunch, and make two bar breaks. I came away with the impression that Lucca is a charming city with nice people, good food, and good shopping too. I know I’ll be back as there is a lot more to explore. It’s only 80km from Florence on the A11 highway.

Piazza dell'ampiteatro by day

A bit of HISTORY: Lucca’s indigenous settlers were conquered by the Romans in 180BC, the imprint of whom is still clearly visible in the cardo and decumans that meet at the present piazza San Michele in Foro. The shape of the ampitheatre is preserved as an open, oval piazza of the same name, now surrounded by nicely restored medieval buildings (extremely picturesque, especially at night). Under Lombard rule, Lucca became a powerful city on a handy trade route to the North. Medieval Lucca appears to have been prosperous, as many buildings were begun in the mid 11th century, and still preserve their luccan-pisan romanesque style (which consists, it appears, of many small blind arches in vertical rows).

WALLS: Lucca is pretty much at sea level, and not far from the sea in fact. It is enclosed by an impressive set of walls that were built 1544-1645. For me, I found it interesting to approach a walled city at sea level, being used to coming upon walls built into hillsides, like Cortona and Orvieto, just to name two (although there are obvious exceptions, like Florence, where the walls are however no longer intact). Lucca’s walls are 30 meters wide at the base, and 12 meters high. There are U-shaped enclosures that used to hide canons. Their thick and angled construction is designed to resist gunfire. Apparently, they were built against the threat of Florentine invasion, but never tested. They remain entirely intact, and a park has been created above them that makes for a pleasant picnic or walking place in the warmer months.

UNESCO HERITAGE: Lucca has been proposed as a Unesco heritage site because of its perfectly preserved walls. They write on their website: “As opposed to the few other walled cities in Italy, such as Portoferraio, Ferrara [...], where the walls were built at the same time as the city, Lucca’s Renaissance walls were erected encircling a pre-existing city that had developed harmoniously for several thousand years. Furthermore, the walls of the above-mentioned cities are far less  homogeneous and well-preserved.” I could not agree more.

Duomo (San Martino)

CHURCHES: We made a point of visiting the three most important romanesque churches in the centre of Lucca. The Duomo, or Cathedral, is named after San Martino. Like many churches in Italy, the present church is built on earlier foundations. The 11th-century facade rises up above an irregular piazza. Numerous blind arches and polychrome marble create a sense of movement in the upper storey, while below the portico, carved marble reliefs narrate the Life of Saint Martin and other stories (begun 1233 by the Lombard master Guido da Como). The somewhat dark interior is in the Gothic style (14th/15th centuries), and houses two particularly important works of art, from two distinct periods. Jacopo della Quercia’s marble tomb of Ilaria del Carretto (1407-12) is a transitional tomb sculpture that combines the traditional medieval reclining figure of the defunct with a base of carved putti that imitates Roman garland sarcophaghi very closely, anticipating Renaissance ideas. The artist likely had access to Roman examples in nearby Pisa at the Camposanto. This work can be visited for a fee in the sacristy.

The second important work in the Duomo is the Volto Santo (holy face), conserved inside a freestanding octagonal tabernacle (designed by Matteo Civitali in the 1480s). [See relevant Wikipedia article] The feast day of September 13th is dedicated to this sculpture that miraculously arrived on the shores of Lucchese territory (at Luni) in 742. The Byzantine sculpted christ, with its dark skin and long robe, is said to have been carved by Nicodemus, who had trouble completing the face and was helped by angels. While first collocated in the basilica of S. Frediano, the sculpture apparently wanted to reside elsewhere, and began making trips to San Martino, where the church was eventually restored and redidicated in order to house him. This trip is commemorated by a procession on the abovementioned feast day, although the sculpture itself is no longer transported as it was in earlier years.

The church of san frediano

The church of San Frediano (the volto’s first house) has a flat, rather than articulated facade, in order to accomodate a 13th century mosaic (much restored, however, in the 19th century). Its austere interior conserves a number of gems from various periods. The best known is the Fonte Lustrale, a huge baptismal font to the right of the entrance. More fun is the chapel and “mummy” corpse of Saint Zita, who lived in the 13th century and looks awfully good for a 700 year old. In the chapel to the left of the high altar, worthy of note is a sculpted altarpiece by Jacopo della Quercia. The chapel of Saint Augustine (second chapel left of entrance) has quite nice frescoes by Amico Aspertini (1508-9); of interest, the fresco on the left that illustrates the transferal of the volto santo from Luni to Lucca, which shows what the statue looked like at the time (pretty much the same as it does now).

The church of san michele in foro

I promised a third church, and indeed we did visit the church of San Michele in Foro, begun in 1070 and completed in the late 12th century upon preexisting foundations (as usual). Night was falling, hence the pinkish photo of the facade that is topped by a gigantic sculpture of the saint with bronze wings. Our friend Fabio told me that during the 18th century restoration of the facade, they snuck in portrait heads of contemporary men, so apparently if you bring your binoculars, you’ll spot Napoleon up there.

We returned to Piazza dell’Ampiteatro to witness the murano glass christmas tree lit up for the night, and a play of lights that has been set up against the medieval facades.

LUNCH: Gli Orti di via Elisa is not slowfood, but could well be. While mostly dedicated to Lucchese specialties, I tried the Testarolo “artigianale”, a kind of pasta (more like a pancake cut into pieces) typical of the comune of Pontremoli in the province of Massa Carrara (which honestly is not that far away). This particular Testarolo is a Slowfood Presidia , a kind of recognized heritage object that is subject to various rules about biodiversity and local production. In fact, the special grain used to make this particular pasta is cultivated (according to the pamphlet given to me by the restaurant owner) by exactly three farmers. My Testarolo was served with delicious new oil (locally produced in Lucca), cheese, and basil leaves. The locale is carefully decorated in all its details (nice glasses and linens), and while spacious enough to accomodate large groups, is relatively quiet. Prices very reasonable.

Bibliography: our friends Fabio and Laura; the Touring Club “red guide”; Grove art online; Unesco website

LOCATION

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Legend has it that the cathedral was built to house a relic that commemorates a miracle that did not happen here. The miracle of the Mass at Bolsena happened, you guessed it… at Bolsena, a town just 23 km away from here. In a church in Bolsena in 1263, a priest who was celebrating mass had doubts in the transubstantiation of christ, which is pretty much the most important mystery of the Catholic church. That is, he did not believe that the host (the wafer) used in the Mass was one and the same as the body of Christ. Well at the moment of consecration the host BLED and the priest stopped doubting. He wrapped the host in the corporal (the small piece of cloth upon which the wine and wafer holders rest) and brought it to the Pope Urban IV, who just happened to be in Orvieto at the time. The Pope declared this a miracle and established the Feast of Corpus Cristi to honor it. The relic of this corporal became the centerpiece of the new church, as it must have attracted pilgrims and lots of money.

Orvieto Duomo view from side

The cathedral is actually a unification of two earlier churches that were basically in ruins. The first designer and director of the works was probably Fra Bevignate, a monk from Perugia who we’ll meet again in Perugia as the designer of an important fountain. It was begun in 1290. The impressive FAÇADE took about 300 years to complete, with mosaics and relief sculpture. It is like an architectural TRYPTICH – three part altarpiece – with three portals in correspondence with the nave and side aisles inside. The sculpture accentuates the structural elements while the mosaics accentuate the geometry of the construction.

The INTERIOR is a basilican form, with side chapels in the side aisles. At the transept on either side are two important large chapels. On the LEFT is the chapel of the corporal that contains the relic. On the RIGHT is the Chapel of San Brizio with an important fresco cycle by Luca Signorelli (a Renaissance artist from Cortona).

Orvieto is pleasant for a walk, especially if it’s less rainy and windy than the day this photo was taken. You can follow signs that say “passeggiata” (literally means “a nice walk”) which take you along the precipitous tufa walls that surround the city that sits 325 meters above sea level.

Update (Jan 4 2009): The following two photos have been generously donated by our friend Lapo

Orvieto from belowCathedral rose window

Entry gate into spanish chapel, view to altar

Annexed to the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence is a large frescoed chapter house that is one of the most impressive surviving testimonies of the 1360s in Florence. Erroneously named the “Spanish Chapel” because of its later use for prayer by Spanish colonists, the structure (built probably in the 1350s) in fact served as the chapter house for the Dominican friars of SMN. The chapter house also had an altar and a burial function for its patron Buonamico di Lapo Guidalotti, who paid the painter Andrea di Bonaiuto (Andrea di Firenze) to work on it from 1366-8.

The low vaulted space is entirely frescoed. The flat space of the large lunettes under the vault are not divided up in any way, but contain complex allegories, or in the case of the altar wall, a continuous narrative. The frescoes in the altar area are 16th-century; on the ground is the original patron’s tomb and other, later, marble tomb markers. The earlier scenes by Andrea di Firenze are: (1) altar wall, way to calvalry, crucifixion, descent into limbo; (2) left wall, the Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas; and (3) right wall, the triumph of the church or the way to salvation. On the back (entrance) wall are ruined scenes from the life of Saint Peter Martyr (he was also a Dominican). The vault contains, above the altar wall, the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ above the back wall; above the side walls the vault shows the Pentecost and the Navicella. These two last vault sections are considered biblical precedents to the contemporary material presented on the lower walls.

Left wall: The triumph of st. Aquinas

The overall theme of this space is salvation through Christ, and with the aid of the Dominicans. This is why, on the right wall, you see black-and-white clothed Dominicans preaching, instructing from books, and literally leading people by the hand through a torturous road that works upwards on the right hand side of the wall, towards heaven which is depicted as a gate at the top. Peter, holding his key to the gate, looks sternly at the new initiates to heaven with a face that one of my favourite professors reads as saying “You just BARELY made it.” Across from this wall you have a summary of medieval, and particularly Dominican, education, with Saint Thomas Aquinas in the center demonstrating his Summa Teologica and crushing heretics at his feet. The scenes of crucifixion and resurrection, on the other hand, relate more to the chapel’s burial function and signify belief in the afterlife and hope of salvation for the patron.

Right wall: The triumph of the church

I think this is one of the most exciting frescoes in the city. Usually taught as evidence of a depressed era in the wake of the black plague of 1348, the paintings have a lot more to them. Numerous fascinating details show a wide range of facial types – images of “infidels” (non-Christians) make for particularly interesting caricatures. The bright, jewel-toned colour scheme is an appetizing and welcome break from the naturalism of 50 years earlier. The massive decorative banding that divides the scenes is worthy of study in itself. And the logic of its organization – surely coached by a Dominican advisor – is unchallengeable. Hardly a throwback to the era pre-Giotto, the Spanish Chapel is a masterpiece of its time.

Photos: The right wall is usually illustrated in textbooks but the other walls are not – for this reason I went over there recently and photographed everything properly. In the gallery below you can click on the thumbnails to open an 800 pixel wide image at 72 dpi.

History of the Franciscan order

The Franciscans
The order of the Franciscans was founded by St. Francis (1181-1226, canonized 1228). Francis was a rich merchant’s son who had a wanton teenage-hood but then had a vision that lead him to a religious life. He believed in a more loving and forgiving God than that characteristic of the previous century. During his lifetime Francis established a group of followers called the Franciscans, who became a mendicant order of friars – mendicant means that they interact with people (and preach) on a regular basis. They can be recognized by the brown robes that they wear, that were designed by Francis himself; these robes are in the shape of a cross and are tied at the waist with a cream coloured rope that has three knots on it to represent poverty, charity and obedience. Franciscans take vows of poverty. Originally, they begged for food, money and everyday needs.

Franciscans in Florence and the Church of Santa Croce

During Francis’ lifetime there were already Franciscans in the city of Florence. They set up just outside the city walls as there was not any space in the city. This happened to be the poorest section of town, which was convenient for two of their purposes: helping the poor and preaching to the people. They built a small oratory on the site of the present church, and the piazza in front was a field in which people would gather to hear them preach. The oratory was small and simple, thus it reflected their ideals of poverty and simple life.

As the friars gained in popularity, they often enlarged the oratory. Soon, they were faced with a dilemma. They needed a larger space if they were to continue preaching, but they were not supposed to have money or property. Were they to follow Francis’ example of prayer, or take on the more public aspect of preaching? The order then divided into two groups. The Conventuals wanted to focus on the public aspect of preaching, but this required the use of property. The Spirituals believed they should stay poor and not own property. The Conventuals eventually won the argument and they began the construction of a new church in 1295, which was probably by the builder arnolfo di cambio (to whose name we also can link the Duomo). By 1320, church was functional.

Art Historical Notes on the Church and its Frescoes

Much of this building was white-washed by Vasari in the early sixteenth century, when the church’s gothic style was no longer in fashion. Vasari started the so-called “pantheon of florentine greats” that so many tourists come to this church to admire. The structure and the original decorations are in the Gothic style, and the part I like best are the frescoes by Giotto.

Giotto painted the Bardi and Peruzzi chapels in the early 1300’s. He was commissioned to do so by two of the wealthiest families in Florence, who were both involved in banking. These spaces functioned as private burial chapels. The Bardi chapel is the best known. It’s located just to the right of the high altar, being one of the most prestigious locations in the church. The chapel is dedicated to Saint Francis and shows episodes from his life, narrated in fresco by Giotto sometime probably around 1317-20. The frescoes were covered over and forgotten by the 19th century, so they were damaged by some later additions. Recent restoration has tried to recuperate as much of the original giotto paint as possible. The scenes on the wall read left to right and criss-cross across the space.

Giotto’s style is different from that of his predecessors. His stories and figures should feel more accessible to us than the art of the 13th century, which is characterized by a “Byzantine feel”. Giotto’s spaces are more realistic and his people are more solid and three-dimensional. He didn’t yet know “scientific perspective”, which wasn’t invented yet, but he intuited a more accurate way to depict space. So, for example, the “Apparition at Arles” (middle level of the left wall) shows us a clear foreground, midground and background. You can see that St. Francis is in the very center of this space, and those friars at the front with their backs to us, well, they are definately in front of him. Those friars are really heavy looking, kinda rounded. This the artist achieves through talented handling of white paint, which he uses for highlighting and modeling the figures’ robes. The other innovation in these paintings is the realistic depiction of emotion, which we can see best in the scene of the “Funeral of Saint Francis” just below on the left. The people here really are reacting to their leader’s death. We can guess what they might be thinking or saying through their gestures, like the friar with his hands thrown up.

Numerous other works in the church were added after Giotto’s departure. Taddeo Gaddi, a major Giotto follower, painted the jewel-toned Baroncelli chapel (right apse chapel) in the 1330’s in a style that is different from Giotto’s, more what we call “international gothic”. Also of note, from the 1360’s, is the Rinuncini chapel which can be seen in the sacresty. In the nave, my personal favourite is a sculpted “Annunciation” by Donatello. Above the scene of Gabriel and Mary, there are small terracotta “putti” reacting to the scene below.

Following the trail outside the door in the right hand of the nave, you’ll be out in the first cloister. Down the stairs on the left is the Pazzi Chapel, designed by the great Renaissance architect, Brunelleschi. This intricately planned space is all about circles and squares — go in there and try to figure out what I mean! Also worth mentioning is the small museum accessible from the cloister (on the left facing the exit), in which are preserved some detached frescoes and sinopie (underdrawings). There is also the friars’ refectory with an important “tree of life” cycle (By Taddeo Gaddi, a follower of Giotto) accessible from the cloister, and a statue by Donatello originally intended for Orsanmichele, St. Louis of Toulouse, is also here in its original. Notice he only has one arm, since Donatello cheated on his bronze casting technique!

There is rather a lot more to say about Santa Croce that will have to wait for another day – in the meantime let me direct you to the excellent and revised official website for the church.

Let’s take a moment to learn more about the history and layout of this important building.

Exterior of the Florence Baptistry

Originally a large roman domus that was expanded in the 6th century to become a church, the structure was rennovated in the 11th century in the Romanesque style. This means that it takes some characteristics of Roman architecture, like pilasters and pediments (those triangles over the windows), but adds a Tuscan feel like the green and white marble alternation.

Three sets of Doors

The Baptistry has three sets of bronze doors. Let’s get them straight before we get confused. Stand at the door of the Duomo (or picture yourself there) and these are where the doors are located.

• 1st doors: Andrea Pisano, 1330. These are on the left side of the Baptistry (looking at it from the Duomo). Also known as South Doors.
• 2nd doors: Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1403-24. These are on the right side of the building if you look at it from the Duomo. Also known as North Doors.
• Gates of Paradise (copy in place outside, originals in Museo dell’Opera del Duomo): Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1426-52. These are the big gilded doors that face the Duomo. Also known as East doors.

Andrea Pisano: South door (head of John the Baptist)

The two earlier sets of doors, by Ghiberti and Pisano, are made to match each other (well, Ghiberti had to work with the shape chosen by the earlier sculptor). The artists were constrained to work in low relief within a “quattrefoil” shape, a cross between a diamond and a clover leaf. Andrea Pisano’s work reflects the style of Giotto in Santa Croce. He pairs down the scenes to basics. There are a lot of lovely details in this work, but his figures are somewhat stilted.

Lorenzo Ghiberti: North door (christ among the doctors)

By contrast, Ghiberti, who won the job for his “first” doors in a public competition (1401) against Brunelleschi, sculpts figures in higher relief and that are in harmony with their backgrounds. There tend to be more figures per scene and more motion implied through drapery and gesture. He has a greater capacity for narrative, a skill that he further develops in the process of making the Gates of Paradise.

After finishing his first doors, Ghiberti was given the commission for a second set without a “concorso” (competition). This time he did not have to work with the quattrefoil format and so is able to explore the potential of space in narrative. It is worth it to go see the originals at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (behind the Duomo) to examine the originals up close.

Baptistry Interior

Inside the Baptistry is the only large mosaic cycle in Florence, begun at the end of the 13th century. The predominantly gold images (composed of individual glass tesserae that enclose real gold leaf) depict Christ in a mandorla at the Last Judgement, orders of angels, and the fathers of the church; there are also narrative images from the stories of Mary, Christ, St. John the Baptist, and others. But that’s material for a whole other blog post!

To get us going, they projected a computerized reconstruction on the plain brick facade on Sunday February 18, 2007. Here is a photo.

Project by Prof. M. Ruffilli, Prof. G. Morolli, and Natali Multimedia s.r.l.).

The projection included a narration that presented evidence from primary sources, mostly Vasari, of quotations indicating the Medici and Michelangelo’s desire to see the facade finished. Furthermore, the promoters of this project cite the last will and testament of Anna Maria Luisa dei Medici, the “Elettrice Palatina” and last Medici (died Feb. 8th, 1743), who left the family’s possessions to the state, with the condition that nothing would be removed. Funds from the proceeds gained from Medici works of art were to be given in part to the maintenance of San Lorenzo, and apparently to the eventual construction of the facade. Anna Maria herself had a project made for the facade during her lifetime, but this, too, did not come to fruition.

The city of Florence has not yet revealed any monetary estimates of how much a project of this sort would cost, if they decided to do it. Meanwhile, we can consider whether or not it is a good idea. Three points to keep in mind:
1) The projection does not look anything like what Michelangelo had in mind, if we compare it to the wooden model
2) Modern building techniques are different than those of the Renaissance and would render the facade with a machine-made effect that would not be in keeping with the intentions of the Renaissance patrons, the building, or the area.
3) Vasari himself warned against the dangers of trying to imitate Michelangelo’s architecture, which he praises highly despite its departure from the classical canon. This he mentions twice in his Vita, the first time softly: “The license he allowed himself has served as a great encouragement to others to follow his example; and subsequently we have seen the creation of new kinds of fantstic ornamentation containing more of the grotesque than of rule or reason.” The second mention indicates his displeasure at attempts to copy Michelangelo’s architectural style: “certain plebeian and presumptuous architects lacking in disegno have in our times produced all their monstrous things, worse than the German.”

What would Vasari think if we, in 2007, presumed to finish this work according to our (mis?)understanding of Michelangelo’s plan? I think he would have a fit.

Plan of Sant'Andrea

Bernini’s Sant’andrea al Quirinale
Bernini designed this oval church so that future generations of photographers would have a really hard time. But seriously folks… This odd church was comissioned to Bernini from Camillo Pamphilj though by request of the Pope, built to accomodate the novices of the Society of Jesus, 1658-40. It has an unusual oval plan that is disposed sideways so that it is impossible to photograph the interior, though i suppose contemporaries would simply have struggled with the fact that they had to look “both ways” to take it in. I was always under the impression that Bernini’s work preceeded Borromini’s, so i went here first. However, I’m wrong — they were contemporaries and rivals, and their work makes an interesting comparison. The walls are covered in pink marble, and light, rather than filling the entire space, comes in drammatically through windows in each of the four chapels and four confessional spaces as well as above the high altar and from the main lantern. There is judicious use of pudgy baby angels, who make their way up right into the lantern, where there is a ring of golden cherubim.

Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
Borromini was Bernini’s great rival and his work has been labelled “Anti-Baroque”. In fact it is very different from other architecture of this period, because it depends on the interest of forms rather than colour and decoration.

The exterior of this church is best seen from the opposite corner on Via delle Quattro Fontane; this intersection is marked with four reclining male figure fountains and, of the four long roads that can be seen in each direction from here, three of them are punctuated with obelisks at the end and the other in Porta Pia. The exterior shapes fit what I’ve always learned about the Baroque, namely the interplay of convex and concave surfaces that makes for a wavy effect, full of motion.

The small oval interior of this church dates to 1638-41. It is very white and makes for an interesting light-filled comparison to the Bernini church listed above. It is easier to take in this space in one glance (or one photographic lens)

Open: 9.30-12.30; 16-18 closed saturday pm

Borromini’s S. Ivo alla Sapienza, corso Rinasimentale, in the courtyard of the university
The University called “la Sapienza” was the first lay university in Rome, founded (I believe) in the early 14th century. It was only in the 17th c that the Pope at the time suggested a chapel be built for the students. Borromini (1642-48) was given the difficult task of building within a restricted and already delimited space. He already had experience with this at the church of Quattro Fontane, so perhaps this is why he was the man for the job.

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

The convex facade inside the courtyard, and the drum rising above it do not at all reflect what is going on inside. The drum is in fact a supporting shell for the internal dome. Once inside you are struck by the sensation of whiteness, of light, and of the musicality involved in the play of convex and concave surfaces, as if an orchestra director had waved the walls into place. The seemingly weighless dome, with defiant windows at the base from which it should spring, is set directly above the supporting pilasters without the intervention of a drum. (This is possible because of the drum we saw from the oustide!)

In contrast to Bernini or to most art we’re used to, there is no obviously apparent iconographical scheme. That’s cuz it’s all missing now. Twelve niches contained statues of the twelve apostles by a different artist, but these were soon deemed insufficient and removed. In the dome, the brass plate we now see previously held a relief of the Holy Spirit, which recently fell off. The meaning was the holy spirit descending on the apostles, the episode in which they speak in tongues. From the outside of the church, the spiral on the lantern (the very top part above the dome) refers also to the tower of Babel. Rather appropriate for a great university.

The church of The Gesu’
The principle Gesuit church in Rome was built 1568-75, and is team-work between Vignola and Della Porta. The fabulous multi-media ceiling is what really inspired me about this church. Commenced in 1672 by Gaulli, it depicts the triumph of the name of Jesus, written YHU in a burst of light at the centre. What’s amazing is the use of different media here; the fresco tumbles out of its frame and onto wooden (?) supports, and it seems that the stucco angels are trying to push the figures back in. It seems high time that someone write a new book on this church. The only monograph i can find is this one from 1952: Il Gesù di Roma by Pio Pecchiai.

The Mausoleum of Santa Costantia

Exterior of Santa Costantia

Built by Costantia, the daughter of Constantine, in 337-54. Her big porphyry sarcophagus, now in the Vatican museums, was located in a niche here and is now replaced by an ugly copy. The circular building has a donut of mosaics with a distinctly pagan character. They are decorative rather than figurative, alternating geometric with vine motifs populated by elongated and somewhat awkward putti. The two bays closest to Constantia’s sarcophagus are more detailed, with exotic animals, mirrors, and a greater use of coloured tesserae.

vault mosaic

My guidebook wrongly said that this was open monday morning, so i was sadly surprised to find it closed. I stopped by the parish office to chat up the priest, never asking him directly to open it… and he just offered to unlock it and asked me to close it when i left. He said there had been theives so they didn’t leave it open any more – how sad. It was fabulous to have the mausoleum mostly to myself (i let in a few german tourists), though i suspect that it is never all that crowded because it’s pretty far off the beaten track. It is however worth the trip (which is not that arduous because the express bus is very… express) to see how these very early christian mosaics retain pagan motifs and style but take on christian function.

Located in the modern residential area of Nomentana – take the express bus #60 to get there.

San Clemente mosaic vault over altar

While this church’s present architectural form dates to 1108, there are two lower levels dating from the 9th and 1st centuries! First you can admire the rather coherant medieval whole of this basilican plan church, with a fabulous Cosmatesque floor (=inlaid marble work) and choir area, and a resplendant mosaic representing christ as the tree of life. Look closely or with binoculars and you will see some very cute animals at the bottom of this tree.

Through the sacristy on the right you can enter the lower churches. The first level below ground contains some 9th century frescoes though you can’t see much due to restoration and condition. Try to orient yourself so that you can take in the basilican plan that was already present at this level.

It is then possible to go down a further level, into a series of Roman spaces (unclear if these were domestic spaces?). Here it is easy to get lost and not of any particular artistic note.

Located near the Colosseum, open 9-12:30 and 15-18, there is an entrance fee for the lower church.

Church of Santa Prassede view to high altar

My textbook, because of an amusing but grave grammatical error, implies that Santa Prassede was killed with a sponge, which of course is not true, but now I’ll never forget it. The statue in the photo shows her with the blood-soaked sponge with which she wiped up the blood of other martyrs before becoming one herself.

Entry to this church is through an unassuming side entrance flanked as usual by beggars. As usual, i walked to the far end of the nave to get a complete look. The apse and triumphal arch are covered in very fine 9th century mosaics, while the chapel of St. Zenone, on the right, is slightly later (the detail photo shows the largish tesserae in this chapel). The mosaics are worth looking at with binoculars.

mosaic vault in santa prassede

Open regular church hours, free.

For further information: there is a scholarly discussion of this church in this book:
Rome 1300: on the path of the pilgrim

There is a medieval cloister with Cosmatesque twisted columns inlaid with mosaics (entry 2 euros) at the side of this church.

Suggested reading:
An excellent general introduction to Renaissance Italy is Radke and Paoletti’s textbook, Art in Renaissance Italy, which is organized by city rather than strictly chronologically. One of the most readable and intelligent books on Renaissance art just in Rome is Loren Partridge’s Art of Renaissance Rome. For some advanced reading about the period in Rome and Florence after the death of Rapahel, try
Marcia Hall’s book “After Raphael”.

Church of Santa Maria del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo is home to three churches. At one end of the piazza, beyond an obelisk, are twin Baroque churches. To the left from this view and up a flight of stairs you access the church of Santa Maria del Popolo.

This church contained no fewer than five chapels plus the choir vault by Pinturicchio, though not all of these remain intact.

The two chapels (right aisle) for members of the Della Rovere family were painted by PINTORICCHIO in 1488-90 (Della Rovere Chapel) and 1504-7 (Basso della Rovere Chapel, 3) (the latter having much “school” contribution) and are in good state of preservation. These chapels show some of the first antiquizing grotesque work in the city. This includes the white and gold stucco work that can be seen around the altarpieces in both chapels; of particular interest is the gold-ground, colourful candelabra motif grotesquerie in the pilasters and window jambs of the Della Rovere chapel. Also note the delicate marble ballustrade decorated with family-shield-holding winged putti; I could not find this information written anywhere but would bet a small amount of money that this is original to the chapel. The wall tombs are also very fine and approximately contemporary. Each item is labelled on a sign in front of the chapel.

The Chigi chapel was designed by Raphael to be a harmony of all media. It didn’t quite succeed (although the plans, preserved in drawings, are very interesting), partly because Raphael died in the midst of it all, and his patron only three days later. The present work is not much like the plan, perhaps because of the alterations by Bernini, who was of a very different mind.

Also of note in this church are two in-situ Caravaggio canvases (see baroque rome). Open daily 7-12, 16-19.

Raphael's prophet

This church houses just one lonely prophet by Raphael (on the third pillar on the north side, restored by Daniele da Volterra). It shows how much the artist was influenced by Michelangelo. The figure is powerful and is a definate reference to the Sistine Chapel ceiling, though the style is Raphael’s own – less sculptural and cold, and more graceful. The garland-bearing putti that flank the prophet stand in casual contrapposto; they charm us with boyish looks in a style that is typical of Raphael’s treatment of this motif. 

 For the Caravaggio paintings in the same church see baroque rome. Open 7.45-12; 16.30-19.30, near piazza Navona. 

This church is one of the most important manifestations of Roman Mannerism in the period after the death of Raphael. The apsidal section of the church is divided by an iron gate which remains closed in the mornings. In this way you get the view that the laity had for almost two thousand years of Christianity. If you’d prefer to actually see the frescoes in the latter half of the church, in the afternoons, if it’s not raining (!), the caretaker opens the gate. He is vigilant about talking and touching, and will tell you so in French.The church is composed of a number of deep side chapels and two more important transept chapels. The left transept (Pucci chapel, photo) was frescoed by Perino del Vaga (1523-7) and finished by Taddeo and Federico Zuccari (after 1566). Perino’s are the vault and the lunette on the far wall, which show strong Raphael influence — note the composition of the Visitation scene which looks a lot like Raphael’s School of Athens.

Daniele da Volterra painted the Orsini chapel (R3, 1541-8) though the only part remaining of his contribution is the altar wall fresco of the Assumption of the Virgin. Another interesting chapel is the Guerrieri chapel (R6), by an unknown artist from the school of Perugino, who painted a lovely grisaille frieze of the Passion.

Located at the top of the Spanish Steps.

Lippi's Caraffa chapel

Santa Maria Sopra Minerva: The Carafa Chapel

The Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva is worth a visit in a general sense, though I was disappointed to learn that the beautiful painted vault and decorative elements are nineteenth-century.

The Carafa Chapel by Filippino Lippi is contemporary to his work on the Strozzi chapel in Santa Maria Novella in Florence.

Located in the south transept, frescoes were begun in 1489. 

The late 15th-century church was built over top of an earlier one. It was home to Raphael’s Transfiguration (Vatican) over the high altar until the early 19th c. It contains an altarpiece by Antoniazzo Romano, a sculpture by Bernini and some important late Mannerist works.
Marcia Hall suggests that the Del Monte chapel by Vasari and Ammananti is the first counter-reformation work in Rome (except for Michelangelo’s Pauline Chapel in the Vatican; p. 174).

Bramante's Tempietto

The tiny, perfect, and beautiful Tempietto by Bramante is accessed through a door at the right of the church (when open) or viewed through a gate outside to the right. The building is actually in the courtyard of the Spanish Academy.

The church was built on the spot where Peter was thought to have been martyred and it represents one of the only executed plans for a circular church in the Renaissance, despite many artists’ obsession with this form. The interior is luminous and, of course, tiny. Bernini designed the crypt into which you can see via stairs at the back.

Location: via garibaldi, trastevere (very much uphill, but worth the hike). Open7.30-12; 16-18. The Tempietto is generally acessible during these hours, closed monday. The entrance gates are to the right of the church. The door to the Tempietto itself is rarely open.

Palazzo Barberini (Galleria Nazionale)

This museum houses the patrician family collection of the Barberini. The Barberini family’s collection began in the 17th century but was much enriched in the 1950’s and 1970’s as well. The rooms themselves have frescoed ceilings of some note.

The collection houses a number of gems. The most famous work is Raphael’s “Fornarina”, said to be his lover, though I didn’t find her all that enigmatic – I was distracted by her very tweezed eyebrows and kinda icy expression.

My favourite work here is a “Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine” by Lorenzo Lotto. Signed and dated 1524 and executed in Bergamo, this sacra conversazione combines all sorts of influences including Durer. The event is witnessed by a number of other saints who show these influences in a mish-mash kinda way: Saint Jerome recalls Lotto’s other paintings of this subject while his quizzical looking lion looks pretty Dureresque (I’m thinking of a print he did of this saint in his study); the warrior saint George recalls local (Bergamasque) influences, while the young saint Sebastian is very Georgionesque. Saint Catherine herself is all Lotto – be sure to get a good look at the details in her clothing and jewellery.

There is a work ca 1555 by Titian, the “Venus and Adonis”, of which there are multiple versions (Prado, Madrid; Washington, National Gallery; NY Met). Venus falls in love with Adonis because of a stray arrow sent out by Cupid who slumbers clumsily in the background. Venus, voluptuous and from behind, seeks to detain Adonis from going off to his fate of being killed by a wild boar, while the male god, wearing a jaunty magenta hat, coat and matching lipstick, looks perplexed and like he’d rather go hunt.

Be sure to check out the two works by Filippo Lippi, hailed as masterpieces by the gallery, and the three Caravaggio’s.

The Galleria Borghese hardly needs an introduction, but here is my impression (as of October 2004).

This gallery houses what remains of a mostly seventeenth century collection by the Borghese family. It includes a lot of forced purchases that Cardinal Scipione Borghese made based on his powerful position, though unfortunately does NOT include a few hundred pieces that were sold to Napoleon. Known already by contemporaries for its interesting mix of ancient and contemporary art, it is today an eclectic collection with a few surprising masterpieces. Word has it that the audio guide is pretty good, though I used the lovely laminated “informative placemats” available in each room. These describe both the 18th/19th century fresco decoration in the villa and the paintings on the walls. It’s a little less detailed about Ancient sculpture, but in general the information is at a high level. The English is of varied but generally high quality.

The Galleria Borghese is delightful. It’s too bad i had to share it with 359 other people. For tickets, you must reserve on the internet or phone ahead, pick up your ticket downstairs in crowded area, check any bags and umbrellas, and then go upstairs to the ground floor museum for your assigned entry time… You are given only 2 hours in the villa after which an electronic voice announces, in four languages all of which sound like italian, that you must leave. This is enforced by mean guards who sweep through and kick you out without exception (i even heard a lady complaining that she had lost her child, but the guard said she’d find the kid outside eventually). The two hours is not exactly enough time to see everything properly, and i missed out on three rooms.

The room I found most exciting was #20, one of the last in the pinacoteca (picture gallery) on the “first floor” (second by american standards). In there with Titian’s beautifully polished “Sacred and Profane Love” is one Venetian “provincial” surprise after the next, including a precious Antonello da Messina, a late Titian, a Tintoretto, a powerful Pordenone, and one of my favourite “sacre conversazioni” by Lorenzo Lotto, with a very animated Christ Child who wears a white dress and tries to struggle out of Mary’s arms. This altarpiece is just tiny and in a very elaborate original (?) frame. Elsewhere in the gallery I appreciated 3 fabulous paintings by Dosso Dossi and a very interesting family portrait by Bernardo Luni. I didn’t think i’d like the Bernini sculptures (for which the gallery is most famous) that much, though i must admit that the Apollo and Daphne is truly a masterpiece. The sculpting is so light and fine, especially where her hair turns into leaves.

Directions: most people and guide books say you must walk a long distance from Spagna metro. To avoid this, take bus #910 from Termini, 5 stops. It runs frequently and the stop is at the end of the little Viale dell’Uccelliera upon which is located the gallery. AFTER visting the gallery you might choose to take a walk in the park, but at least by taking the bus you don’t get tired before seeing the good stuff! Booking is required via ticketeria.

 This has got to be the most exciting of the small patrician museums in the city, with sixteenth and seventeenth century paintings and some reconstructed Ancient sculpture. Part of the fun is that it is open only saturday morning, so you feel very informed and exclusive just by going there! Entrance is rather dear (about 7 euros) but this includes a guided tour in English or Italian given by an extremely knowledgeable fast-talking professor.

The rooms of the gallery themselves are of note, with impressive frescoes dated 1700 on the cieilings depicting the triumphs of Alexander Colonna. The walls are hung frame-to-frame in a disposition that reflects the way they looked in the seventeenth century. To fill holes in the collection left by works comandeered by Napoleon, they had painted mirrors made by Carlo Maratta and Mario dei Fiori that are quite spectacular. In the first part of the main hall are the highlights of the collection, four reclining female nudes, one by Bronzino and three by Michele di Ridolfo di Ghirlandaio, who were recently cleaned of their prudish drapery to reveal nude spendour and bright mannerist colours. It’s fun to play connoisseur in this collection, to see if you can attribute works at least to schools (Venetian, Bolognese, Roman) and perhaps to major artists you know, or more minor ones whose names you might keep seeing in these smaller galleries. There is a remarkable portrait of a peasant eating beans by Annibale Carracci, a portrait attributed to Lorenzo Lotto (but it just doesn’t have his force), a Tintoretto, some Guido Reni, Veronese, Vivirarini…

Open Saturday 9-13, 7 euros admission. See official website.