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This post is a throwback to the old version of arttrav to explain how the “Rome pages” are organized. Arttrav started with a month-long stay in Rome, during which I could not find a guidebook that was arranged chronologically. So often when we speak of Rome, we give it an epithet based on the period we’re talking about - hence we speak of “Ancient Rome” and “Renaissance Rome”. I did not want to explore Rome by neighbourhood, but by time period. I created lists and gathered information on things to visit from each major art historical period. And here they are. I thought it would be useful to provide links to each section within a single post:

Ancient Rome
Medieval Rome
Renaissance Rome
Baroque Rome

NB: although these posts are back-dated to their original date of writing (October 2004), I’ve updated them and checked opening hours and links (August 2008).

Tip! To best prepare for a trip to Rome, we suggest combining a texbook on Rome by Andrea Augenti (that is conveniently arranged in chronological order) with the tourist information available in the Blue Guide to Rome. You may also want to read up on artists or buildings that interest you most. Reading suggestions are provided throughout and also in the general reading list.

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Rome is a great place to learn about the Baroque, as it is not only a prominent style, but a great number of churches were entirely executed during the Baroque era. These are particularly beautiful, harmonious and inspiring. The period, centred in the seventeenth cenutry, is a break from Renaissance style in that it tends towards non-classical lines and favors curves over angles. It also tends to be more highly decorated and emotional. These are general rules, however. Here I’ve only grazed the surface with a few important buildings by the major Baroque architects, and a little tour of Caravaggio’s in churches.

Reading Assignment:

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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.

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.

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Caravaggio paintings in situ
Chiesa di Sant’Agostino
The Madonna dei Pellegrini by Caravaggio was considere scandalous because the pilgrims, who come to pay tribute to the Madonna (who stands barefoot and humbly in her doorway), had the dirty feet of the real models that Caravaggio used, and this was not considered decorous.

SM del Popolo
This chapel (at the far end of the church) houses The Crucifixion of Saint Peter and The Conversion on the Way to Damascus by Caravaggio; the central panel of the Assumption of the Virgin is by Annibale Caracci. Although you will see lots of people moving from one far side to the other in order to look at each canvas (which you can do to see details), it’s important to also look at the whole effect from a central point of view — even from the entrance step to the chapel, which is the point from which most viewers (except the patrons) would have seen a work in a closed private chapel. Stepping back, you can best admire Caravaggio’s innovative use of perspective and lighting that renders the images comprehensible even from an extreme angle.

San Luigi dei Francesi: Contarelli Chapel
Over the high altar is The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, on the left his Calling, and on the right the Martyrdom.

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A very incomplete hint at some of the treasures of Medieval Rome.

The Mausoleum 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.

 

 

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.

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San Clemente

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.

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 Church of Santa Prassede

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.

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

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The Cloister of San Giovanni in Laterano

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

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My exploration of Ancient Rome in 2004 was motivated by wanting to better understand Renaissance art. What you have here is a rather partial review of things to see, since there is no commentary on the very large and important fora (the Roman forum and the Imperial forum).

Nero’s Domus Aurea

In AD 64-68, the nasty dictatorial Emperor Nero built himself this pleasure palace on the ruins of the city he burned down. Nice guy! He employed the architect Severus and the painter Fabullus. The huge expanse of connected vaulted chambers that is now underground was the ground level of the palace; a second level was destroyed by subsequent emperors. Nero’s private artifical lake was removed to make way for the nearby Colosseum. The lower level was filled by sand and used as the foundation for a subsequent palace.

In the mid 1490’s some holes opened up in the ground of a park, and Renaissance artists, amongst the first of them Pinturricchio, crawled down into these “grottoes” and observed their colorful, unusual frescoes, which they named “grotesques”. These were the inspiration for the grotesques that cover so many square miles of ceiling and wall space in the Renaissance, and is particularly interesting to me since I study decorative complexes. Grotesques vary depending on the period (both in Roman and Renaissance times) but is characterized by an impossible, fantastic combination of creatures that titillated artistic minds.

The Domus Aurea is definately worth the visit for anyone interested in Renaissance art (not to mention Ancient Roman!), though for fullest appreciation it requires some preparation - it helps to know something about ancient wall painting, so you might consider reading up with this book: Robert Ling’s Roman Painting. As an instance of ancient architecture it is a bit confusing because it is a partial structure (remember one floor was destroyed) and also only partially excavated. Study the map, but don’t try to orient youreslf. As for the frescoes, you need to imagine what this would have been like for those who crawled through in the fifteenth century — the frescoes were brilliantly coloured in reds and orchres (having not been exposed to oxygen for 1450 years) and must have been like nothing ever seen before. The effect would have been amazingly colourful and sumptuous. Imagine the excitement! To get an idea of what these were like, there is an informative panel in colour at the entrance to the site. You should also go see the contemporary frescoes from the house of Livia at Palazzo Massimo.

The domus aurea is currently a restoration site but is open for viewing upon reservation. Information can be found on the official website of the soprintendenza. In case you don’t want to slog through that italian, you can purchase your reservation through this official website.

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The Pantheon

Started 27-25 BC; The first building was comissioned by Agrippa, Augustus’ son, but it and a few subsequent versions burned down. The present version, built by Hadrian ca 118-28, has an inscription that commemorates the founding patron rather than himself. I approached the building and its accompanying hoarde of tourists from behind, where the shift in ground level is particularly apparent.
The huge, heavy semi-spherical dome does not seem so heavy because the building is so well balanced - in fact, it is the same height and width (43.3 metres). When one considers that the opening at its centre is 9m wide, this dome is massive, and a true feat of engineering that dazzled renaissance architects and modern-day tourists alike. It’s even bigger than Michelangelo’s dome at St. Peter’s. The side chapels contain an unfortunate mish mash of 14th through 19th century objects.

Building open all day, entrance free!

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Temples at Largo Argentina

Many busses and trams stop at Largo Argentina, in the middle of which is an archaeological area that was discovered during ‘renovations’ in 1926. The photo shows a cat licking itself with the backdrop of the ruins of Temple “A”. There is a cat sanctuary at one end of the archaeological site; you can visit the poor abandoned cats in the shelter during morning hours, though it’s rather smelly. The cats have the run of the temples, whereas we do not, so they (the cats AND the temples) can only be photographed from street level. Oh yeah, you want to know about the temples? Well, the four structures, imaginatively named A, B, C and D because not enough is known about their dedications, are a rare example of Republican architecture, ranging from the end of the 4th century BC to the end of the 2nd C BC.

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Museum of Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

This museum contains some of the highest quality Roman art brought to light by 19th and 20th century excavations. The biggest highlights are the frescoes and mosaics displayed on the second floor, for which you are given a specific entry time. The detached frescoes from the private apartments of Augustus’ wife are a wonderful example of second pompeian style. On the first floor, good bilingual wall text leads you through sculpture arranged by theme. If you can read italian, there is an initiative directed at children that is informative and perceptive. It tells really fun stories in the first person about some of the more important works.Unfortunately, the visit to the second floor is compulsorily by guided tour, and you are given only 40 minutes to see it all. As you can imagine, in this time you SEE nothing, you only barely have time to glance. The tour guide is surely knowledgeable but only has time for the most basic of information, given first in quick italian and then in incomprehensibly accented but strangely fluent english. There are superb wall texts, if only you had time to read them.

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Centrale Montemartini (Capitolone Museums satellite site)

This electrical plant, the first in Rome and built 1912, has been converted recently (1997) into a secondary museum space for the Capitoline Museum collections of sculpture during the main site’s rennovation.I admit, I was skeptical about this museum - I thought it would house “leftovers”. I was very pleasantly surprised and would recommend this to any interested tourists or scholars, especially fans of Ancient art. Not many people make it out here but it is worth it, and not really as out of the way as it seems. The power plant has been beautifully restored and interesting elements have been recuperated and duly labelled, providing for fascinating juxtapositions of the modern (all dark metal) and the ancient sculpture, usually not all that fun to look at in white rooms. If anything you’re bound to get good photos.

Amongst the more quality items in the collection is the famous Barberini “Togato”, a standing male sculpture of the first century representing a patrician man holding the busts of his ancestors - reflective of contemporary practise and privilege of the patrician classes to have these items made. However, since it is in itself a white marble sculpture, to us there is not much differentiation between the “real” and the “sculpted”, so that it rather disconcertingly looks like this man is holding two severed heads. His own head was also severed; the one on this sculpture is not the original.

My photos show some of the most interesting sculptures juxtaposed with power plant machinery: (1) Tosi (1933) and greek maiden; (2) the man with three heads described above; (3) the dials from a 1930’s diesel motor and (4) the handles; (5) a 1950’s furnace and, ironically, a Roman altar.

Lunch Suggestion: “Doppio Zeroo” wine bar, (via ostiense 68). A stylish but reasonably priced pizzeria/tavola calda/wine bar frequented by office workers (always a good sign).

On your way back to Piramide metro station, you can’t possibly miss the Piramide di Caio Cestio, a 27 metre high brick pyramid faced with white marble, and tucked into the city walls, which kinda takes away from the original effect.

Official website and opening hours at: www.centralemontemartini.org

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Intro: this period was (not surprisingly) my primary interest during my month in Rome in 2004. Here is only a selection of the original arttrav material on Renaissance Rome. I hope to update it eventually with a new trip.

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”.

Churches

Church of Santa Maria 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.

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Church of Sant’Agostino

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. 

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Church of the Santa Trinita’ dei Monti

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.

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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. 

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 San Pietro in Montorio and Bramante’s Tempietto

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).

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.

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Villas and other good stuff

Villa Farnesina (Trastevere)

Agostino Chigi was a rich banker who was the only person other than the Pope who managed to get Raphael to carry out large commissions. This was his pleasure villa, at which he famously held lavish banquets in a loggia (now destroyed, but it sat alongside the Tiber) from which golden plates were tossed in order to impress guests with his wealth. I wonder how many times he pulled this party trick before they realized the plates were being collected downstream with nets.

 

On the main floor you first enter the Loggia di Galatea, which has some elements by Raphael within a grotesque framework that recalls earlier schemes by Pinturicchio. The more famous Loggia di Psiche e Amore is a full Raphael invention although much of it was carried out by his follower Giulio Romano, and the decorative festoons are by Giovanni da Udine. In these you can individuate exotic fruit and vegetables (you can buy an italian book on this at the entrance desk), and there is a very famous cucumber which is rudely juxtaposed with a circular fruit.

Upstairs there are two painted rooms; the last smaller one has a fresco by il Sodoma. A hallway with perspective games is by Baldassare Peruzzi. Various areas are still under restoration.

Located in Trastevere on via della Lungara number 270. Open Mon-Sat 9-13, cost 5 euro. See official website.

 

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Some relevant Museums

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.

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Galleria Borghese

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.

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Galleria Colonna

 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.