Sant'Agostino

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 in the same church, see the Baroque section of this website).

Near pza navona on via st. agostino.

open 7.45-12; 16.30-19.30

Church of the 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.

At the top of the spanish steps

open 10-13; 16-18.30

No talking; and no public displays of affection!

There are free organ recitals at 5.30pm.

Via Giulia

Museum open M-F 10-17 and Sat 10-14. Church open from 7am.

San Pietro in Montorio

via garibaldi (trastevere, next to the tempietto)

Open 7.30-12; 16-18

The Tempietto

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Bramante's adorable little church (1) in the round, ca 1500, is set in the courtyard of the Spanish Academy (2). This is worth the hike up stairs from Vicolo del Cedro (trastevere).

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 (3) is luminous and, of course, tiny. Bernini designed the crypt (4) into which you can see via stairs at the back.

For many years during the Renaissance, this fragement of chapel decoration made for the ubiquitous Agostino Chigi was the only publicly accessible fresco by Raphael. When you think about it, this makes sense, because Raphael worked inside the Vatican and in Chigi's villa, and his public manifestations were all architecture. Ironically, now this church is rarely open.

Exectuted around 1514-5, these Sybills are less Michelangeloesque than the example at Sant'Agostino, and make for an interesting comparison.

The Dome of Saint Peters

Michelangelo's Dome

Carried out from 1536-51 at the bequest of the Confraternity (voluntary association of brothers involved in carrying out religious works) of the same name. This confraternity of Florentines took as their duty the provision of comfort for criminals convicted to death, by praying with them and accompanying them until the last moment.

The frescoes are by the Florentine artists Jacopino del Conte, Francesco Salviati and Pirro Ligorio. The Annunciation to Zachariah is in fact an interesting pastiche of references that would have appealed to the nostalgia of his Florentine patrons, while his Preaching of the Baptist pioneers the full expression of mature Mannerist painting, characterized primarily by a relief-like style (source: Hall, p. 142).
The lovely facade is from 1504.

Via di San Giovanni Decollato, 22
(Just behind the big parking lot at the Bocca della Verita).

open only by appointment, but the phone number in the white pages leads to a fax. Rumor has it that the florentine confraternity that runs this place is rather unfriendly. I tried ringing at the nearby convent and a nun told me in Spanish, or at least I think I understood, that it is never open.

Santa Maria in Aracoeli

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Villa Farnesina***

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.

The entry fee is rather dear when you think that you're going to see two loggie and two rooms (cuz the other 2 spaces are presently being restored), but it is definately worth visiting. 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 (think SM del Popolo). 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 (see photo detail). Upstairs there are two painted rooms; the last smaller one (no photo) has a fresco by il Sodoma. The hall of the Perspectives is presently closed. The exterior by Sangallo would probably have been frescoed; all that remains of external decoration is a terracotta frieze of putti and festoons just below the roof.

M-Sat mornings 9-13, closed sunday. Some slightly longer hours in high season.

Via della Lungara 230; admission 5E reduced 4E

Palazzo Altemps (Museo Nazionale Romano)

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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.

Booking is necessary via Ticketeria.

To get there, 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!

Read up on Bernini with the classic monograph by Rudolf Wittkower from Amazon.com

Palazzo Corsini (Galleria Nazionale dell'Arte Antica)

(Photos not permitted)

Via della Lungara
Open Tues-Sun 8:30 to 13.30

4-5 euros

Yet another patrician family collection, this one is much more spectacular than the Corsini with which it is partnered. It contains the Barberini family's collection begun in the 17th century but much enriched in the 1950's and 1970's as well. The palazzo is presently undergoing restoration and some of the works are in storage though they've put up colour transparencies of all of them. 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 but not really all that great, and the three Caravaggio's (one in restoration).

The apartment of some princess would be shown every 1/2 hour by appointment but is under restoration. Otherwise there is no need to book an entry.

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...

(Palazzo Colonna has works by Pinturicchio but is not open to the public)

open only saturday morning 09.00 alle 13.00 - closed August!
www.galleriacolonna.it

Via Della Pilotta, 17
near Pza Venezia