Vatican Museums (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — 1 Comment ↓

The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani) display works from the immense collection built up by the Popes throughout the centuries including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The Sistine Chapel (the very last sala within the museum), with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo, and the Stanze di Raffaello, decorated by Raphael, are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums. The group of museums includes several sculpture museums surrounding the Cortile del Belvedere.

Entrance to the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums trace their origin to the marble sculpture Laocoön and his Sons which was discovered on January 14, 1506, in a vineyard near the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, purchased from the vineyard owner by Pope Julius II and placed on public display at the Vatican exactly one month after its discovery. On October 2006, the Museums celebrated their 500th anniversary by permanently opening the excavations of a Vatican Hill necropolis to the public.

Laocoon and his Sons

Here’s some trivia regarding the Vatican Museums:

It is one of the largest museums in the world.
It has a total of 54 galleries (orsale)
Visited by nearly 6 million people (three times the figure of 30 years ago) in 2013, it is the 6th most visited art museum in the world.

The new building, designed by Luca Beltrami, was inaugurated on October 27, 1932. The museum has paintings including:

Giotto‘s Stefaneschi Triptych
Olivuccio di Ciccarello,Opere di Misericordia
Raphael’s Madonna of Foligno, Oddi Altarpiece and Transfiguration
Leonardo da Vinci‘s Jerome in the Wilderness
Caravaggio‘s Entombment
Perugino‘s Madonna and Child with Saints and San Francesco al Prato Resurrection
Filippo Lippi‘s Marsuppini Coronation

Other notable museums and galleries include:

The Collection of Modern Religious Art, , inaugurated by Pope Paul VI in 1973, houses 600 accumulated works of paintings, sculptures and other graphic works, all donations of contemporary Italian and foreign artists. They include works by Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Carlo Carrà and Giorgio de Chirico.

Contemporary Art Collection (Collezione Arte Contemporanea)

Matisse Room (Sala Matisse)

The Greek Cross Gallery (Sala a Croce Greca) houses a 3rd century mosaic from Tusculum in the middle and two colossal sarcophagi in red porphyry. The sarcophagus on the left (4th century) belonged to Saint Helen, mother of Constantine the Great (306-337), comes from her mausoleum in Via Labicana. The sarcophagus on the right belonged to Constance, Emperor Constantine’s daughter and was in the Church of Santa Costanza in Via Nomentana.

The 3rd century mosaic from Tusculum at the Greek Cross Gallery (Sala a Croce Greca)

Sarcopahgus of Costanza

The Round Room (Sala Rotonda), built by Michelangelo Simonetti in the late 18th century in a pure Neo-Classical style, has a 21.60 m. diameter dome actually modeled on the Pantheon. It has impressive and fascinating ancient 3rd century mosaics from the Baths of Otricoli (Umbria region ) on the floors and ancient statues lining the perimeter, including a 2nd century gilded bronze statue of Hercules found near the Theater of Pompey. In the middle of the room is a huge round monolithic porphyry basin, measuring almost 5 m. across, which came from the Domus Aurea and was brought here in the late 18th century.

Round Room (Sala Rotonda)

The Gallery of Maps (Galleria della Carte Geografiche) features topographical maps of the whole of Italy, painted between 1580 and 1585 on the walls by friar Ignazio Danti of Perugia, a famous geographer of the time, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585). It remains the world’s largest pictorial geographical study. It takes its name from the 40 maps frescoed on the walls, which represent the Italian regions and the papal properties at the time of Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585). Considering the Apennines as a partition element, on one side the regions surrounded by the Ligure and Tyrrhenian Seas are represented; on the other, the regions surrounded by the Adriatic Sea. The map of the main city accompanies each regional map.

The author at the Gallery of Maps (Galleria della Carte Geografiche)

The Gallery of the Statues (Galleria delle Statue), originally an open loggia of the Palace of Innocent VIII and later walled in during the second half of the 18th century, holds various precious and important Roman statues including some copies of Greek statues of the Classical period (5th-4th century B.C.) such as the bust of Menander; the Apollo Sauroktonos, the lizard-killer, copied from Praxiteles (c.350 B.C.); and the famous Sleeping Ariadne, a Roman copy of the 2nd century from an original by the School of Pergamon (2nd century B.C.). It also contains the Barberini Candelabra.
The Gallery of the Busts (Galleria dei Busti) displays many ancient busts of Roman emperors.
The Gallery of the Candelabra (Galleria dei Candelabri), originally an open loggia built in 1761 and walled up at the end of the 18th century, has a ceiling was painted in 1883-1887. The gallery contains Roman copies of Hellenistic originals (3rd-2nd century B.C.) and some great 2nd century candelabra from Otricoli.

Gallery of the Candelabra (Galleria dei Candelabri)

The Chariot Room, a late 18th century room, contains a large marble Roman chariot drawn by two horses, dating from the 1st century A.D., but heavily restored in 1788. The copy of the famous Discobolus found in Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana) at Tivoli, from a bronze Greek original by Myron (c. 460 B.C.) is also displayed here.

The Chariot Room

The Cabinet of the Masks (Gabinetto delle Maschere) has a mosaic on the floor of the gallery, found in Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana), which shows ancient theater masks. Several famous statues are shown along the walls including the Three Graces (one wove the thread of life, the second nurtured it and the third cut it) and the remarkable Roman Venus of Cnidos (the original, mid 4th century B.C., also by Praxiteles, came from the Greek sanctuary of Cnidos and was much admired in antiquity).
The Room of Muses (Sala delle Muse), octagonal in shape, houses the 4^th century BC statue group of Apollo and the nine Muses (copied from Greek originals and uncovered in 1774 in a Roman villa near Tivoli) as well as and statues by important ancient Greek philosophers and writers (Homer, Socrates, Plato, Euripides, etc.). Its center piece is the famous Belvedere Torso, a 1st century B.C. original by the Athenian sculptor Apollonius and revered by Michelangelo and other Renaissance men for its powerful and vigorous muscolature. Recent studies identify the statue with the figure of the Greek hero Ajax.

Room of the Muses

Belvedere Torso

The Room of the Animals (Sala degli Animali) is so named because of the many ancient Roman statues of animals, heavily restored at the end of the 18^th century.

Room of the Animals (Sala degli Animali)

Museo Chiaramonti, founded in the early 19th century, was named after Pope Pius VII (whose last name was Chiaramonti before his election as pope). This large arched gallery, organized by the Neo-Classical sculptor Antonio Canova in 1807, exhibits a collection of about a thousand Roman sculptures, including portraits of emperors and gods, several fragments, friezes and reliefs of sarcophagi. Noteworthy is a funerari monument of a miller dating from the 1st century A.D. which was found at Ostia.

Museo Chiaramonti

Braccio Nuovo, the New Wing of Museo Chiaramonti built by Raffaele Stern and inaugurated in 1822 by Pius VII, houses important Roman statues and Roman copies of Greek original statues like a statue of Augustus, found at the Prima Porta (north of Rome); a Roman copy of the Doryphorus from an original by the Greek sculptor Polykleitos (440 B.C.); two splendid gilded bronze peacocks (copies of which are in the Courtyard of the “Pigna”), that may come from Hadrian’s Mausoleum; and the statue of The River Nile, a Roman copy of a 1st century Hellenistic statue originally found in the Temple of Isis, near the Pantheon and showing the great Egyptian river with its tributaries. Mosaics are set on the floors.
Galeria Lapidaria, another part of Museo Chiaramonti, has more than 3,000 stone tablets and inscriptions, the world’s greatest collection of its kind. However, it is opened only by special permission, usually for reasons of study.
Gallery of Tapestries (Galleria degli Arazzi) exhibits, along its walls, Flemish tapestries, realized in Brussels by Pieter van Aelst’s School from drawings by Raphael’s pupils, during the pontificate of Pope Clement VII (1523-1534). They were first shown in the Sistine Chapel in 1531 and, in 1838, arranged for the exhibition in this gallery.

Gallery of Tapestries (Galleria degli Arazzi)

Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, founded by Pope Gregory XVI in 1836, has eight galleries and houses important Etruscan pieces such as vases, sarcophagus and bronzes, all coming from archaeological excavations from southern Etruria; the Guglielmi Collection; a large collection of Hellenistic Italian vases and some Roman pieces (Antiquarium Romanorum). In Room II is the notable Regolini-Galassi tomb and Rooms IV-VIII, known as the “Precious,” exhibit gold jewelry realized by Etruscan goldsmiths during the ten centuries of their civilization.
The Missionary Ethnological Museum, inaugurated by Pius XI in 1926, was also moved from the Lateran Palace. The collection consists of artworks and historical vestiges from missions all over the world. There are some interesting models of non-Catholic places of worship, such as Beijing’s Temple of the Sky (originally from the 15th century but re-done in the 18th century), the Altar of Confucius and the Shintoist Temple of Nara, Japan’s ancient capital city. The Buddhist devotional statues are testimonies of spiritual life in Tibet, Indonesia, India and the Far East; the findings of Islamic and Central African culture are also interesting, and so are objects and works of art, especially from Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Museo Gregoriano Egiziano, inaugurated on February 2, 1839 to commemorate the anniversary of Pope Gregory XVI‘s (1831-1846) accession to the papacy, was formerly housed in the Lateran Palace. In 1970, Pope John XXIII had it relocated in the Vatican. The museum houses a grand collection of Ancient Egyptian material such as papyruses, the Grassi Collection, animal mummies and reproductions of the famous Book of the Dead.
The Vatican Historical Museum (Italian: Museo storico vaticano), founded in 1973 at the behest of Pope Paul VI, was initially hosted in environments under the Square Garden. In 1987, it was moved to the main floor of the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran and opened in March 1991. It has a unique collection of portraits of the Popes from the 16th century to date, the memorable items of the Papal Military Corps of the 16–17th centuries and old religious paraphernalia related to rituals of the papacy.
The Carriage Pavilion, a section of the Historical Museum located in a large room under the Square Garden, was founded by Paul VI in 1973. It contains saddles, carriages, papamobili (Popemobiles), automobiles (including the first cars used by popes) and sedan chairs used by various popes and cardinals. Curiosities include some 19th century carriages, a model of Vatican City’s first train engine (1929) and a Berlin built for Pope Leo XII, used by popes for gala occasions until Pius XI’s time.
The Pius-Clementine (Pio-Clementino) Museum, founded Pope Clement XIV in 1771, originally contained Renaissance and antique works. Pius VI, Clement’s successor, enlarged the museum and its collection and, today, it houses works of Greek and Roman sculpture. After passing through a square vestibule and a small room with a magnificent marble cup, visitors enters the Cabinet of Apoxyomenos (shows an athlete scrapping off his sweat with a strigil, a kind of razor used in antiquity), named after a Roman copy of an original Greek bronze work by Lysippos (c. 320 B.C.). Bramante’s Staircase, seen from the next room, was commissioned by Julius II in 1512 as a link between the Palace of Innocent VIII (1484-1492) and the city of Rome. The spiral staircase, built in a square tower, could also be climbed on horseback.

Apoxyomenos

The Sobieski Room (Sala Sobieski) derives its name from the large painting by the Polish painter Jan Matejko (1838-1893), which represents Polish King John III Sobieski’s victory over the Turks in Vienna in 1683. All the other paintings in the room date from the 19th century.

The large painting by the Polish painter Jean Matejko (1838-1893) in the Sobieski Room (Sala Sobieski)

The Room of the Immaculate Conception (Sala dell Immacolata Concezione) contains a big showcase, a gift from the French company Christofle, full of books given to Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) by kings, bishops, cities and dioceses, when the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was promulgated.

Room of the Immaculate Conception (Sala dell Immacolata Concezione)

The Octagonal Courtyard (Cortile Ottagono), named after its shape by Clement XIV in 1772, houses famous statues such as the Apollo Belvedere, a Roman 2nd century copy from a Greek bronze original possibly by Leochares (330-320 B.C.), originally placed in the Agora of Athens and brought to the Vatican by Pope Julius II; the Perseus with the head of Medusa between two boxers by Antonio Canova (1800-1801); and the celebrated Laocoon group, a 1st century Roman copy from the Greek original in bronze by Hagesandros, Athanadoros and Polydoros, found in Rome on the Esquiline Hill in 1506 and purchased by Julius II who had it set in the Vatican. The latter sculpture represents the Trojan priest Laocoon who warned his fellow citizens about the ruse of the wooden horse, a gift of the Greeks. With his two sons, he was condemned to die by the wrath of Athena, victim of some serpents emerging from the sea.

Octagonal Courtyard (Cortile Ottagono)

Apollo del Belvedere

The Picture Gallery (Pinacoteca), situated in a building that dates back to 1932 and designed by the architect Luca Beltrami, was commissioned by Pope Pius IX (1922 -1939) expressly to house a collection of paintings, belonging to various popes and started by Pope Pius VI (1775-1799). It is connected to the Museum complex (at the entrance of the Quattro Cancelli) by an elegant portico. The works, covering a period from the Middle Ages to 1800, are set in chronological order, in eighteen rooms.
Pio Christian Museum (Museum Christianum), founded by Pius IX in 1854, contains Christian antiquities such as statues, sarcophagi, inscriptions and archaeological findings dating from the 6th century, all originally exhibited in the Lateran Museum. Noteworthy is the statue of the Good Shepherd (represents a beardless young man wearing a sleeveless tunic and a bag) restored in the 18th century.
The Gregorian Profane Museum, founded by Gregory XVI, was also formerly housed in the Lateran Palace but relocated to the Vatican in 1970 by Pope John XXIII. It contains original Greek works, Roman copies and sculptures dating from the 1st to the 3rd century A.D. The most famous group is Athena and Marsyas, a copy of a Greek original by Myron (c. 450 B.C.).

Other highlights of the museums include:

The red marble papal throne, formerly in the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano;
Roman sculpture, tombstones, and inscriptions, including the Early Christian Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus and Dogmatic sarcophagus, and the epitaph of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus.
The Raphael Rooms (Stanze di Raffaello) form a suite of four reception rooms in the palace, the public part of the papal apartments for Pope Julius II. They are famous for their frescoes painted by Raphael and his workshop, including the masterpiece The School of Athens. The rooms are the Hall of Constantine (Sala di Costantino), the Room of Heliodorus (Stanza di Eliodoro), the Room of the Signatura (Stanza della Segnatura) and the Room of the Fire in the Borgo (Stanza dell’Incendio del Borgo).

Hall of Constantine (Sala di Costantino)

Room of Heliodorus (Stanza di Eliodoro)

Room of the Signatura (Stanza della Segnatura)

Room of the Fire in the Borgo (Stanza dell Incendio di Borgo)

The Niccoline Chapel
The Sistine Chapel, including the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Courtyard of the “Pigna,” named after a colossal almost 4 m. high bronze pine cone which, in the Classic Age, stood near the Pantheon in Rome, known as the “Pigna Quarter,” was probably first moved to the atrium of the ancient St Peter’s Basilica during the Middle Ages and then moved here in 1608. Two bronze peacocks, copies of 2nd century A.D. originals in the Braccio Nuovo, flank the pine cone. In the middle of the wide-open space are two concentric spheres by sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro (1990).

Courtyard of the Pigna

The Borgia Apartment (Appartamento Borgia) a private wing built for Pope Alexander VI (Borgia,1492-1503), was decorated with frescoes by Bernardo di Betto (called il Pinturicchio) and his assistants. After the pontiff’s death, the work on the apartments stopped. However, at the end of the 19th century, they were only reopened to the public. Most of the rooms are now used for the Collection of Modern Religious Art.

Borgia Apartments (Appartamento Borgia)

The double spiral staircase, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, has two parts. A double helix, of shallow incline, being a stepped ramp rather than a true staircase, encircles the outer wall of a stairwell of approximately 15 m. (49 ft.) wide and with a clear space at the center. The balustrade around the ramp is of ornately worked metal.
The Apartment of Pius V, built for Pope Pius V (1566-1572) and frescoed by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari, consists of a gallery, two small rooms and a chapel. It contains Flemish tapestries of the 15th and 16th centuries. The first of the two small rooms, next to the gallery, contains a rich Medieval and Renaissance collection of ceramics found in the Vatican Palaces and in other Vatican properties in Rome; the other room has a suggestive collection of minute mosaics, made in Rome between the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century.

Apartment of Pius V

Vatican Museums: Viale Vaticano, 00165 Rome, Italy. Open in winter Mondays to Saturdays, 8:45 AM to 1:45 PM, and at Easter, July, August and September, Mondays to Saturdays, 8:45 AM to 4:45 PM. Entry is free on the last Sunday of every month. Admission to the museum allowed up to 45 minutes before the closing time. Closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month. The entrance to the museums is on Viale Vaticano, near Piazza Risorgimento.

Papal Audience with Pope Francis (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Papal Audience at St. Peter’s Square

To the east of the basilica is the Piazza di San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square), site of the papal audience with Pope Francis. As Pope Francis was in Rome during our visit, a Papal Audience was held on Wednesday (our second day in Italy) and we, as well as other pilgrims and visitors, took this golden opportunity to see the successor of the Apostle Peter.

Check out “St. Peter’s Square“

The Pope making the rounds in the Popemobile

The Papal Audience was scheduled to start at 10:30 AM (sometimes in summer, due to the heat, they may start the audience at 10 AM instead) but there were already large numbers of people queuing when we arrived at 9 AM. Security opened between 8 – 8:30 AM and we needed to pass through security scanners similar to those at the airport to access.

Cheska and Grace making their way to the seating area

Near the front is a seating area for those with tickets but, to get a good seat, it is still a first come first served basis. We were not able to get a ticket in advance but, as we arrived early, we were able to get fairly good seats facing the podium.

Pope Francis greeting the crowd

Shouts of joy heralded the arrival of the Pope in his Popemobile which circled the square, stopping occasionally for the Pope to kiss babies handed to him by his security from parents as well as wave to the crowd. Upon reaching the podium, he alighted and took his seat.

The papal podium

The Pope spoke in Italian, which I didn’t understand, but I gather it consisted of small teachings and readings. He then made greetings in each language, including in Pilipino. At the end of the 1.5-hour Audience, the Pope prayed, together with the attendees, the Our Father prayer in Latin (said to be normally printed on the back of the Papal Audience ticket). At the end of the prayer, the head of the Catholic Church imparted his Apostolic Blessing upon the crowd.

L-R: Cheska, Kyle, Grace, Jandy and the author

Papal Audience: Papal Audience tickets are free. If you need less than 10 tickets, you can normally pick up tickets, without a reservation, from the Swiss Guards at the “Bronze Doors” located just after security at St Peter’s Basilica. You can pick up tickets the day before the audience, after 3 PM until 7 PM (summer) until 6 PM (Winter). You can also pick up tickets on the day of the mass, from 7 AM until 3 PM. You must collect your tickets one day before (not sooner) for the papal audience/mass with the pope subject to availability without a reservation. If you prefer to pre-book tickets and If you need more than 10 tickets, you will need to make a reservation in advance (https://www.vaticantour.com/images/Vatican_Ticket_request.pdf.). Tickets should be picked up from the Vatican Offices located at the Bronze Doors. Website: www.papalaudience.org.

St. Peter’s Square (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

To the east of the basilica is the Piazza di San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square), a forecourt in two sections – the first is oval and the second, nearest the basilica, is trapezoid., The two distinct areas are framed by tall colonnades formed by doubled pairs of columns supporting an entablature of the simple Tuscan Order.

St. Peter’s Square

The present arrangement, the Baroque inspiration of Bernini, was constructed between 1656 and 1667. The colonnades consist of 284 13 m. high Doric columns, arranged in four rows, and 88 pilasters of travertine marble. With the trabeation surmounted by a balustrade, the overall height is 21 m.

Statues above the collonnade

The colonnade, on the north side, masks an assortment of Vatican structures. Above it rises the upper stories of the Vatican Palace. On the south side, they define and formalize the space, with the Barberini Gardens rising to a skyline of umbrella pines.To link with the basilica’s façade, Bernini built two straight 120 m. long covered wings (Charlemagne on the left, Constantine on the right).

St. Peter’s Square facing Via della Conciliazione

A centrally placed ancient Egyptian obelisk, known as “The Witness,” is revered as a “witness” to Peter’s death by crucifixion, with head downwards, on October 13, 64 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. Here are some trivia regarding the obelisk:

It is the second largest standing obelisk.
It is the only one to remain standing since its removal from Egypt and re-erection at the Circus of Nero in 37 AD.
It has a height of 25.5 m. (84 ft.).
If its base and the cross on top are include, it has a total height of 40 m. (130 ft.).
Its removal to its present location September 28, 1586, by order of Pope Sixtus V, was engineered by Domenico Fontana in a difficult operation that nearly ended in disaster. During the operation, the ropes holding the obelisk began to smoke from the friction. Fortunately, this problem was noticed by Benedetto Bresca, a sailor of Sanremo, who swiftly intervened. As a reward, his town was granted the privilege of providing the palms that are used at the basilica each Palm Sunday.

The Egyptian Obelisk

To ornament the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, two fountains were created by Carlo Maderno (1612–1614), the nephew of the architect Domenico Fontana, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1667–1677. The fountains, like all fountains of the time, had no pumps and operated purely by gravity, with its source of water, the restored Acqua Paola (on the Janiculum hill, 266 m. above sea level) higher than the fountain which caused the water to shoot 20 ft. upwards into the air.

Fontana Antica (Carlo Maderno)

The older fountain, by Maderno, on the north side of the square, is located on the site of an earlier fountain (reputed to be the finest fountain in Rome), built in 1490 during the time of Pope Innocent VIII. The new fountain had an octagonal base on top with a large irregular basin, decorated with steps and small columns, to hold the water. Maderno kept the the old fountain’s large lower stone vasque and ornamented the pedestal above it with four stone scrolls.

The author in front of the Fontana Antica

However, the smaller upper vasque was removed and replaced it with an inverted vasque or cap like a mushroom and covered with stone scales. From the top, water spouted poured down over the top of the upper vasque, its flow broken and made to sparkle by the stone scales. Maderno also removed the coats-of-arms of the 3 previous popes (including the 3 coats-of-arms of Pope Innocent VIII, carved by Alonso du Capua), replacing them with plaques honoring his patron, Pope Paul V.

The collonnade

The second, 8 m. high fountain, on the left, was built for purposes of symmetry. It closely followed the design of the Maderno fountain and was built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini who was commissioned in 1667 by Pope Clement X. The fountain was completed in 1677.

Via della Conciliazione

The long and wide Via della Conciliazione, built by Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaties, leads from the River Tiber to the piazza. It gives distant views of St. Peter’s as the visitor approaches.

St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City)

Posted on 25 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — 1 Comment ↓

St. Peter’s Basilica

The Papal Basilica of St. Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri; Italian: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply St. Peter’s Basilica, the most prominent building in the Vatican City, is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines and the most renowned work of Italian Renaissance architecture. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. Located west of the River Tiber, near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian’s Mausoleum, its central dome Its dome is a dominant feature of the skyline of Rome. Best appreciated from a distance, the basilica is approached via St. Peter’s Square.

Jandy and the author at St. Peter’s Basilica

The basilica has the following specifications:

Area: 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres)
Cost of construction of the basilica: more than 46,800,052 ducats
Geographic orientation: chancel west, nave east
Total length: 730 ft. (220 m.)
Total width: 500 ft. (150 m.)
Interior length including vestibule: 693.8 ft. (211.5 m.), more than ⅛ mile.
Length of the transepts in interior: 451 ft. (137 m.)
Width of nave: 90.2 ft. (27.5 m.)
Width at the tribune: 78.7 ft. (24 m.)
Internal width at transepts: 451 ft. (137 m.)
Internal height of nave: 151.5 ft. (46.2 m.) high
Total area: 227,070 sq. ft. (21,095 m²), more than 5 acres (20,000 m²).
Internal area: 163,182.2 sq. ft. (3.75 acres; 15,160.12 m²)
Height from pavement to top of cross: 448.1 ft. (136.6 m.)
Façade: 167 ft. (51 m.) high by 375 ft. (114 m.) wide
Vestibule: 232.9 ft. (71 m.) wide, 44.2 ft. (13.5 m.) deep, and 91.8 ft. (28 m.) high
The internal columns and pilasters: 92 ft. (28 m.) tall
The circumference of the central piers: 240 ft. (73 m.)
Outer diameter of dome: 137.7 ft. (42.0 m.)
The drum of the dome: 630 ft. (190 m) in circumference and 65.6 ft. (20.0 m) high, rising to 240 ft. (73 m) from the ground
The lantern: 63 ft. (19 m.) high
The ball and cross: 8 and 16 ft. (2.4 and 4.9 m.), respectively
Peter’s Square: 1,115 ft. (340 m.) long, 787.3 ft. (240 m.) wide
Each arm of the colonnade: 306 ft. (93 m.) long, and 64 ft. (20 m.) high
The colonnades have 284 columns, 88 pilasters, and 140 statues
Obelisk: 83.6 ft. (25.5 m.). Total height with base and cross, 132 ft. (40 m.).
Weight of obelisk: 360.2 short tons (326,800 kgs.; 720,400 lbs.)

The author within the nave

Here are some interesting trivia regarding St. Peter’s Basilica:

It is probably the largest church in Christendom.
The dome, rising to a total height of 136.57 m. (448.1 ft.) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross, is the tallest dome in the world.Its 41.47 m. (136.1 ft.) internal diameter, greater in diameter by approximately 30 ft. (9.1 m.) than Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia church (completed in 537), is slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it – the 3 m. (142 ft.) of the Pantheon of Ancient Rome and the 44 m. (144 ft.) of the Early Renaissance Florence Cathedral. Conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom, the architects of St. Peter’s looked for solutions as to how to go about building the dome from the domes of the Pantheon and Florence Duomo.
While it is neither the Pope‘s official seat, mother church (this honor is held by the Pope’s cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran) of the Catholic Church or the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter’s is certainly the Pope’s principal church in terms of use because most Papal liturgies and ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City proper. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining Peter’s Square.
One of the holiest sites of Christianity, Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is traditionally the burial site of its titular, Peter, head of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome, rendering him the first Pope Supposedly, St. Peter’s tomb is directly below below the baldachin and high altar of the Basilica in the “Confession.”
Peter’s, one of the Papal Basilicas (previously styled “patriarchal basilicas”), is one of the four churches of Rome that hold the rank of Major Basilica (all of which are also Papal Basilicas), the others being the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul outside the Walls. However, unlike all the other Papal Major Basilicas, it is wholly within the territory, and thus the sovereign jurisdiction, of the Vatican City State, and not that of Italy.
Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop. The Cathedra of the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, is in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
Within St. Peter’s Basilica are over 100 tombs (extant to various extents), many located in the Vatican grotto, of 91 popes (the most recent interment was Pope John Paul II, on April 8, 2005), since the Early Christian period, in the necropolis beneath the basilica. Many of the tombs of popes are considered outstanding artworks. Other notable people are also buried here. They include, St. Ignatius of Antioch; Holy Roman Emperor Otto II; the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart; Cardinal Bishop of Frascati (having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI); Maria Clementina Sobieska (wife of James Francis Edward Stuart); Queen Christina of Sweden (who abdicated her throne in order to convert to Catholicism); and Countess Matilda of Tuscany (supporter of the Papacy during the Investiture Controversy). Beneath, near the crypt, is the recently discovered vaulted 4th-century “Tomb of the Julii.”
The “Chair of Saint Peter” (cathedra), an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by St. Peter himself and used by many popes, was actually a 12th century gift from Charles the Bald.

Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the façade of the basilica, designed by Maderno, is 114.69 m. (376.3 ft.) wide and 45.55 m. (149.4 ft.) high and is built of travertine stone, with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters, all set at slightly different angles to each other (in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall’s surface), and a central pediment rising in front of a tall attic surmounted by 13 statues: Christ flanked by 11 of the Apostles (except St. Peter, whose statue is left of the stairs) and John the Baptist.

The inscription below the cornice on the 1 m. (3.3 ft.) tall frieze reads: IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII In honour of the Prince of Apostles, Paul V Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate)

The huge cornice, above them, ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression. The facade stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two 5.55 m. (18.2 ft.) statues of Saints Peter and Paul, the 1st-century apostles to Rome. Construction of the current basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter’s Basilica begun by the Emperor Constantine the Great (between 319 and 333 AD), was started on April 18, 1506 by Pope Julius II. In the next 120 years, after a succession of popes and architects, it was solemnly dedicated by Pope Urban VIII on November 18, 1626.

The nave

Cruciform in shape, the basilica has an elongated nave in the Latin cross form with a central space dominated, both externally and internally, by one of the largest domes in the world. In the towers to either side of the facade are two clocks, designed by Giuseppe Valadier from 1786-1790. The one on the right, called the Oltramontano Clock, has one hand showing European mean time. The one on the left, called the Italian Clock, shows Rome time. The oldest bell of the clock on the left, operated electrically since 1931, dates from 1288.

The clock on the left of the facade

Behind the façade of St. Peter’s, stretching across the building, is a narthex (long portico or entrance hall) such as was occasionally found in Italian Romanesque churches. Part of Maderno’s design, it has a long barrel vault decorated with ornate stucco and gilt and successfully illuminated by small windows between pendentives. Its ornate marble floor is beamed with light reflected in from the piazza

The Narthex

A mosaic, one of the most important treasures of the basilica, is set above the central external door. Called the “Navicella,” it is mostly a 17th-century copy of Giotto‘s early 14th century and it represents a ship symbolizing the Christian Church. At each end of the narthex is a theatrical space framed by Ionic columns. Within each is set a equestrian statue – an 18th century equestrian figure of Charlemagne by Cornacchini in the south end and Constantine the Great by Bernini (1670) in the north end.

Statue of St. Peter

Of the five portals (three framed by huge salvaged antique columns)from the narthex to the interior, three contain notable doors. The Renaissance bronze door (called Filarete), the central portal created by Antonio Averulino in 1455 for the old basilica, was somewhat enlarged to fit the new space. The “Door of the Dead,” the southern door, was designed by 20th-century sculptor Giacomo Manzù and includes a portrait of Pope John XXIII kneeling before the crucified figure of St. Peter. The “Holy Door,” the decorated northernmost bronze doors leading from the narthex is, by tradition, walled-up with bricks and opened only for holy years such as the Jubilee year by the Pope. The present door is bronze and was designed by Vico Consorti in 1950 and cast in Florence by the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry. Above it are inscriptions commemorating the opening of the door.

The design of St. Peter’s Basilica and, in particular, its dome, has greatly influenced church architecture in Western Christendom. They include:

Sant’Andrea della Valle (Rome) – designed by Giacomo della Porta before the completion of St Peter’s Basilica, and subsequently worked on by Carlo Maderno.
San Carlo ai Catinari
Sant’Agnese in Agone
St Paul’s Cathedral(London, England) – designed by Christopher Wren
Karlskirche(Vienna, Austria)
Nicholas Church(Prague, Czech Republic)
Pantheon(Paris, France)

Elements of St Peter’s Basilica’s were imitated, to a greater or lesser degree, by a great number of churches built during 19th and early-20th-century Post-Modernism architectural revivals. They include:

Compared with other churches, its entire, “stupendously large” interior, lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding, has vast dimensions so much so that it is hard to get a sense of scale within the building. The nave, framed by wide aisles (which have a number of chapels off them), lead to the central dome and is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. In keeping with Michelangelo’s work, it has huge paired pilasters.

The central dome

The aisles each have two smaller chapels and a larger rectangular chapel, the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Choir Chapel. Though lavishly decorated with marble, gilt, sculpture, stucco and mosaic they, remarkably, have very few paintings, although some, such as Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna” have been reproduced in mosaic. A small icon of the Madonna, removed from the old basilica, is the most precious painting.

The sanctuary culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and contains the so-called “Chair of Saint Peter” (Cathedra Petri ), a large bronze throne in the apse enshrined, with great celebration, in its new home on January 16, 1666. Symbolizing the continuing line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to the reigning Pope, the chair is raised high on 4 looping supports held effortlessly by massive and dynamic bronze statues, with sweeping robes and expressions of adoration and ecstasy, of the four Doctors of the Church – Saints Ambrose and Augustine, representing the Latin Church, and Athanasius and John Chrysostom, the Greek Church. A window of yellow alabaster, behind and above the Cathedra, illuminates, with a blaze of light, the Dove of the Holy Spirit at its center.

The Nave

Two holy water basins, fluttering against the first piers of the nave, are held by four cherubs, each commissioned by Pope Benedict XIII from designer Agostino Cornacchini and sculptor Francesco Moderati, (1720s). They appear of quite normal cherubic size but, once approached, it becomes apparent that each one is over 2 m. high and that real children cannot reach the basins unless they scramble up the marble draperies.
Markers, showing the comparative lengths of other churches, starting from the entrance, are found along the floor of the nave.
Medallions, with relief depicting the first 38 popes, are on the decorative pilasters of the piers of the nave.
Statues, depicting 39 founders of religious orders, are in niches between the pilasters of the nave.
A statue of St. Peter Enthroned, set against the north east pier of the dome, is sometimes attributed to late 13th-century sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio (some scholars dating it to the 5th century). One foot of the statue is largely worn away by pilgrims kissing it for centuries.
The sunken, crypt-like Confessio or “Chapel of the Confession” (in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom), leading to the Vatican Grottoes, is located at the heart of the basilica, beneath the dome and high altar. Maderno’s last work, it contains a large kneeling statue, by Canova, of Pope Pius VI, who was captured and mistreated by the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. Two curving marble staircases, remnants of the old basilica, lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. Here, cardinals and other privileged persons could descend in order to be nearer to the burial place of the apostle. Around its balustrade are 95 bronze lamps.
The Niche of the Pallium (“Niche of Stoles”), in the Confessio, contains a bronze urn, donated by Pope Benedict XIV, to contain white stoles embroidered with black crosses and woven with the wool of lambs blessed on St. Agnes’ Day.

The badalchin

The High Altar, surmounted by a baldachin (baldacchino), its central feature, was the first work designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini at St. Peter’s. This 30 m. (98 ft.) high, pavilion-like structure, claimed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world, stands beneath the dome and above the Papal Its design, based on the ciborium (of which there are many in the churches of Rome), serves to create a sort of holy space above and around the table on which the Sacrament is laid for the Eucharist and emphasizing the significance of this ritual.
As part of the scheme for the central space of the church, Bernini had the piers, , hollowed out into niches, and had staircases made inside them, leading to four balconies. On the balconies Bernini created showcases, framed by the eight ancient twisted columns, to display the four most precious relics of the basilica. Set in each of the niches, within the four huge piers (begun by Bramante and completed by Michelangelo) supporting the dome, are the huge statues of the saint associated with the basilica’s primary holy relics – Saint Helena, Constantine’s mother, holding the True Cross and the Holy Nails (by Andrea Bolgi); Saint Longinus holding the spear that pierced the side of Jesus (by Bernini, 1639); Saint Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, with the Andrew’s Cross (by Francois Duquesnoy) and Saint Veronica holding her miraculous veil with the image of Jesus’ face (by Francesco Mochi).

Statue of St. Longinus (Bernini)

North Aisle

Michelangelo‘s Pietà is in the first chapel of the north aisle.
The monument of Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated in 1654 in order to convert to Catholicism, is on the first pier in the right aisle.

Monument to Pope Innocent XI

The second chapel, dedicated to Sebastian, contains the statues of popes Pius XI and Pius XII. The space below the altar, housing the remains of Pope John Paul II (placed here on May 2, 2011), used to be the resting place of Pope Innocent XI whose remains were moved to the Altar of the Transfiguration on April 8, 2011.

Altar of the Transfiguration

The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the large chapel on the right aisle, contains the tabernacle by Bernini (1664). Resembling Bramante‘s Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio, it is supported by two kneeling angels and, behind it, is a painting of the Holy Trinity by Pietro da Cortona.
The monuments of popes Gregory XIII by Camillo Rusconi (1723) and Gregory XIV are near the Altar of Our Lady of Succor.
An altar containing the relics of Petronilla, with an altarpiece “The Burial of St Petronilla by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), 1623, is at the end of the aisle.

South Aisle

Baptistery

The baptistery, the first chapel in the south aisle, was commissioned by Pope Innocent XII and designed by Carlo Fontana, (great nephew of Domenico Fontana). The font, previously located in the opposite chapel, is the red porphyry sarcophagus of Probus, the 4th-century Prefect of Rome. The lid came from a sarcophagus which had once held the remains of the Emperor Hadrian. Previously stored in the Vatican Grotto, workmen broke it into ten pieces during removal and Fontana restored it expertly and surmounted it with a gilt-bronze figure of the “Lamb of God.”

Monument to the Royal Stuarts

The Monument to the Royal Stuarts, set against the first pier of the aisle, is a Neo-Classical tomb (designed by Canova and unveiled in 1819) for James and his sons, Charles Edward (known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”) and Henry, Cardinal and Duke of York. Opposite it is the memorial to Maria Clementina Sobieska, James Francis Edward Stuart’s wife.

Monument to Maria Clementina Sobieski

The second chapel, that of the Presentation of the Virgin, contains the memorials of Pope Benedict XV and Pope John XXIII.

Monument to Pope Benedict XV (Pietro Canonica, (1928)

The tombs of Pope Pius X and Pope Innocent VIII are set against the piers.
The Choir Chapel, the large chapel off the south aisle, contains the Altar of the Immaculate Conception.
The tomb of Pope Pius VIII is at the entrance to the Sacristy.

Monument to Pius VIII (Pietro Tenerani, 1866)

The altars of Saint Thomas, Saint Joseph and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter are at the south transept.
Towards the end of the aisle is the tomb of Fabio Chigi, Pope Alexander VII. The work of Bernini and called by Lees-Milne “as one of the greatest tombs of the Baroque Age,” it is awkwardly set in a niche above a doorway, utilized by Bernini in a symbolic manner, into a small vestry. Pope Alexander, facing outward, kneels upon his tomb. The tomb, supported on a large draped shroud in patterned red marble, is supported by four female figures, of whom only the two at the front, representing Charity and Truth, are fully visible. The foot of Truth rests upon a globe of the world, her toe being pierced symbolically by the thorn of Protestant England. The skeletal winged figure of Death, coming forth, seemingly, from the doorway as if it were the entrance to a tomb, has its head hidden beneath the shroud, but its right hand carries an hour glass stretched upward towards the kneeling figure of the pope.

Monument to Pope Leo XI (Alessandro Algardi)

The white marble Monument to Leo XI, by Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654), has roses carved on the plinth and the inscription “Sic florui”, refer to the fact that he reigned only 27 days, in 1605. Beside him are two female allegories: Fortitude and Generosity.

Monument to Pope Pius VII

The Monument of Pius VII, occupying part of the left wall of the Clementine Chapel, is the work of the Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844).Two winged cupids, one symbolizing time (hourglass) and the other history (book), are located on the sides of the throne. The two statues of “Knowledge” and “Fortitude,” on high pedestals, are located on the sides of the Doric door. The first is depicted in a meditative pose, with the Bible open and, at its feet, an owl, the symbol of prudence. The second figure is dressed in lion skins, while one foot stands on a club.

Altar of the Lie

Passing from the transept to the left aisle, on the left is the Altar of the Lie or the Altar of Ananias and Sapphira. Its mosaic, after a painting by Cristoforo Roncalli (known as Pomarancio, 552-1626), shows the punishment of the couple who had lied to St. Peter about the price of a field sold by them, and were therefore immediately struck dead.

St. Peter’s Basilica: Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City. Open daily, April -September, 7 AM -7 PM; October – March, 7 AM – 6 PM.

How to Get There:

By Subway – Take Linea A (red line) toward Battistini and exit at Ottaviano-S. Pietro. Walk south on Via Ottaviano toward St. Peter’s Square.
By Walking – From the city center, the most direct route is to cross the Tiber and walk straight up Via Conciliazioni. A more interesting route is to go under the Passetto arch near Castel S. Angelo and walk up Pio Borgo, providing a more dramatic entrance from the right (north) side of the Piazza.

Spanish Steps (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 24 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The monumental Spanish Steps

The monumental Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti), a stairway of 135 steps (the slightly elevated drainage system is often mistaken for the first step), climbs a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, was built from 1723–1725 with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi.

Piazza di Spagna

Designed by the little-known architect Francesco de Sanctis (though Alessandro Specchi was long thought to have produced the winning entry), following a competition in 1717, it links the Bourbon Spanish Embassy and the Trinità dei Monti church (under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France), both located above at the top, to the Holy See in Palazzo Monaldeschi below.

Trinità dei Monti Church

At the base of the stairway is the Fontana della Barcaccia (“Fountain of the ugly Boat”), an Early Baroque sculptural fountain built, with travertine as its material, from 1627–29. It is often credited to Pietro Bernini who, since 1623, was Pope Urban VIII’s architect for the Acqua Vergine, an aqueduct from 19 BC which is the source of the fountain’s water. His more famous son, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, was recently said to have collaborated on the decoration. According to a legend, the pope had the fountain installed after he had been impressed by a boat brought here by the 1598 flood of the Tiber River.

Fontana della Barcaccia

The center baluster

Made into the shape of a half-sunken ship, with water overflowing from its sides into a small basin, it was built slightly below street level due to the low water pressure (hence no water spectacle) from the aqueduct which flows from seven points of fountain: – the center baluster; two inside the boat (from sun-shaped human faces) and four outside the boat. As a reminder of Pope Urban VIII’s ancestry, the fountain is decorated with the papal coat of arms of the Barberini family.

Sun-shaped human faces

As one begins to climb the steps one can see, at the corner on the right, the house where English poet John Keats lived and died in 1821. It is now a museum dedicated to his memory, full of memorabilia of the English Romantic generation.

The Spanish Steps was featured in a number of films, TV shows and music albums:

The 1953 film Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, made the Spanish Steps famous to an American audience.
Halfway up the steps, on the right, was the apartment that was the setting for the 1961 film The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone.
A house next to the Steps is also the setting or Bernardo Bertolucci‘s 1998 film Besieged.
The Steps were featured prominently in the film version of The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Matt Damon in the title role.
The Spanish Steps are featured in a scene in the 2015 film The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The Steps are featured in numerous scenes in Alfred Bester‘s 1956 novel The Stars My Destination.
In an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond which aired on October 2, 2000, Ray, Debra, Frank, and Marie climb the Spanish Steps during a family vacation in Rome.
Refugee, a progressive rock group, recorded the song “Credo” in 1974. It contains the lyrics “I believe in constant pauses / Like a Roman holiday / And I often stop for air / As I climb the Spanish stairs.”
“When I Paint My Masterpiece,” a Bob Dylan song first recorded in 1971 by The Band and later appearing on the album Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II, mentions both the “Spanish Stairs” and the Colosseum.
In 1995, Norwegian singer/songwriter Morten Harket, from A-ha, released a song called “Spanish Steps” on his album Wild Seed.
“Walk Through the World,” a Marc Cohn song released in 1993 album The Rainy Season, includes the lyric “From the Spanish Steps to the Liberty Bell, I know the angels have seen us.”
The title song from Guy Clark‘s Dublin Blues album (1995) contains the lyric: “I loved you on the Spanish Steps / The day you said goodbye.”
The song “Spanish Steps of Rome,” a bonus track in the North American & Japanese versions of the Mindfields album released in 1999 by American rock band Toto, describes a femme fatale romance that takes place on and around the Spanish Steps.
In 2005, American rock band Of A Revolution released One Shot from their album Stories of a Stranger, which contains the lyrics “Rome is burning, you can taste the embers / I am walking hard on Spanish Steps.”
In 2007, John Tesh of Entertainment Tonight fame, recorded an instrumental tune called “Spanish Steps” on his A Passionate Life.

The Spanish Steps have been restored several times, most recently in 1995.

L-R: Jandy and the author

Spanish Steps: Piazza di Spagna, Rome, Italy

Trevi Fountain (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 24 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Trevi Fountain

The impressive Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi), designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci, is one of the most famous fountains in the world and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. The fountain, located at the junction of three roads (tre vie), marks the terminal point of the “modern” Acqua Vergine, the revived Aqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome.

Bas-relief of the virgin pointing to the source of the spring

Bas-relief showing the virgin pointing to the source of the spring

Legend has it that in 19 BC, thirsty Roman soldiers, supposedly with the help of a young virgin girl, located Salone Springs, a source of pure water some 13 kms. (8.1 mi.) from the city (This scene is presented on the present fountain’s façade). The discovery of the source led Augustus Caesar to commission the construction, by Agrippa, his son-in-law, of the Aqua Virgo (Virgin Waters, in honor of the legendary young girl), a 22-km. (14-mi.) aqueduct leading into the city. The aqueduct served the hot Baths of Agrippa, and Rome, for over 400 years.

Bas-relief showing Agrippa, explaining his plan for the aqueduct to Augustus Caesar

Work on the fountain began in 1732 and it was completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762, long after Salvi’s death in 1751, when Pietro Bracci‘s Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche. Pannini substituted the present allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippa and “Trivia,” the Roman virgin. On May 22, 1762, it was officially opened and inaugurated by Pope Clement XIII. Today, it remains one of the most historical cultural landmarks in Rome.

Palazzo Poli and the Trevi Fountain

The Palazzo Poli, the backdrop for the fountain, was given a new façade, with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters linking the two main stories. Taming of the waters is the theme of the gigantic scheme that tumbles forward, mixing water and rockwork, and filling the small square. A chariot in the shape of a shell, the central feature of the monument, is drawn by seahorses with as their guide.

Corinthian pilasters

Even the palace in the background blends perfectly with the composition and the game of space and mass gives an air of movement to the entire statue.

Oceanus riding a shell-shaped chariot

At the center, superimposed on the palazzo façade, is a robustly-modeled triumphal arch. For maximum light and shade, the enormous central niche (exedra) framing Oceanus (or Neptune), god of the sea, has free-standing columns. He rides a shell-shaped chariot that is pulled by two hippocamps (sea horses), one calm and obedient and the other one restive, and each guided by a Triton.

The calm and obedient hippocamp and his Triton

Sculpted by Pietro Bracci, the statues symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea. Even with the maximum contrast in their mood and poses, both hippocamps and Tritons provide symmetrical balance.

The restive hippocamp and his Triton

In the niches flanking Oceanus are the statues of Abundance (spills water from her urn) and Salubrity (holds a cup from which a snake drinks).

Statue of Abundance

Statue of Salubrity

Above, bas reliefs illustrate the Roman origin of the aqueducts. The bas-relief on the left shows Agrippa, the general who built the aqueduct that carries water to the fountain, explaining his plan for the aqueduct to his father-in-law Augustus Caesar. The one the right captures the moment the virgin points to the source of the spring. The allegorical statues on the top, in front of the attic, symbolize the Four Seasons. Crowning the top is the coat of arms of Pope Clement XII.

Bas-relief of the virgin pointing to the source of the spring

All around, natural and artificial forms merge together in a representation of rocks and petrified vegetation that run along the foundation of the palace and around the borders of a large semicircular basin that represents the sea.

Two of the Four Seasons

Every day some eighty million liters of water flow over artificial rocks through the fountain. The water is reused to supply several other Roman fountains, including the Fountain of the Four Rivers, the Tortoise Fountain and the Fountain of the Old Boat in front of the Spanish Steps.

Coat-of-arms of Pope Clement XII

Here are some facts and trivia regarding the Trevi Fountain:

The largestBaroque fountain in the city, the fountain stands 26.3 m. (86 ft.) high, 49.15 m. (161.3 ft.) wide and occupies more than half the square.
Salvi, before he died in 1751 with his work half finished, made sure a stubborn barber’s unsightly sign would not spoil the ensemble, hiding it behind a sculpted vase, called by Romans theasso di coppe, the “Ace of Cups.”
The majority of the fountain was made fromTravertine stone, quarried near Tivoli, about 35 kms. (22 mi.) east of Rome.
In 1973, Italian National Postal Service dedicated a postage stamp to Trevi Fountain.
In 1998, the fountain was refurbished; the stonework was scrubbed, all cracks and other areas of deterioration were repaired by skilled artisans, and the fountain was equipped with recirculating pumps.
In January 2013, it was announced that Fendi, the Italian fashion company, would sponsor a 20-month, 2.2-million-euro restoration of the fountain, the most thorough restoration in the fountain’s history. Restoration work, including the installation of more than 100 LED lights to improve the nighttime illumination of the fountain, began in June 2014 and, on the evening of November 3, 2015, the fountain was reopened with an official ceremony.
There is a curious tradition regarding the Trevi Fountain. It is said that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the water, you will be sure to return to Rome. Coins are purportedly meant to be thrown using the right hand over the left shoulder (or your left hand over your right shoulder), with your back to the fountain. While you’re tossing the coin, you’re not allowed to look behind you but the fountain is so large it’s basically impossible to miss.

Trevi Fountain scene at La Dolce Vita

The fountain has appeared in several notable films, including Federico Fellini‘s renowned 1960 Italian film La Dolce Vita. The scene, on a quiet night in an almost unreal Rome (actually shot over a week in winter), features an alluring Anita Ekberg jumping into the Trevi Fountain, with her clothes on, and invites Marcello Mastroianni to join her. The coin tossing tradition was also the theme of 1954’s Three Coins in the Fountain and the Academy Award-winning song by that name which introduced the picture.

Trevi Fountain scene in the movie Three Coins in a Fountain

An estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome’s needy.
It is illegal to steal coins from the Trevi Fountain. Still, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

Grace, Jandy, the author and Cheska at Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain: Piazza di Trevi, Trevi district, 00187 Rome, Italy

Arch of Titus (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 24 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Arch of Titus

The fluted and unfluted column section

The Arch of Titus (Italian: Arco di Tito; Latin: Arcus Titi), located just to the southeast of the Roman Forum, is one of the most celebrated monuments in the Forum Romanum. This honorific arch was constructed from A.D. 82 – 85 by Emperor Domitian, shortly after the death of his older brother Titus (who died suddenly during a plague A.D. 81, after only a two year reign), to commemorate the immensely popular Titus’ victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE).

Since the 16th century, this 1st-century A.D. arch has provided the general model for many triumphal arches erected. Perhaps, most famously, it is the inspiration for the Arc de Triomphe (which maintains the exact proportions of the Arch of Titus, though several times larger), in Paris, France. Domitian‘s favored architect Rabirius, sometimes credited with the Colosseum, may have executed the arch based on the style of sculptural details.

The large 15 m. high arch has both fluted and distinguishably unfluted columns, the latter being a result of modern restoration, starting with Raffaele Stern in 1817 and continued in 1821 by architect Giuseppe Valadier, under Pope Pius VII (with new capitals, new inscriptions on the opposite side, and restoration intentionally made in travertine masonry to differentiate between the original and the restored portions).

Winged women, personifications of victory, at spandrels

Winged women, personifications of victory, are found at the spandrels on the upper left and right of the arch. They stand on a globe and hold banners, trophies, laurel wreaths, and palm fronds. The keystone, between the spandrels, has a female on the east side and a male on the west side, both representing Roma and the Genius of the Roman people.

The deeply coffered soffit of the axial archway has, at the center, a relief of the apotheosis of Titus, showing him riding an eagle to heaven, where he’ll become one of the gods. Two 2.04 m high by 3.85 m long panel reliefs, commemorating the joint triumph celebrated by Titus and his father Vespasian in the summer of 71, line the passageway within the arch.

The apotheosis of Titus

The south panel (likely originally colored gold, with the background in blue) depicts the triumphal procession as it passes through the Porta Triumphalis to the Forum Boarium, with the participants carrying booty taken from the Temple in Jerusalem (one of the few contemporary depictions of Temple period artifacts).

It features a golden 7-branched Menorah (candelabrum), carved in deep relief, as the main focus plus other sacred objects being carried in the procession such as the Gold Trumpets, fire pans (for removing the ashes from the altar), the Table of Shew bread and, perhaps, even the Ark of the Covenant. In 2012, remains of yellow ocher paint on the menorah relief were discovered by the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project. The menorah depicted on the Arch, later to become a symbol of the Jewish diaspora, served as the model for the menorah used on the emblem of the state of Israel.

The quadriga (four-horsed chariot) carrying Titus

The north panel depicts Titus as triumphator, attended by various genii and lictors that carry fasces. The quadriga (four-horsed chariot) carrying Titus, crowned with a laurel wreath by a winged Victory, is lead by Valour, a helmeted Amazon holding the bridle of one of the horses. The two figures to the right of the chariot personify the people of Rome (naked torso) and the Senate (wearing a toga).

Significant as one of the first examples of divinities and humans being present in one scene together, it contrasts with the panels of the Ara Pacis, where humans and divinities are separated. It is also the first full attempt by Roman sculptors to create the illusion of space.

“The Roman Senate and People (dedicate this) to the divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the divine Vespasian.”

In the Middle Ages, when the Frangipani family turned it into a fortified tower, the sculpture of the outer faces of the two great piers was lost when the arch was incorporated in medieval defensive walls. The attic of the arch was originally crowned by more statuary, perhaps of a bronze quadriga, and the main inscription used to be ornamented by letters made of perhaps silver, gold or some other metal.

“(This) monument, remarkable in terms of both religion and art,
had weakened from age: Pius the Seventh, Supreme Pontiff,
by new works on the model of the ancient exemplar
ordered it reinforced and preserved in the 24th year of his sacred rulership”

Arch of Titus: Via Sacra, 00186 Rome, Italy.

Colosseum (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 24 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The Colosseum

The oval, entirely free-standing Colosseum or Coliseum, an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome, is situated just east of the Roman Forum. Following the reign of Nero, it was began by emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and completed in AD 80 by his son and successor Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Vespasian’s younger son Domitian (81–96).

The outer wall

It has suffered extensive damage over the centuries, with large segments having collapsed following earthquakes. In 217, the wooden upper levels of the amphitheater’s interior was destroyed by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius) and was not fully repaired until about 240. Further repairs were done in 250 or 252 and again in 320. Gladiatorial fights are. Various parts of the Colosseum were restored under Theodosius II and Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443. More work followed in 484 and 508.

The outer wall (left) and the nearly intact inner wall

The great 1349 earthquake severely damaged the Colosseum. The outer south side, lying on a less stable alluvial terrain, collapsed and much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. The interior of the amphitheater was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere. The marble façade was burned to make quicklime. The bronze clamps, used to hold the stonework together, were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

The Colosseum interior

In 1807 and 1827, the façade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges and, in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s, the interior was repaired. In 1810–1814 and 1874, the arena substructure was partly excavated and, in the 1930s, was fully exposed under Benito Mussolini. Between 1993 and 2000, due to the effects of pollution and general deterioration over time, a major restoration program was carried out at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($19.3 million/ €20.6 million at 2000 prices).

The raked areas that once held seating

Here are some interesting facts and trivia regarding the Colosseum:

Built of concrete and sand, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built.
One of Rome’s most popular tourist attractions, it receives millions of visitors annually.
Elliptical in plan, it is 189 m. (615 ft./640 Roman ft.) long, 156 m. (510 ft./528 Roman ft.) wide and has a base area of 24,000 sq. m. (6 acres). Its outer wall is 48 m. (157 ft./165 Roman ft.) high. Its perimeter originally measured 545 m. (1,788 ft./1,835 Roman ft.). The central arena is an oval 87 m. (287 ft.) long and 55 m. (180 ft.) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m. (15 ft.) high, above which rose tiers of seating. The arena itself was 83 m. by 48 m. (272 ft. by 157 ft./280 by 163 Roman ft.).
Its outer wall was estimated to have required over 100,000 cu. m. (3,531,467 cubic ft.) of travertine stone which were set without mortar and held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.
According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 spectators, although modern estimates put the figure at between 50,000 and 80,000, having an average audience of some 65,000.
The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests (last mentioned around 435) and public spectacles such as mock sea battles (for only a short time as the hypogeum was soon filled in with mechanisms to support the other activities), animal hunts (continued until at least 523, when Anicius Maximus celebrated his consulship with some venationes), executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.
In the Early Medieval era, the building ceased to be used for entertainment but numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were later reused for housing and workshops. It was also reused as a fortress (around 1200 by the Frangipani family), quarters for a Christian religious order (from mid-14th century until as late as the early 19th century), a quarry (stones from the Colosseum were taken for the building of other sacred sites), and a Christian shrine (in 1749, by Pope Benedict XIV).
The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.
The Colosseum has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment. The color of the Colosseum’s night time illumination changes from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released,or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty (most recently on November 2012, following the abolition of capital punishment in the American state of Connecticut in April 2012).
Large concerts, using the Colosseum as a backdrop, have been held just outside. They included concerts o Ray Charles (May 5, 2002), Paul McCartney (May 11, 2003), Elton John (September 3, 2005), and Billy Joel (July 31, 2006).

Cross dedicated to the Christian martyrs, placed in 2000 by Pope John Paul II

The iconic Colosseum has been featured in numerous films:

Roman Holiday

The Colosseum famously serves as the backdrop for several scenes in the 1953 film Roman Holiday.
In the 1954 film Demetrius and the Gladiators, the Emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson) anachronistically sentences the Christian Demetrius (Victor Mature) to fight in the Colosseum.

Demetrius and the Gladiators

The conclusion of the 1957 film 20 Million Miles to Earth takes place at the Colosseum.
In the 1972 film Way of the Dragon, Bruce Lee fought Chuck Norris in the Colosseum.
In Ridley Scott‘s 2000 film Gladiator, the Colosseum was re-created via computer-generated imagery (CGI) to “restore” it to the glory of its heyday in the 2nd century. The depiction of the building itself is generally accurate and it gives a good impression of what the underground hypogeum would have been like.
In the 2003 movie The Core, the Colosseum is destroyed by huge bolts of lightning.
The Colosseum was featured as one of the locations of Vitaly‘s travelling circus in the animated film Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012).
A scene from the 2008 film Jumper was filmed in the Colosseum.
In the 2003 film The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Lizzie McGuire (Hillary Duff) performed as Isabella Parigi for the Italian Music Awards.

Colosseum seating

The remainder of the present-day exterior of the Colosseum is, in fact, the original interior wall. The surviving part of its monumental façade comprises three stories of superimposed arcades framed by half-columns of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders and surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic decorated with Corinthian pilasters, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. At the second- and third-floor arcades, arches framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology. The north side of the perimeter wall, though still standing, has distinctive triangular brick wedges at each end that are modern additions, having been constructed in the early 19th century to shore up the wall.

Maenianum Primum

Positioned around the top of the attic are 240 mast corbels that originally supported a retractable awning,known as the velarium (a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center), that kept the sun and rain off spectators over two-thirds of the arena and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Working on the velarium are sailors specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby Castra Misenatium.

Maenianum Secundum

The amphitheater was ringed by 80 numbered outer entrances, many of which have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall (only entrances XXIII to LIV still survive) at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators. All four axial entrances, richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs (of which fragments survive) consisted of a northern main entrance reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides and three other axial entrances most likely used by the elite. Special boxes at the north and south ends, for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, provide the best views of the arena. They were provided with separate tunnels to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum without needing to pass through the crowds. A broad platform or podium, for the senatorial class (they were allowed to bring their own chairs), flanked them at the same level

Maenianum Secundum in Legneis

Fragment of an ancient Roman equestrian statue

The maenianum primum, the tier above the senators, was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights (equites) while the next level up, divided into two sections, is the maenianum secundum, originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebeians). The lower part (the immum) was reserved for wealthy citizens while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens. The maenianum secundum in legneis, a level added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian (either standing room only or having very steep wooden benches), was a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. Gravediggers, actors and former gladiators were banned altogether from the Colosseum.

The author

Inscriptions identified the areas reserved for specific groups (boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries, scribes, heralds, priests, etc.) with the names of some 5th century senators still seen carved into the stonework (presumably reserving areas for their use). Stone (and later marble) was provided for the seats of citizens and nobles (presumably they brought their own cushions with them).

L-R: Kyle, Cheska, Jandy and Grace

Curved passages and low walls (praecinctiones or baltei) divided each tier into sections (maeniana) and were further subdivided into cunei, or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row (gradus) of seats was numbered, permitting each individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.

Hypogeum

The arena (part of it re-floored), comprising a wooden floor covered by sand (harena or arena is the Latin word for sand), covers the hypogeum (literally meaning “underground”), an elaborate two-level subterranean network, built by Emperor Domitian, of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. It was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside the Colosseum. Caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath were provided instant access to the arena by 80 vertical shafts while larger hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like.

A museum, dedicated to Eros, is located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building.

Base of the statue of Praefectus Urbi (Prefect of Rome)

Colosseum: Piazza del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Rome, Italy. Open daily, except January 1 and December 25. Tel: (+39) 06 39967700 (Mondays-Saturdays, 9 AM -1:30 PM and 2:30 -5 PM). Tickets (€2) can also be bought (often avoiding a long queue) at the ticket offices in Via di San Gregorio (Palatine), Largo Salara Vecchia (former Largo Romolo e Remo – Roman Forum) and Via Sacra (Roman Forum, Arco di Tito). The Colosseum, together with the Forum/Palatine Hill ticket, is valid for both.

How to Get There
The Colosseum is located a few hundred yards from Piazza Venezia, and close to the Forum.

On “B” line Metro station Colosseo
“A” line Metro station Manzoni, then two stops of Tram No. 3 going southwards
Bus lines 60, 75, 85, 87, 271, 571, 175, 186, 810, 850, C3, and the electric minibus 117
Tramway Line No. 3.

Arch of Constantine (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 24 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Arch of Constantine

Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill is the Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino), a triumphal arch erected and dedicated on July 25, 315 by the Roman Senate to commemorate, as described on its attic inscription, Constantine I‘s victory over the then reigning emperor Maxentius (306–312) at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. The largest and the last of

West side o the arch

the existing Roman triumphal arches, it spans the Via triumphalis, the way taken by the emperors when they entered the city in triumph.

Though dedicated to Constantine, this 21 m. high, 25.9 m. wide and 7.4 m. deep arch is actually a collage incorporating much of the decorative material from earlier work from the time of the emperors Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180).

Attic detail, south – left side

It is also the only one to make extensive use of spolia, reusing several major reliefs from 2nd century imperial monuments to make up for the lack of time to create new art. The most impressive surviving civic monument from Rome in Late Antiquity, it is, with regards to its origins and meanings, also one of the most controversial.

Attic detail, south – right side

The arch has three archways, the central one being 11.5 m. high and 6.5 m. wide and the lateral archways 7.4 m. by 3.4 m. each. The attic, above the archways, is composed of brickwork reveted (faced) with marble.

Inscription at the top of the attic – “To the Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus, the greatest, pious, and blessed Augustus: because he, inspired by the divine, and by the greatness of his mind, has delivered the state from the tyrant and all of his followers at the same time, with his army and just force of arms, the Senate and People of Rome have dedicated this arch, decorated with triumphs”

The emperor sacrificing a pig, sheep and bull (suovetaurilia)

On the top of each column, large sculptures representing Dacians, dating from the time of Trajan, can be seen, which. Above the central archway, identical on both sides of the arch, is the inscription, forming the most prominent portion of the attic.

Above the minor lateral archways, flanking the inscription on both sides, are four pairs of relief panels (eight in total), taken from an unknown monument.

It commemorates Marcus Aurelius’ war against the Marcomanni and the Sarmatians from 169 – 175, which ended with Marcus Aurelius’ triumphant return in 176. They are, from left to right:

the emperor’s return to Rome after the campaign (adventus) – north side
the emperor leaving the city and saluted by a personification of theVia Flaminia – north side
the emperor distributing money among the people (largitio) – north side
the emperor interrogating a German prisoner – north side
a captured enemy chieftain led before the emperor – south side
other prisoners led before the emperor – south side
the emperor speaking to the troops (adlocutio) – south side
the emperor sacrificing a pig, sheep and bull (suovetaurilia) – south side

Captured enemy chieftain led before the emperor

From the same time period the two large (3 m high) panels decorating the attic on the east and west sides of the arch show scenes from Trajan‘s Dacian Wars.

Together with the two reliefs on the inside of the central archway, these came from a large frieze celebrating the Dacian victory.

The general layout of the main facade is identical on both sides of the arch. The four columns (one of which has been transferred into the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano and was replaced by a white marble column), on bases (plinths or socles), are of the Corinthian order, decorated on three sides and made of Numidian yellow marble (giallo antico).

The emperor speaking to the troops (adlocutio)

Other prisoners led before the emperor

They divide the structure into a central arch and two lateral arches, the latter being surmounted by two round reliefs, dating to the times of Emperor Hadrian, over horizontal friezes.

The reliefs on the front show Victoria, either inscribing a shield or holding palm branches. Those to the side show captured barbarians alone or with Roman soldiers.

The pairs of round reliefs display scenes of hunting and sacrificing:

hunt of a boar – north side
sacrifice toApollo – north side
hunt of a lion– north side
sacrifice toHercules – north side
the departure for the hunt – south side
sacrifice toSilvanus – south side
the hunt of a bear – south side
sacrifice toDiana – south side

Relief detail – left

Round relief, south side – Sacrifice to Silvanus

In all the medallions, the head of the emperor, originally Hadrian’s, has been reworked. On the north side, it has been reworked into Constantine in the hunting scenes and into Licinius or Constantius I in the sacrifice scenes. On the south side, it’s vice versa. The porphyry framing of the 2 m. diameter reliefs is only extant on the right side of the northern facade. Similar medallions, also during Constantine’s time, are located on the small sides of the arch. The Sun and the Moon, both on chariots, rises on the eastern and western sides, respectively.

Round relief, south side – Sacrifice to Diana

The spandrel of the main arch is decorated with reliefs depicting victory figures with trophies while those of the lateral arches show river gods. The bases of the columns and the spandrel reliefs are from the time of Constantine. The “historical,” horizontal frieze below the round reliefs depict scenes from the Italian campaign of Constantine against Maxentius (which was the reason for the construction of the monument), one strip above each lateral archway and including the west and east sides of the arch. Running around the monument, they are the main parts from the time of Constantine.

Relief detail – right

Round relief, south side – Sacrifice to Silvanus

The frieze starts at the western side with the Departure from Milan (Profectio), continues on the southern face, with the Siege of Verona (Obsidio) on the left (southwest), an event which was of great importance to the war in Northern Italy. The Battle of Milvian Bridge (Proelium), with Constantine’s army victorious and the enemy drowning in the Tiber River , is depicted on the right (southeast).

Round relief, south side – The hunt of a bear

Constantine and his army enter Rome (Ingressus) is depicted on the eastern side while on the northern face, looking towards the city, are two strips with the emperor’s actions after taking possession of Rome. On the left (northeast) is Constantine speaking to the citizens on the Forum Romanum (Oratio) while the final panel, to the right (northwest), depicts Constantine distributing money to the people (Liberalitas).

Spandrel over main arch

On each wall of the central archway is one large panel of Trajan’s Dacian War. Eight portraits busts (two on each wall) inside the lateral archways are destroyed, to such an extent that it is no longer possible to identify them.

Scenes from Trajan’s Dacian Wars

Arch of Constantine : Via di San Gregorio, Rome, Italy.

Palatine Hill (Rome, Italy)

Posted on 24 May, 2016 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The Roman Forum

The surprisingly peaceful and majestic Palatine Hill (Latin: Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; Italian: Palatino) is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands 40 m. above the Forum Romanum, looking down upon it on one side, and upon the Circus Maximus on the other. Here are some interesting trivia regarding the Palatine Hill:

The English word “palace,” the Italian word “palazzo,” the French word “palais,” the German word “palest,” the Czech word “palace,” etc., are all derived from the Palatine.
Cacus, a ferocious, fire-breathing giant cannibal , was said to have once lived in a cave the Palatine. Regularly terrorizing the residents of neighboring Aventine Hill, he was finally defeated by the hero Hercules.
The Palatine is site of the festival of the Lupercalia, derived from the Lupercal, the cave where Romulus the mythical founder of Rome, and his twin brother Remus were found and raised by the she-wolf.
Regarded as one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in the city because of its mythical association, central location, spectacular views of the city, cooler summer temperature and cleaner air, the Palatine was the site of the residences of many affluent Romans of the Republican period (c.509 BC – 44 BC) and, during the Empire (27 BC – 476 AD), was the site of the palaces, now in ruins, of Emperors Tiberius (14 – 37 AD) and Domitian (81 – 96 AD).
The emperor Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) was born on the Palatine. He later lived there in luxury, with his wife Livia (58 BC – 29 AD). The remains of the House of Augustus and the House of Livia, with some of the most impressive ancient art in the city, are beautifully decorated with colorful frescoes. Beside his own palace, Augustus also built a temple to Apollo. Situated near the House of Livia is the temple of Cybele, currently not fully excavated and not open to the public. Cut into the side of the hill behind this structure is the so-called House of Tiberius.
In 41 AD, the 28 year old Emperor Caligula was assassinated in the cryptoporticus, a a semi-subterranean, barrel-vaulted corridor of about 130 m. beneath the palaces on the Palatine, stabbed up to 30 times by his loyal guard who responded by indiscriminately slaughtering anyone (including innocent bystanders) who were nearby.
During the Middle Ages, convents and churches (the oratory of Caesarius, Santa Anastasia, Santa Lucia, San Sebastiano) were built over the remains of older buildings of the Palatine, and the noble Frangipani family used them, along with the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine, to create a fortified stronghold.
In 1550, during the Renaissance Period, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese purchased a section of the Palatine and created beautiful Farnese Gardens, the first private botanical gardens in Europe. Featuring a nymphaeum, an aviary, a tree-shaded park of terraces, lawns, flowerbeds, pavilions, fountains and a wealth of art, over time it fell into disuse but some parts can still be visited today.

The Palatine Hill, and the Forum Romanum beneath it, is now a large open-air museum. Using the same ticket as the Colosseum, we visited it via the entrance on Via di San Gregorio, the street just beyond the Arch of Constantine, going away from the Colosseum.

Check out “Colosseum” and “Arch of Constantine“

Jandy and Grace at the Via di San Gregorio entrance

Overlooking the Roman Forum is the enormous Flavian Palace (also known as the Domus Flavia or the Domus Augustana) which was built, extended and modified largely during the reigns of Vespasian, Titus and Domitian of the Flavian dynasty (69 – 96). This palace, which extends across the Palatine Hill, looks out over the Circus Maximus, a huge structure which could accommodate 300,000 spectators. During the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus (146 – 211), the imposing brick building of the greater part of the palace visible from the Circus was undertaken.

Domus Severiana

The 621 m. (2,037 ft.) long and 118 m. (387 ft.) wide Hippodrome of Domitian or Stadium, which could accommodate 150,000 spectators, was built between AD 81 and 96. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, immediately adjacent to the Flavian palace of Severus, it is the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire.

House of Livia

House of Augustus

Temple Antoninus

The Hippodrome has the appearance of a Roman Circus (its name means “circus” in Greek) but is too small to accommodate chariots. Hippodromes, originally areas for exercising horses, were later used, in Rome, to describe elongated rectangular gardens or as a Greek stadium that is a venue for foot races. The tower is part of a medieval fortification

Circus Maximus

During the Severan period, it was used for sporting events and, while it is certain that it was most likely originally built as Domitian’s private stadium-shaped garden, its exact purpose is disputed.

Basilica of Maxentius

Temple of Venus and Rome

Antiquarium Forense

The nearby, small Palatine Museum exhibits Roman statuary (most coming from the Hippodrome) and artifacts dating from before the official foundation of Rome.

Palatine Museum

Claudian Aqueduct

On the eastern side of the Hippodrome is a large exedra decorated with sculptures and fountains commanding views of the garden below.

Farnese Gardens

Aviaries of the Farnese Gardens

Palatine Hill: Piazza di Santa Maria Nova, Rome. Admission: €12 (including admission to the Colosseum and Roman Forum). Tickets to the House of Augustus and House of Livia need to be booked separately and in advance.

How to Get There: Located close to the Colosseum and Roman Forum, the area around Palatine is walking distance from the Circus Maximus and Piazza Venezia. Well-served by public transport, lots of buses, such as the 75 and 87, stop near the Colosseum and it is also a short walk from the Colosseo (Line B) metro station. If going to Palatine by bus or taxi, keep in mind that the Via dei Fori Imperiali (the road connecting Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum), is mainly closed to traffic on Saturdays and Sundays.

This travel blog, a diary of the author’s local and international travels, aims to provide the reader with news and information on people, places and events that would interest the avid traveler and tourist. But, it also aims to be much more, providing insights on the wonders of this beautiful country, as well as the world, beyond the strict confines of the city. Have a BLAST seeing old churches, exotic temples, educational museums as well as palm-fringed islands; white sand beaches; thundering waterfalls; placid lakes; fiery sunsets; turquoise seas; cathedral-like caves; swirling rivers; majestic mountains; stupendous, amphitheater-like rice terraces; awesome volcanoes and the like. Get to know the movers and shakers in the tourism industry; find out where to titillate the palate; rejuvenate your body; feed your adrenalin, unwind and relax; satisfy your craving for history and culture; and find out what's being celebrated and where.

BENJAMIN “BENJIE” LAYUG, an architect by profession (he finished his B. S. Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982), is also a copy editor for two publishing houses; travel writer; blogger; architectural historian; author; concert. movie and musical reviewer (for www.pep.ph); and a motivational speaker.

As a free-lance travel writer, he has, in the past, contributed articles to Travel Update, Philippine Daily Inquirer, COLORS, TODAY, 7107 Islands Magazine, Business Day and Bluprint. He currently writes for Artplus Magazine and the Business Mirror.

He is also the author of the following travel books:

A Philippine Odyssey (New Day Publishers, 2005)
Pathfinder’s Travel Guide: Boracay (Great Books Trading, 2006)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches (New Day Publishers, 2007)
A Tourist to Notable Philippine Historical Landmarks, Monuments and Shrines (New Day Publishers, 2010)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Museums (New Day Publishers, 2012)

Some of his books now appear in the local library shelves of the National Library of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Sto. Tomas, U.P. Diliman, Centro Escolar University, San Sebastian College, Miriam College, Silliman University, to name a few, as well as internationally at the National Library of Australia and the University of California Berkeley Library.

Now a senior citizen, he is probably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, active travel blogger in the country today. He also has a lifestyle blog called F.Y.I.:Firing Your Imagination (www.firingyourimagination.blogspot.com). Benjie has traveled to two-thirds (53) of the country’s 81 provinces and over 20 countries in 4 continents.

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