|
Tempio di Vesta
The Temple of Hercules Victor or Hercules Olivarius, also known
as Tempio di Vesta, is an ancient edifice located in the Forum Boarium
in Rome. It is is a monopteros, a round temple of Greek 'peripteral'
design (surrounded by colonnades on all sides). This layout caused
many to mistake it for a temple of Vesta, but it has been determined
to be a temple of Hercules. Hercules was a favorite divinity for
traders, so it is appropriate that it would be in a forum.
Dating from about 120 BC, the temple is 14.8m
in diameter and consists of a circular cella within a concentric
ring of 20 x 10.66 m tall Corinthian columns resting on a tuff foundation.
These elements supported an architrave and roof which have disappeared.
The original wall of the cella and the columns remain but the current
tile roof was added later. Palladio suggested a dome, though this
was apparently erroneous. The temple is the earliest surviving marble
building in Rome.
By 1132 the temple had been converted to a church,
known as St. Stephen 'of the carriages'. Additional restorations
(and a fresco over the altar) were made in 1475. A plaque in the
floor was dedicated by Sixtus IV. In the 17th Century the church
was renamed St. Mary 'of the Sun'.
This temple and the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli
inspired the centralized churches of the Renaissance.
Despite (or perhaps due to) the Forum Boarium's
role as the cattle-market for ancient Rome, the Temple of Hercules
is the object of a folk tale claiming that neither flies nor dogs
will enter the holy place.
The temple was recognized officially as an ancient
monument in 1935.
San Giorgio al Velabro
San Giorgio in Velabro is a basilica church in Rome, devoted to
St. George and located on the ancient Roman Velabrum. The current
basilica was built during the 7th century, possibly by Pope Leo
II, who dedicated it to Saint Sebastian. The basilica was inside
the Greek quarter of Rome, where Greek-speaking merchants, civil
and military officers and monks of the Byzantine Empire lived. Pope
Zachary (741-752), who was of Greek origin, moved the relic of St.
George to this basilica from Cappadocia, so that this saint had
a basilica dedicated in the West well before the spreading of his
worship with the return of the Crusaders from the East. After a
restoration of Pope Gregory IV (9th century), the basilica received
the addition of the portico and of the tower bell in the first half
of the 13th century. The apsis was decorated with frescoes by Pietro
Cavallini in the 13th century.
Between 1923 and 1926, the Superintendent of Monuments of Rome,
Antonio Muñoz, completed a more radical restoration programme,
with the aim of restoring the building's "medieval character"
and freeing it from later additions. This was done by returning
the floor to its original level (and so exposing the column bases)
reopening the ancient windows that gave light to the central nave,
restoring the apsis, and generally removing numerous accretions
from the other most recent restorations. During this process, fragments
(now displayed on the basilica's internal walls) were found indicating
a schola cantorum on the site, attributed to the period of Gregory
IV.
Arco di Giano
The Arch of Janus is the only quadrifrons triumphal
arch preserved in Rome, across a crossroads in the Velabrum-Forum
Boarium. It was built in the early 4th century of spolia, possibly
in honour of Constantine I or Constantius II. Its current name is
probably from the Renaissance or later and is not ancient. The name
is derived from its four-fronted, four-arched structure.
In the Middle Ages, the Frangipane family transformed
the building into a fortress and so it survived intact up until
1830. Then the attic and top were torn down because they were erroneously
believed not to belong to the original structure. Fragments of the
dedicatory inscription are still preserved inside the nearby church
of San Giorgio al Velabro.
Teatro Marcello
The Theatre of Marcellus (Latin: Theatrum Marcelli; Italian: Teatro
di Marcello) is an ancient edifice in the rione of Sant'Angelo,
Rome, providing one of the city's many popular spectacles or tourist
sites. It was named after Marcus Marcellus, Emperor Augustus's nephew,
who died five years before its completion. Space for the theatre
was cleared by Julius Caesar, who was murdered before it could be
begun; the theatre was so far advanced by 17 BC that part of the
celebration of the ludi saeculares took place within the theatre;
it was completed in 13 BC and formally inaugurated in 12 BC by Augustus.
The theatre was 111 m in diameter; it could originally hold 11,000
spectators. It was an impressive example of what was to become one
of the most pervasive urban architectural forms of the Roman world.
The theatre was built mainly of tuff, cement and opus reticulatum
brickwork, completely sheathed in white travertine. The network
of arches, corridors, tunnels and ramps that gave access to the
interiors of such Roman theaters were normally ornamented with a
screen of engaged columns in Greek orders: Doric at the base, Ionic
in the middle. It is believed that Corinthian columns were used
for the upper level but this is uncertain as the theater was reconstructed
in the Middle Ages, removing the top tier of seating and the columns.
Like other Roman theaters in suitable locations, it had openings
through which the natural setting could be seen, in this case the
Tiber Island to the southwest. The permanent setting, the scaena,
also rose to the top of the cavea as in other Roman theaters.
The name templum Marcelli still clung to the ruins in 998. In the
Early Middle Ages the Teatro di Marcello was used as a fortress
of the Fabii and then at the end of the 11th century, by Pier Leoni
and later his heirs (the Pierleoni). The Savelli held it in the
13th century. Later, in the 16th century, the residence of the Orsini,
designed by Baldassare Peruzzi, was built atop the ruins of the
ancient theatre.
Now the upper portion is divided into multiple
apartments, and its surroundings are used as a venue for small summer
concerts; the Portico d'Ottavia lies to the north west leading to
the Roman Ghetto and the Tiber to the south west.
In the 17th century, the renowned English architect Sir Christopher
Wren explicitly acknowledged that his design for the Sheldonian
Theatre in Oxford was influenced by Serlio's engraving of the Theatre
of Marcellus.
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Santa Maria in Cosmedin (or de Schola Graeca) is a basilica church
in Rome.
The church was built in the 6th century over the remains of the
Templum Herculis Pompeiani in the Forum Boarium and of the Statio
annonae, one of the food distribution centres of ancient Rome (another
is to be found at theatre of Balbus). A deaconry was a place where
charity distributions were given to the poor, and it looks likely
that such an institution would have been built near the Roman annona.
Since it was located near many Byzantine structures, in 7th century
this church was called de Schola Graeca, and a close street is still
called della Greca. Greek monks escaping iconoclastic persecutions
decorated the church around 782, when pope Adrian I promoted its
reconstruction; the church was built with three naves and a portico.
Because of its beauty, the church received the adjective cosmedin
(from Greek kosmidion), beautiful. A sacristy and an oratory dedicated
to St. Nicholas were added in the 9th century, by order of Pope
Nicholas I, who also built a papal residence, but they were removed
in 1085 by Robert Guiscard's Norman troops. It was in Santa Maria
in Cosmedin that were elected the popes Gelasius II (who had been
Cardinal Deacon of Titulus S. Mariae in Cosmedin), Celestine III,
and the antipope Benedict XIII (Cardinal Deacon of this church).
A substantial restoration was accomplished in 1118-1124 under Alfanus,
camerarius of Pope Callixtus II. After being acquired by Benedictines
and a period of decay, in 1718 the church was brought up to a Baroque
style, mainly expressed by a new façade, by Giuseppe Sardi
in 1718. The Baroque additions, however, were removed in the restoration
of 1894-1899 together with the coat-of-arms of Pope Clement XI.
Among the former titular deacons of the church is Reginald Cardinal
Pole, the last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury.
The church draws many visitors because of la Bocca della Verità,
an ancient sculpture thought to be a drain covering, located in
its portico; yet is in fact primarily worth visiting for its exceptionally
well preserved early medieval choir enclosure and its very fine
Cosmatesque pavement. Its bell tower is the tallest medieval belfry
in Rome.
The current interior has a nave with two aisles: these are divided
by four pilasters and eighteen ancient columns. In the side walls
some of the old columns of the Statio Annonae are included. Other
fragments of the ancient building can be seen in crypt. Paintings
from 8th-12th centuries, in three layers, are preserved in the upper
part of the nave and in triumphal arch. The Schola cantorum is from
the 13th century, while the main altar is a red granite piece from
1123. The Easter candelabrum is also from the 13th century.
The sacristy houses a precious 8th century mosaic fragment brought
here from the Old St. Peter's Basilica. Of the 18th century restoration,
the Crucifix Chapel and the Baptistry can be seen today.
Portico d'Ottavia
The Porticus Octaviae (portico of Octavia; Italian: Portico di Ottavia)
is an ancient structure in Rome.
Built by Augustus in the name of his sister, Octavia Minor, at some
time after 27 BC,[1] in place of the Porticus Metelli, the porticus
enclosed within its colonnaded walks the temples of Jupiter Stator
and Juno Regina, next to the Theater of Marcellus. It was burned
in 80 and restored, probably by Domitian, and again after a second
fire in 203 by Septimius Severus and Caracalla. It was adorned with
foreign marble, and contained many famous works of art, ennumerated
in Pliny's Natural History.
Besides the pre-existing temples, the enclosure included a library
erected by Octavia in memory of her son M. Caludius Marcellus, the
curia Octaviae, and a schola. Whether these were different parts
of one building, or entirely different structures, is uncertain.
It was probably in the curia that the senate is recorded as meeting.[3]
The whole is referred to by Pliny the Elder as Octaviae opera.
In the medieval era, it was used as a fish market, which lasted
up to the end of 19th century. this role is remembered by the name
of the annexed church of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria (Italian: "St.
Angelus in the Fish Market").
The portico, which lies in rione Sant'Angelo, represents the center
of the Roman Ghetto.
Sinagoga
The Great Synagogue of Rome (Italian: Tempio
Maggiore di Roma) is the largest synagogue in Rome.
The building was constructed shortly after the
unification of Italy in 1870, when the Kingdom of Italy captured
Rome from the Napoleonic regime, which backed the Papal States.
Victor Emmanuel II dismantled the Roman Ghetto and granted the Jews
citizenship. The building which had previously housed the ghetto
synagogue (a complicated structure housing five scolas in a single
building) was demolished, and the Jewish community began making
plans for a new and impressive building.
Designed by Vincenzo Costa and Osvaldo Armanni,
the synagogue was built from 1901 to 1904 on the banks of the Tiber,
overlooking the former ghetto. The eclectic style of the building
makes it stand out even in a city known for notable buildings and
structures. This attention-grabbing design was a deliberate choice
made by the community at the time who wanted the building to be
a visible celebration of their freedom and to be seen from many
vantage points in the city. The aluminium dome is the only squared
dome in the city and makes the building easily identifiable even
from a distance. Plates honor the local Jewish victims of Nazi Germany
and of a Palestine Liberation Organization attack in 1982.
On April 13, 1986, Pope John Paul II made an
unexpected visit to the Great Synagogue. This event marked the first
known visit by a pope to a synagogue since the early history of
the Roman Catholic Church. He prayed with Rabbi Elio Toaff, the
former Chief Rabbi of Rome. This was seen by many as an attempt
to improve relations between Catholicism and Judaism and a part
of Pope John Paul II's program to improve relations with Jews.
The synagogue celebrated its centenary in 2004.
In addition to serving as a house of worship, it is also serves
a cultural and organizational center for la Comunità Ebraica
di Roma (the Jewish community of Rome). It houses not only the offices
of the Chief Rabbi of Rome as well as the Jewish Museum of Rome.
On January 17, 2005, 13 cantors, in conjunction
with the Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of America (the Chazzanim
Farband), performed in a cantorial concert for the first time in
the synagogue's history.
piazza Mattei
Piazza Mattei is one of the most central squares
in Rome. It is named after the one of the noble family families
of Rome- the Mattei family who had extensive property bordering
the square. They were an important family of the Middle Ages who
controlled the left bank of the Tiber river.
The Turtle Fountain or the Fontana delle Tartuge is in the middle
of the piazza. It was commissioned by and built for the Mattei family.
It is one of the most beautiful and elegant fountains in Rome. Between
1581 and 1584 Giacomo della Porta designed it using bronze sculptures
by T. Landini. Originally four dolphins occupied the place of the
four turtles. In 1648 Gian Lorenzo Bernini added the turtles. Unfortunately
the turtles were often stolen and are now replaced by copies. However
three of the original turtles can be found in the Capitoline Museum.
During the 1400's the Jews grouped themselves around the Tiber in
an area around the square, which is presently called Piazza Mattei.
The Mattei family used the Jews to construct important buildings
for trade and commerce in this area. In return they offered them
whatever protection they needed. Between 1555 and 1844 the Turtle
Fountain was the only source of water for the residents of the Jewish
Ghetto nearby. Currently there still remain a few fragments of the
Ghetto near Piazza Mattei.
Fonti: www.wikipedia.org; www.ultimateitaly.com
|
