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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in May 2011.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

In and About Viterbo S. Martino al Cimino
(Papal Loggia in Viterbo)

View of S. Martino al Cimino
View of S. Martino al Cimino; (inset) detail of the bell tower weathervane showing a dove, the heraldic symbol of the Pamphilj

S. Martino al Cimino, a few miles south of Viterbo, was a small medieval village around an abandoned Cistercian abbey when in 1645 Pope Innocent X donated it to Olimpia Maidalchini, the widow of his elder brother Pamphilio Pamphilj.

Inscriptions in the Cathedral
Details of the gravestone of Donna Olimpia Maidalchini in S. Martino

Olimpia Maidalchini was given the title of Princess of S. Martino and she promoted a radical renovation of the village; with the help of Roman architects she turned it into a small town which is regarded by art historians as an almost intact example of modern urban design. After the death of Pope Innocent X the princess chose to live in her fiefdom, rather than in her Roman palace in Piazza Navona.
Olimpia Maidalchini wanted to be buried in the church of the former abbey; the design of her gravestone reflects the fashion of the time for Memento Mori, symbols of Death.

Main Gate
Main Gate

An imposing gate designed by Francesco Borromini gave access to the new town: the inscription detailed the improvements made by the Pamphilj family: the restoration of the church, the enlargement of the village, the construction of walls and fountains.

Main street leading to the Cathedral and the Pamphilj Palace
Main street leading to S. Martino and to the Pamphilj Palace

The design of the new town was commissioned to Marcantonio De Rossi, who was chiefly a military architect having designed the walls between Porta Portese and Porta S. Pancrazio and the two gates.

XVIIth century urban development
(left) Houses for the ordinary inhabitants; (right) door with the house number carved on the lintel

The houses built by De Rossi for the princess' subjects may seem today rather uninviting because of the repetitiveness of their design, but at the time of their construction they were regarded with envy by the inhabitants of the other small towns around Viterbo, who often lived in houses cut into the rock, such as those which can be seen at Blera.

S. Martino
S. Martino: (left) façade; (right) apse

IXth century records indicate that a Benedictine monastery existed in the area of S. Martino, but the abbey and the church were built in the early XIIIth century by the Cistercian Order which originated from France, hence the dedication to St. Martin of Tours; the two bell towers were added in the XVIIth century; some sources attribute them to Borromini, other sources to De Rossi.

Interior of S. Martino
S. Martino: interior

The interior maintains most of its original character, although its Gothic aspect is more evident in the side naves, one of which can be seen in the image used as background for this page.

Interior of S. Martino
S. Martino: (left) coat of arms of Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini who promoted a restoration of the church in 1503, shortly before becoming Pope Pius III; (right) railing surrounding the baptismal font, most likely designed by Gabriele Valvassori, the architect of the Pamphilj in the first half of the XVIIIth century (see a similar railing on the rear façade of Villa Aldobrandini)

After the death of Olimpia Maidalchini, the Pamphilj rarely visited their fiefdom and they made only minor additions to the church.

Palazzo Pamphili
(left) A small section of the cloister of the Cistercian monastery; (right) Palazzo Pamphilj

In the XVth century the Cistercian Order almost abandoned S. Martino and eventually in 1564 the monastery was closed; while the church was restored by the Pamphilj, parts of the monastery and of its ancillary buildings were incorporated into a modern palace; a small section of the cloister can still be seen between the church and the palace. Marcantonio De Rossi designed an unusually void of decorations building for the princess; he even re-employed one of the old entrances of the monastery, although its design did not match that of the palace.

Palazzo Pamphili
Palazzo Pamphilj: "cordonata"

De Rossi designed a very practical internal cordonata, a sloping road which allowed the princess to reach her apartments on a mule; by tradition the popes rode a mule on important occasions such as the procession to S. Giovanni in Laterano which followed their election; in general riding mules was not regarded as unsuited for people of high social standing.

Walls and towers
Walls and towers

The walls of S. Martino were not meant for defence against an army, but just as a security measure against bands of brigands. In order to reduce costs De Rossi designed them so that they also served as walls of the houses (the windows were opened when defence needs subsided).

Rear Gate
(left) Rear gate; (right) gate giving access to the area between Palazzo Pamphilj and S. Martino

The design of the rear gate, which was mainly used by the Princess' farmers to go to work, is very similar to the portal of a villa, rather than to an urban gate; a second and more elaborate gate gave access to Palazzo Pamphilj.

The gates
Coats of arms: (left) S. Martino; (right) main gate

The coat of arms of S. Martino is almost identical to that of Pope Urban VIII at Palazzo Barberini which according to Filippo Juvarra was designed by Francesco Borromini; also the coat of arms of the main gate is attributed to Borromini.


In and about Viterbo - other pages:
Viterbo
Bagnaia
Bagnoregio
Bomarzo
Orte and Vasanello
S. Maria della Querce
Tuscania
Vitorchiano

Pages on towns of Latium other than Rome In the Duchy of Castro: Farnese, Ischia di Castro, Valentano, Gradoli, Capodimonte, Marta In Maremma: Corneto (Tarquinia), Montalto, Canino A Pilgrim's Way: Via Francigena: Acquapendente, Bolsena, Montefiascone In and about Viterbo: Viterbo, Bagnoregio, S. Martino al Cimino, Tuscania, Bomarzo, S. Maria della Querce, Bagnaia, Orte, Vasanello, Vitorchiano From Civitavecchia to Civita Castellana: Civitavecchia, Tolfa, Allumiere, Oriolo Romano, Capranica, Sutri, Bassano, Monterosi, Nepi, Castel d'Elia, Civita Castellana From Bracciano to Viterbo: Manziana, Canale Monterano, Vejano, Barbarano, Blera, Vetralla Around Monte Cimino: Ronciglione, Caprarola, Carbognano, Fabrica, Corchiano, Vignanello, Vallerano, Soriano The Bracciano Lake: Bracciano, Trevignano, Anguillara At the foot of Monte Soratte: S. Oreste, Rignano, Faleria Land of the Romans' wives: Montopoli, Poggio Mirteto, Casperia, Cantalupo, Roccantica Sentinels on the Highway: Fiano Romano, Civitella S. Paolo, Nazzano, Torrita Tiberina, Filacciano, Ponzano Along Via Aurelia: Palidoro, Palo, S. Severa and S. Marinella A Walk to Malborghetto: Prima Porta, Malborghetto Branching off Via Cassia: S. Maria di Galeria, Formello, Isola Farnese To Nomentum and beyond: Mentana, Monterotondo, Palombara A Walk to Ponte di Nona: ancient monuments along Via Prenestina Via Appia Antica A short and delicious digression: Tivoli, Montecompatri, Monte Porzio Catone, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Marino, Castelgandolfo, Albano, Ariccia, Genzano, Velletri, Nemi, Rocca di Papa, Rocca Priora, Civita Lavinia (Lanuvio), Porto, Ostia Where the painters found their models: Anticoli Corrado, Castelmadama, Vicovaro, Arsoli Subiaco The Roman Campagna: Palestrina, Genazzano, Paliano, Anagni The Ernici Mountains: Ferentino, Alatri The Volsci Mountains: Valmontone, Colonna, Segni, Norma, Cori On the Latin Shores: Anzio, Nettuno, Torre Astura On the edge of the marsh: Sermoneta, Sezze, Priverno Circe's Cape: S. Felice, Terracina Veroli Branching off Via Flaminia: Riano, Castelnuovo di Porto, Morlupo, Leprignano (Capena)

Latium was enlarged in the 1920s with territories from the neighbouring regions: the map on the left shows the current borders of Latium; the map on the right has links to pages covering towns of historical Latium: in order to see them you must hover and click on the dots.