Via di Monserrato is a rather narrow street and the churches are exposed to sunlight only in the period near the summer solstice; Vasi showed S. Girolamo della Carità in the afternoon, but in that period of the day the church is shaded by the opposite building, so the image above was taken in the morning; in order to show both S. Caterina della Ruota and Palazzo Cieco it is necessary to wait for a winter day having a soft light.
Apart from this analysis of the difference between engraving and taking photos and without noticing the parked cars this corner of Rome is "as it was".

S. Girolamo della Carità

In 1524 an old church dedicated to S. Girolamo was assigned by Pope Clement VII to Arciconfraternita della Carità, a brotherhood he had founded when he was a cardinal; its members mainly belonged to the Florentine community and S. Filippo Neri (who came from Florence) lived in the adjoining hospital for many years.
In 1647, thanks to a substantial legacy by one of its members, the brotherhood started a total renovation of the church with the assistance of Domenico Castelli (until his death in 1657) and of Carlo Rainaldi.

Cappella Spada in S. Girolamo della Carità

The chapel of the Spada family was thoroughly redesigned by Virgilio Spada, brother of Cardinal Bernardino Spada, who commissioned Francesco Borromini some improvements to his palace; because of this link some believe that Borromini was involved in the design of the chapel. All the statues are works by pupils of Gian Lorenzo Bernini: two angels by Antonio Giorgetti hold a long marble cloth: they seem to block the access to the chapel, but the wings of the angel to the right are made of wood and are movable (for more baroque angels click here).

Cappella Antamoro in S. Girolamo della Carità

The Sicilian architect Filippo Juvarra came to Rome in 1703 at the age of 25; in the nine years he spent in Rome he had only one opportunity to show his skills. The Antamoro were very wealthy, but definitely not a major Roman family. Their chapel (dedicated to S. Filippo Neri) was very small, but Juvarra, who had studied the masterpieces of both Borromini and Bernini, made excellent use of the limited spaced; the stucco and gold decoration recalls the ceiling of il Gesù.
During his stay in Rome Juvarra published a book of engravings showing the finest coats of arms of the Popes; he then left the city for Turin where he was able to express his talent (see his masterpiece: Basilica di Superga).

S. Caterina della Ruota

This medieval church was redesigned in the XVIth century while its façade is an XVIIIth century work; in origin it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to distinguish it from the others it was called S. Maria in Caterina, perhaps the name of the founder; over time the exact meaning of this reference was lost and the church ended by being dedicated to S. Caterina della Ruota, i.e. St. Catherine of Alexandria or of the Wheel, after the instrument of her martyrdom (S. Caterina dei Funari is another church dedicated to this saint).
The interior houses an inscription celebrating Giuseppe Vasi which was dictated by his son Mariano. There is a reference to Palermo (Panormo) (he was born in Corleone, a town near Palermo) he is described as an architect, sculptor, painter and then his work as etcher is mentioned. Vasi was buried in S. Gregorio ai Quattro Capi. In the background of this page you can see Vasi's coat of arms.
The very fine wooden ceiling of the church was moved here from a chapel in Collegio Ecclesiastico at Ponte Sisto when this building was pulled down in 1883.

S. Tommaso di Canterbury

Opposite S. Caterina della Ruota there is the church of S. Tommaso di Canterbury (St. Thomas Becket). A house with a church for the English pilgrims was built here in 1363. The buildings were modified and enlarged several times; in 1654 the Jesuits in charge of Collegio Inglese (the English Seminar) bought Corte Savella, one of the prisons of Rome, which stood next to their property and in 1685 they completed the construction of a new seminar, a very large building; also the bell tower was built at that time (it clearly shows the influence of Borromini). The reason for this major effort was due to the action of Cardinal Philip Thomas Howard, known as the Cardinal of Norfolk; he hoped to promote the conversion of his country by increasing the number of English Roman Catholic priests who had the opportunity of receiving an in-depth education.
In 1798 the church was occupied by French troops and it was turned into a stable and later on it was damaged by a fire. It was almost entirely rebuilt in the late XIXth century; the entrance to the church from Piazza S. Caterina della Ruota is a neo Romanesque work by Pietro Camporese (click here for a list of national churches in Rome). The interior retains an XVIIIth century monument to Sir Thomas Dereham, a close friend of James Frances Edward Stuart (James III of England and James VIII of Scotland). The monument was designed in 1739 by Ferdinando Fuga. The two statues representing Religion and Faithfulness are a fine work by Filippo della Valle.

Palazzo Mastrozzi

Palazzo Mastrozzi is a late XVIIth century palace with a very elaborate stucco decoration; it was a palazzo da appartamenti, a building split into flats which were rented (for more about this kind of buildings click here).

The windows were decorated with a variety of subjects (shells, masks, young women, etc.) and not with the heraldic symbols of the family owning the palace. Palazzo Mastrozzi, as many other more or less famous buildings of Rome, was recently repainted using the lighter tints which were in fashion in the XVIIIth century.
Vasi mentions in the plate also a XVIIth century small palace (Palazzo cieco) with a fine portal. He calls it cieco (blind) because the portal was walled (and still is).

S. Maria in Monserrato

(left) Overall view; (right) detail of the relief above the entrance

S. Maria in Monserrato is another of the "national" churches of Rome and more exactly the church of the Catalans and the Aragonese (click here for a list of national churches in Rome). It is dedicated to Monserrat, the sanctuary near Barcelona which means sawed mountain, thus Giovanni Battista Contini (a scholar of Bernini) showed the Infant Jesus sawing a rock. The façade was initiated by Francesco da Volterra in 1593, Giovanni Battista Contini completed the lower part in 1675, whilst the upper part was completed in the XIXth century.
You may wish to see the building as it appeared in a 1588 Guide to Rome.
A little monument contains the mixed ashes of the two Borgia popes.

S. Giovanni in Ayno

(above-left) Overall view; (above-right) sacred image on the adjoining building; (below) inscription on the portal

This little church was deconsecrated in the XIXth century and all the internal decoration is lost. The reference to Ayno has never been explained. It existed already in the XIIth century and it was larger than today; in the XVIth century it was downsized to make room for Palazzo Ricci and then rebuilt by a certain Giusto Bonanni from S. Gimignano in Tuscany; the rectorate was located in the adjoining building which is decorated with a fine "madonnella".

Palazzo Ricci

(left) Overall view; (right) details of the graffiti

Palazzo Ricci is named after Giulio Ricci, who bought it in 1577; the palace was built in the XVth century and its decoration is due to Polidoro da Caravaggio, a pupil of Raphael, who became famous for being able to paint entire buildings; it must be said that in 1525 when he worked at this palace he was in his twenties so he was full of energy; after the Sack of Rome (1527) he left the city and went to Naples and Sicily where he reverted to traditional painting. Most of his Roman works are lost, but some are known through sketches and engravings (you may wish to see another building decorated by Polidoro in Via della Maschera d'Oro). The remaining paintings of Palazzo Ricci were recently restored: they show episodes of the history of Ancient Rome.

Courtyards and Madonnelle

Courtyards: (left) Palazzo D'Aste Pericoli Sterbini; (right) and Palazzo Incoronati Sacripante

Via di Monserrato provides additional material for the pages on the Fountains in the Courtyards of Rome and on the Roman madonnelle.

(left) Near Palazzo Ricci; (centre) opposite Palazzo Incoronati; (right-above) in Palazzo Podocatari; (right-below) Roman inscription at the end of Via di Monserrato stating that Emperor Claudius enlarged the "pomerium" (the sacred boundary) of the City of Rome

Casa di Pietro Paolo della Zecca

(left) Overall view: on the left Via del Pellegrino and on the right Via di Monserrato; (right) details of the graffiti in Via del Pellegrino; (inset) coat of arms of the Habsburgs

Another Renaissance painted building is the house of Pietro Paolo Francisci, called della Zecca (Mint) as he was in charge of the mint during the pontificate of Pope Paul II (1464-71). It was painted with scenes related to Clelia, the legendary Roman girl who escaped from the enemy camp and returned to Rome crossing the Tiber near the point where the house was built. The paintings are lost, but the building is still interesting for its design at the junction between Via del Pellegrino and Via di Monserrato.
Pietro Paolo della Zecca hosted in his home Eleanor of Portugal who married in 1462 the Austrian Emperor Frederic III of Habsburg: in memory of the event a relief with the Habsburg's double-headed eagle was walled on the right side of the building. In the XIXth century however the double-headed eagle became a symbol of the Austrian domination in Italy and soon after 1870, when Rome became the capital of Italy, the relief was moved to the courtyard of S. Maria dell'Anima. The letters AEIOU below the eagle stand for Austriae Est Imperare Orbi Universo (it is the role of Austria to rule over the whole world). You may wish to see some pages on Vienna, the City of the Last Roman Emperors.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:

Chiesa di s. Caterina della Ruota Molto antica e ricca dovette essere questa piccola chiesa, poichè del 1166. fu da Alessandro III. unita al Capitolo di s. Pietro. Dicevasi prima s. Maria in Caterina, e s. Maria e Caterina, e però in essa fu trasportata la statua di detta Santa, che era nell'antichissimo monastero, atterrato per la fabbrica dell'Anfiteatro Vaticano, e prese il titolo di s. Caterina della Ruota, a distinzione di quella di Siena. Sono in essa delle pitture a fresco del Muziani, e di altri. Chiesa di s. Girolamo della Carità A destra è questa venerabile chiesa eretta, come si crede, nella casa di s. Paola matrona Romana, perchè vi abitasse per qualche tempo il s. Dottore. Fu già collegiata, e poi vi stettero i frati Osservanti di s. Francesco fino all'anno 1519. allorchè Leone X. la concedè alla confraternita della Carità, la quale esercita varie opere di misericordia verso i poveri, specialmente co' poveri carcerati pagando loro le spese della carcerazione, e tenendo un Avvocato, ed un Curiale per le loro difese, anco civili. Mantiene per servigio della chiesa alcuni Preti dotti ed esemplari, fra' quali si annovera s. Filippo Neri, che vi abitò 33.anni, e si conserva ancora la sua stanza, in cui operò molti prodigj, e conversò con s. Carlo Borromeo, con s. Ignazio di Lojola, e con s. Felice Cappuccino, onde è ridotta ora in cappella ornata di marmi e di pitture. Fu rinnovata la chiesa l'anno 1660. col disegno di Domenico Castelli; il prospetto però fu fatto a spese di Fantino Renzi, il quale fece ancora l'altare maggiore con architettura del Cav. Rainaldi, ornato di marmi, di metalli, e di pietre dure, in cui è il famoso quadro di s. Girolamo dipinto dal Domenichino. La cappella a destra ornata tutta di marmi, metalli, e stucchi dorati, è disegno del Cav. Javarra, e la statua di s. Filippo Neri è scultura di Monsù le Gros. Le pitture nella cappella dall'altra parte sono di Durante Alberti; le sculture nella cappella accanto alla porta sono di Ercole Ferrata, il quadro di s. Pietro nella cappella incontro è del Muziani; il s. Carlo Borromeo nell'altra cappella è di un Torinese, e quello nell'oratorio annesso è del Romanelli. Indi passeremo alla vicina Chiesa di s. Tommaso degli Inglesi Fu questa da prima dedicata alla ss. Trinità, secondo che si legge, da Offa Re d'Inghilterra l'an. 630. e vi era unito uno spedale per i pellegrini di quella nazione: ma essendo dipoi cambiato da Gregorio XIII. in collegio di studenti della medesima nazione, il Card. di Nortfolche nel 1575. rifabricollo di nuovo, e si vedono nella sala i ritratti di alcuni, che nelle persecuzioni di Enrico VIII. e della Regina Elisabetta furono fatti morire. Quindi voltando a destra, evvi dopo pochi passi la Chiesa di s. Maria di Monferrato, e di s. Giovanni in Aino I nazionali di Aragona avevano fin dall'an. 1350. quì presso uno spedale; ma poi nel 1495. unendosi con quei di Catalogna, e di Valenza edificarono questa chiesa in onore della santissima Vergine sotto il titolo di Monteferrato, che si venera in Catalogna. Antonio da Sangallo ne fece il disegno, fuor che il prospetto, rimaso perciò non compito. Carlo V. affinchè restasse provvisto lo spedale, si assegnò 500. ducati annui nel Regno di Napoli, e però vi sta un convitto di Preti di quelle nazioni, che ufiziano la chiesa ancora. Poco più oltre evvi la piccola chiesa parrocchiale di s. Gio. in Aino, ed appresso il palazzo Ricci colla facciata ornata di pitture in chiaro e scuro fatte dal celebre Polidoro, e Maturino da Caravaggio, ma ridotte in stato quasi invisibile.

Next plate in Book 6: S. Maria in Monticelli
Next step in Day 7 itinerary: Palazzo Sacchetti
Next step in your tour of Rione Regola: Palazzo Montoro