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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 November 2009.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

S. Maria in Monticelli (Book 6) (Day7) (View C8) (Rione Regola)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 S. Maria in Monticelli
 Palazzo Paniza
 Palazzo Santacroce
 Case di S. Paolo

The Plate (No. 112)

S. Maria in Monticelli

The view shows a part of Rione Regola which, although being very close to the river, was not affected by floods, because it was located on a small mound (monticelli = small mountains).
The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) S. Maria in Monticelli; 2) Palazzo del Marchese Paniza; 3) Palazzo Santacroce near S. Carlo ai Catinari. The small map also shows; 4) Case di S. Paolo and 5) S. Carlo ai Catinari.

Small ViewSmall Map

Today

The view today
(left) The view in April 2009; (centre/right) the bell tower

The street shown in the left part of the plate ended at la Regola, a beach on the Tiber. The redesign of the river banks impacted on the street which is now a dead end; in 1913 the construction of a huge building housing the Ministry of Justice led to demolishing the houses opposite the church. The bell tower was built in the XIIth century and it was taller, but the two upper storeys were pulled down in the early XVIIth century; its lower part has been stripped of its XVIIIth century facing.

S. Maria in Monticelli

S. Maria in Monticelli
(left) Detail of the façade; (centre) coat of arms of Cardinal Annibale Albani, nephew of Pope Clement XI in the porch; (right) detail of the railing in the porch


S. Maria in Monticelli is a very old church, but it was almost entirely rebuilt in the XIIth; in 1715 a major restoration was promoted by Pope Clement XI. The new façade was designed by Matteo Sassi and it had a (lost) coat of arms of the pope at its top; the heraldic symbols of the pope however can be seen in some details of the decoration.

Palazzo Paniza

Palazzo Paniza
(left) Overall view; (right-above) detail of the decoration; (right-below) detail of a portal of a small palace near Palazzo Paniza

Palazzo Paniza, designed in 1694 by Simone Felice Delino is an interesting late XVIIth century building with an elaborate relief in the portal. Vasi names it after a Marquis Paniza, but there is not such a family in the directory of the Roman noble families; the surname is typical of northern Italy, so maybe Marquis Paniza rented the building on a temporary basis.

Palazzo Santacroce

Palazzo Santacroce
(left/centre) Palazzo Santacroce; (right) fountain in the former garden

The Santacroce were one of the oldest families of Rome; they had their houses near S. Carlo ai Catinari where they built an elegant Renaissance palace. They acquired great wealth in the late XVIth century thanks to Cardinal Prospero Santacroce who introduced the use of tobacco in the Papal State. His heirs played a major role in its merchandising and in 1598 they were able to start the construction of a large palace; it was completed in 1630-40 by Francesco Peparelli and enlarged in 1670-72 by Giovanni Antonio de' Rossi. The latter also designed an elegant small inner garden.

Palazzo Santacroce
Detail of the main portal opposite S. Carlo ai Catinari


Case di S. Paolo

Case di S. Paolo
Case di S. Paolo


S. Maria in Monticelli is very near S. Paolo alla Regola and a group of medieval houses on the right side of the church are called Case di S. Paolo; several granite columns taken from ancient buildings were used to build their porches; they now house offices of the adjoining Ministry of Justice.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa e Convento di s. Maria in Monticelli
Prese un tal nome questa antichissima chiesa dal monticello, sopra cui si alza tanto, che nell'anno 1598. inondando il Tevere per questi contorni la notte del s. Natale, questa restò illesa. Della sua fondazione altro non si fa, se non che l'an. 1120. tu ristaurata e consagrata da Pasquale II. osservandosene i mosaici nella tribuna e le colonne di granito, ora nascoste ne' pilastri, per l'ultima ristaurazione fatta da Clemente XI. Fu collegiata insigne, ma poi essendo unita a quella di s. Lorenzo in Damaso, rimase quì solamente la cura della parrocchia, e da Benedetto XIII. fu conceduta ai Preti della Dottrina Cristiana. Sono in questa i corpi di s. Mamiliano Arcivescovo di Palermo, s. Golbodeo. s. Procolo, san Eustozio, e s. Ninfa; Martiri; e vi sono delle pitture riguardevoli.
Palazzo Santacroce
Scendendo poi per la via a sinistra, si vede quello magnifico palazzo con una sa piazza, il quale ora si proseguisce con uguale disegno, verso la chiesa di s. Carlo a' Catenari. E' da notarsi, che nel fare i fondamenti di quest'ultima aggiunta fu scoperta una colonna di granito egizio di grossezza uguale a quelle del Panteon, con alcuni frammenti di iscrizioni; similimente anni sono cavandosi i fondamenti della casa del forno, che sta nel cantone incontro, fu trovata una gran conca di granito, e piedistallo compagno, quali ora si vedono nella villa Albani.

Next plate in Book 6: Chiesa di S. Eustachio
Next step in Day 7 itinerary: Piazza Giudia
Next step in your tour of Rione Regola: Piazza Giudia