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Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
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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 April 2010.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

Monastero e Chiesa di San Giuseppe (Book 8) (Map B2) (Day 3) (View C6) (Rione Colonna)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 S. Giuseppe
 S. Andrea delle Fratte
 Palazzo Centini

The Plate (No. 146)

The construction of S. Andrea delle Fratte, on the site of a previous small church, started in 1604, but when Giuseppe Vasi published this etching in 1757 the upper part of the façade was yet to be completed; for this reason he preferred to show the side of the church with the very unusual dome and bell tower by Francesco Borromini. At the time of the etching the area was urbanized, but the references a capo le case (at the end of the houses) and delle fratte (of the thickets) show that it had a rather rural appearance at least until the end of the XVIth century. The shaded area in the 1748 map below indicates that the street leading to S. Giuseppe a Capo le Case was very steep.
The view is taken from the green dot in the map below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Part of Collegio di Propaganda Fide; 2) S. Giuseppe; 3) S. Andrea delle Fratte. 1) is shown in another page. The small map shows also 4) Palazzo Centini.

Small ViewSmall Map

Today

The view today
The view in January 2009

In 1826 the façade of S. Andrea delle Fratte was completed; in the late XIXth century some of the buildings on the left side of the street were modified; apart from these minor changes the urban design of the area is the same as in 1757, notwithstanding the fact that in the meantime the area of Villa Ludovisi, which stood behind S. Giuseppe a Capo le Case, has become a very busy neighbourhood.

S. Giuseppe

The Church of San Giuseppe
The church and the nunnery

The first nunnery founded by St. Theresa of Avila was dedicated to St. Joseph. Francisco Soto, a friend of St. Philip Neri and the translator in Italian of the works by St. Theresa, chose the same dedication for the first Roman nunnery of her order (the Discalced Carmelites). The church and the nunnery were housed in existing buildings until 1628 when the complex was renovated.
The nunnery was confiscated gradually after 1870 and for a while the church was deconsecrated; the works of art it contains as well as the mosaic of the façade are all modern.

S. Andrea delle Fratte

Borromini' dome and campanile
"Dome" and bell tower by Francesco Borromini and details of their decoration

A church dedicated to St. Andrew is recorded in a 1192 list of Roman churches; at a later time it became the national church of the Scottish community in Rome; when the Scots built a new church in Via delle Quattro Fontane S. Andrea delle Fratte was assigned to the Minimi, an order founded in 1474 by St. Francis of Paola.
The construction of a new church started in 1604, but it was only with the help of the Del Bufalo family that it slowly moved forward. The Del Bufalo lived in a palace near the church; in 1653 they commissioned Borromini the completion of the dome; they wanted a traditional hemispherical dome; as a matter of fact the interior of the dome has a very traditional appearance, whereas from the outside its design is very unusual because it is encased in a unique brick structure. The bell tower is isolated from the rest of the building and its design is completely new.

Angel holding the derogatory inscription by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Angel holding the derogatory inscription by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; (right) a painting in the cloister portraying an episode in the life of St. Francis of Paola; the saint repairs a furnace which is on the verge of collapsing without being hurt by the fire

In 1641 Gian Lorenzo Bernini bought a small palace near S. Andrea delle Fratte where he lived and had his studio until his death in 1680; in 1729 his heirs donated to the church two statues that Bernini sculpted for Ponte S. Angelo, but which at the request of Pope Clement IX he retained in his studio at the disposal of Cardinal Giacomo Rospigliosi, nephew of the pope; probably the Rospigliosi had in mind to use the statues for the decoration of one of their palaces or villa, but they never actually asked for them.
S. Andrea delle Fratte houses some very interesting funerary monuments, which you can see in my pages Baroque Tombs showing the dead in a medallion and Baroque Statues in the act of praying.

Palazzo Centini

Palazzetto dei Pupazzi
(left) Palazzo Centini; (right) detail of its decoration

The rich decoration of this small palace is the only work by Francesco Rosa. It was built in 1732-42 and it was in part rented (see my page on flats for rent in XVIIIth century Rome). This explains why the stucco decoration is based on generic symbols, rather than on the heraldic ones of the owners of the building. Owing to the small statues which decorate the main windows the palace is usually called Palazzo dei Pupazzi (puppets).

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa e Monastero di s. Giuseppe a capo le case
Si dice quella chiesa a capo le case, perchè ne secoli trascorsi fin qui non giungeva l'abitato di Roma. Fu eretta con il monastero l'anno 1590. da uno Spagnolo Prete della congregazione dell'Oratorio di Roma per le religiose Carmelitane scalze. Dopo trentotto anni fu rinnovata, ed accresciuta la chiesa dal Card. Marcello Landi, e fu ornata di famosi quadri; quello nel primo altare a destra è opera del Lanfranchi, il quadro nell'altare maggiore è di Andrea Sacchi, e quello del terzo altare è di una Religiosa del medesimo monastero. La s. Teresia dipinta a fresco, che sta sulla porta è del detto Andrea Sacchi, ritoccata poi da Carlo Maratti.
Chiesa di s. Andrea delle Fratte
Dalle siepi, e fratte degli orti, che quì vi erano nei. secoli passati, prese il nome questa chiesa un tempo posseduta dalla nazione Scozzese; ma poi staccatosi quel Regno dalla Fede Cattolica, nell'anno 1585. la ottennero i Frati Minimi di s. Francesco di Paola . E però Ottavio del Bufalo coll'entrate lasciate da quella nazione rifece la chiesa con disegno di Gio: Guerra; la cupola bensì ed il campanile ognun vede essere opera del Borromini, ma per maggior sciagura rimasi imperfetti; l'architettura della nobilissima cappella di san Francesco di Paola è del Barigioni, e li due Angioli con li misteri della passione del nostro Redentore sono opera, e dono del Bernini. Il quadro di s. Andrea Apostolo nell'altare maggiore è di Lazzaro Baldi, ed il laterale a destra è di Francesco Trevisani, e quello a sinistra di Gio: Batista Leonardi. Le pitture a fresco nella tribuna, e cupola sono di Pasqualino Marini, e quelle nelle cappelle di altri pittori consimili; la s. Anna però nell'altare della crociata in ovato è di Giuseppe Bottani. A lato della porticella di fianco evvi il deposito di Niccolò Simone de' Duchi di Baviera morto in Roma l'anno 1734., e nell'altra incontro, quello del Re di Marocco venuto alla Fede Cattolica l'anno 1733. e poi morto in Roma l'anno 1739. A piè della porta grande sono due depositi con sculture, quello a destra nell'entrare è del Cav Quijroli, e quello a sinistra di Pietro Bracci; e nel chiostro evvi la vita del Santo dipinta dal Cozza, dal Giraldi, ed altri.

Next plate in Book 8: Monastero di S. Egidio
Next step in Day 3 itinerary: Collegio Nazzareno
Next step in your tour of Rione Colonna: Collegio Nazzareno