Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Links to this page can be found in Book 8, Map A2, Day 2, Rione Trevi and Rione Monti.

The page covers:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
S. Susanna
Mostra dell'Acqua Felice
S. Maria della Vittoria
The Borghese Sleeping Hermaphroditus
Vigna Panzani

The Plate (No. 148)

This 1758 plate by Giuseppe Vasi shows three important monuments of the period of transition (1585-1610) from Late Renaissance (or Mannerism) to Early Baroque style. The development of this part of Rome on the Qurinal Hill was brought about by Acqua Felice, an aqueduct built by Pope Sixtus V. The aqueduct was completed in 1587, S. Susanna was entirely renovated in 1595-1603 and S. Maria della Vittoria was built in 1608-1620.
The view is taken from the green dot in the 1748 map below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) S. Susanna; 2) S. Maria della Vittoria; 3) Strada Pia (a street which links Piazza del Quirinale with Porta Pia); 4) Fontana dell'Acqua Felice in Piazza di Termini. The small map shows also 5) Vigna Panzani and the dotted line delineates the border between Rione Trevi (upper left corner) and Rione Monti.

Today

The view in April 2008

In 1926-1932 a new street (Via Barberini) was opened to link Piazza Barberini with Stazione Termini, the central railway station of Rome. This led to pulling down the part of the nunnery which stood to the right of S. Susanna. The plate shows some trees behind S. Maria della Vittoria; they belonged to a villa owned by the Barberini; this villa, together with many others (including that of the Ludovisi), was replaced by modern buildings towards the end of the XIXth century.

S. Susanna

(left) Façade; (right) detail showing the projecting columns

12th November 1644. The facciata of this church is noble, the soffito within gilded and full of pictures; especially famous is that of Susanna, by Baldassare di Bologna.
John Evelyn's Diary and Correspondence
The year 1603 must be regarded as a turning point in Maderno's career; he was appointed Architect of St Peter's and finished the façade of S. Susanna. To the cognoscenti this facade must have been a revelation. (..) In contrast to so many Mannerist buildings, the principle governing this structure is easy to follow: it is based on an almost mathematically lucid progressive concentration of bays, orders, and decoration towards the centre. The triple projection of the wall is co-ordinated with the number of bays, which are firmly framed by orders; the width of the bays increases towards the centre and the wall surface is gradually eliminated in a process reversing the thickening of the wall. (..) Maderno imparted a clearly directed, dynamic movement to the structure horizontally as well as vertically.
Rudolf Wittkower - Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750 Penguin Books 1958
The church was built by Pope Leo III in the early IXth century. It probably replaced a minor building. In 1587 the church was assigned to the Cistercian nuns; a few years later S. Bernardo alle Terme, a friary for the Cistercian monks, was built opposite S. Susanna.
The nuns, with the financial help of Camilla Peretti, sister of Pope Sixtus V, and of Cardinal Girolamo Rusticucci promoted the enlargement of the nunnery and the total renovation of the church. The new S. Susanna was completed in 1603 by a façade designed by Carlo Maderno which is regarded as the first baroque façade. Maderno used as a starting model that of il Gesù, but he created more light effects by increasing the stepping out of the central columns and of other architectural elements from the wall. This approach influenced the design of many other Baroque façades. The name of Cardinal Rusticucci was written at the centre of the façade, similar to what can be noted in S. Pietro and other churches (e.g. S. Agostino). You may wish to see the façade as it appeared in a 1588 Guide to Rome, before the changes made by Maderno.

Susanna and the Lusty Elders by Baldassare Croce (frame by Matteo Zaccolini)

The church was dedicated to St. Susanna, a martyr of the end of the IIIrd century who lived in the area; according to the traditional account she refused to marry the son of Emperor Diocletian because he was not a Christian and for this refusal she was put to death. The guidelines issued by the Roman Church in the second half of the XVIth century recommended the decoration of churches with events of the life of the martyrs.
The likelihood of the life and martyrdom of St. Susanna was very questionable and for this reason the decoration included also events of the life of biblical Susanna; the scene where she is seen by two old men while bathing was very popular; many oil paintings meant for the bedrooms of the rich portrayed this scene; the pious subject was thought to have a positive effect on the accomplishment of marital duties.
The frescoes by Baldassare Croce were retouched a few years later to make them look as if they were tapestries hanging on the walls of fake chapels, similar to what can be seen at S. Giovanni in Laterano.

(left) Martyrdom of Pope St. Eleuterus by Cesare Nebbia and Giovan Battista Pozzo; (right) 1692 gravestone of Giulia Poiana de' Crispolti

The martyrdom suffered by Pope St. Eleuterus was represented in a very dynamic and vivid way in a chapel dedicated to St. Lawrence. Both saints were placed on a gridiron with coals beneath it, but in addition Eleuterus' body was tied to a horse and dragged through the streets of Rome (an episode taken from Book 22 of Homer's Iliad: Achilles tied the dead body of Hector to his chariot and dragged it around the walls of Troy). Eleuterus was pope in 175-189 and the circumstances of his martyrdom were very doubtful so the painters were free to unbridle their imagination.
The church does not have chapels belonging to noble families, however the pavement has some gravestones with typical features of the XVIIth century.

Mostra dell'Acqua Felice

(left) Mostra dell'Acqua Felice; (right-above) Moses making water spring from the rock by Prospero Bresciano or Leonardo Sormani; (right-below) copy of a IVth century BC Egyptian lion which is shown in the image used as background for this page (from original at Cortile della Pigna)

On this Mount is the most faire Fountaine of Pope Sixtus the fifth, called the Happie; for hither is the water brought from the stately Conduit without the Gate Maggiore, reaching many miles, which was built by the Pope, with Imperiall magnificence, in the yeere 1587. And this Fountaine casteth out waters from the mouthes of foure Lions of white Marble. Likewise upon the same is the Image of Moses, striking the Rocke with his Rod; and there be two other mouthes lower to cast out water, and it is all engraven with the said historie of Moses.
Fynes Moryson - An Itinerary: Containing His Ten Years Travel Through .. Italy (in 1594)
The design of the fountain of Acqua Felice is admirable. Moses is striking the rock in the desert, and the water obeys his wand. The figure of Moses is colossal, and very spirited; and, if ever a colossal statue can be rendered pleasing, it is in some such situation as this.
Henry Matthews - Diary of an Invalid - 1817/1818
This fountain is aka "Mostra" (to mean that it is worth being seen) because of its imposing design: it celebrates the completion of Acqua Felice, the aqueduct built by Pope Sixtus V to restore an adequate supply of water to the Esquiline, Viminal and Quirinal hills. Initially the monumental end of the aqueduct was planned to be built opposite Villa Peretti, the Pope's villa, but it was eventually placed along Strada Pia where more people could see it.
The design of the fountain by Domenico Fontana was inspired after that of a Roman triumphal arch, although it did not have a central higher section as Arco di Costantino or Arco di Settimio Severo have. This pattern was eventually followed in Mostra dell'Acqua Paola, but not in Fontana di Trevi which is more similar to an ancient Roman arch.

(left) The gathering of manna?; (right) Joshua selecting the soldiers for the battle of Rephidim against the Amalekites?

It is a basso-relievo of white marble, representing Moses striking the rock, which is adorned with camels, men, women, and children drinking, as large as life; a work for the design and vastness truly magnificent. The water (..) gushes into three ample lavers raised about with stone, before which are placed two lions of a strange black stone, very rare and antique. Evelyn
The central statue and the two side reliefs depict episodes of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and they all contain references to water. The subjects of the two side reliefs are not very clear.
During the Renaissance characters and events of the Old Testament were widely popular as is proved by some of Michelangelo's masterpieces (the statues of David and Moses and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel).
The unhappy execution of the central statue and the complexity of the episodes narrated in the reliefs however led to abandoning these biblical subjects in the decoration of later monumental fountains (e.g. Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi and Fontana di Trevi).

Upper part of the fountain with the coat of arms of Pope Sixtus V and branches of pears, one of his heraldic symbols; see a page on the angels in the streets and churches of Rome

Acqua Felice was called after Felice (Peretti), the name of Pope Sixtus V before his appointment. This is explicitly said in the long inscription. The coat of arms was considered a masterpiece by Filippo Juvarra (see his drawing).

S. Maria della Vittoria

(left) Façade; (centre) detail showing a dragon, a heraldic symbol of the Borghese; (right) view of the exterior of the Cornaro chapel showing the projecting window designed to bring light to its altar

Santa Maria della Vittoria presents us with the most ravishing front. In this church was sung the Te Deum by Gregory XV., after the signal victory of the Emperor at Prague. Evelyn
S. Maria della Vittoria was built in 1608-1620 at the expense of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V and it was dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle (a saint rather neglected in the list of Roman churches). In 1622 the dedication was changed because the new church was chosen to house a sacred image which favoured the victory of the Imperial (Catholic) army against the Protestants at the Battle of the White Mountain, near Prague.
The façade was designed by Giovanni Battista Soria, a favourite architect of Cardinal Borghese for whom he built also S. Gregorio Magno al Celio and S. Grisogono. In all three façades he placed eagles and dragons, the heraldic symbols of the Borghese.

(left) Cappella Vidoni; (right) Cappella Giustiniani

'Tis no wonder the Churches belonging to the Jesuits should be rich; some of those, even of the begging Orders, are so to a great degree. That called S. Maria della Vittoria belonging to the Carmelitani Scalzi, a bare foot Order, (..) is all overlaid with Marble, Gilding, Sculpture, and fine Painting: So rich have they taken care to make their Church, out of the Alms they receive; for they have no Possessions, but subsist altogether upon Charity, which I believe is scarce ever wanting to them: the Zeal of the People in that Country, excited by the Artifices of the Priests, is such, that many are open-handed to Them, whose own families suffer for it.
Edward Wright - Some Observations made in France, Italy etc. in the years 1720, 1721 and 1722, [1730].
Although S. Maria della Vittoria was in a rather remote location, its patronage by Cardinal Borghese led some wealthy families which did not belong to the Roman nobility to buy and lavishly decorate the chapels of the church. Cardinal Girolamo Vidoni (1581-1632) came from Cremona in the Duchy of Milan, at the time a Spanish possession. His family eventually bought a palace near S. Andrea della Valle. The Giustiniani were of Genoese origin and they accumulated a fortune by trading in the Levant. In 1566 Giuseppe Giustiniani settled in Rome where in 1590 he bought a palace near S. Luigi dei Francesi. The chapel at S. Maria della Vittoria as well as the restoration of S. Prisca, the purchase of the fiefdom of Bassano and a collection of ancient statues were means by which the Giustiniani improved their standing in Roman society.

Cornaro chapel: (left) altar; (right) coloured relief portraying Cardinal Federico Cornaro (on the left) and members of his family

Bernini's St Teresa, shown in rapture, seems to be suspended in mid-air and this can only appear as reality by virtue of the implied visionary state of mind of the beholder. (..) He placed the group of St Teresa and the Angel in a deep niche under a protective architectural canopy. (..) Enshrined by the framing lines of the architecture, the group has an essentially pictorial character; one may liken it to a tableau vivant. Wittkower
The Cornaro chapel is perhaps the richest of all the chapels; it was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini who coordinated a team of sculptors and high level artisans. Cardinal Federico Cornaro commissioned Bernini the chapel in 1645, at a time when the artist was not enjoying the favour of the papal court of Innocent X.
The Cornaro (or Corner) were a very important Venetian family which included Caterina Cornaro who was Queen of Cyprus in the late XVth century and a number of dogi, Venice's supreme magistrates. In theatre boxes at the two sides of the altar Bernini portrayed members of the family; while Cardinal Cornaro is engrossed in watching the ecstasy of St. Teresa, the other men in the box are busy chatting.
More on the design of Cappella Cornaro in a section covering three chapels by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Cantoria by Mattia de Rossi and a detail of it (see a page on organs and cantorias in the churches of Rome)

The victory at the Battle of the White Mountain did not end the Thirty Years' War. In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia greatly reduced the influence of the Popes on European matters and in a way the relevance of the Battle of the White Mountain and of S. Maria della Vittoria. In 1683 another war event gave new impulse to the decoration of the church: the Failed Siege of Vienna was to some extent a victory of Pope Innocent XI who promoted a Holy League to defeat the Ottomans.
The decoration of S. Maria della Vittoria had more and more military references.

True Faith triumphs over Heresy by Andrea Antonio and Giuseppe Orazi

The fresco of the ceiling portrays heretics in the company of horrible monsters. The painting is surrounded by a very rich white and gold stucco frame which was completed in 1700; it follows a pattern established at il Gesù in 1679. The inscriptions say: "Rejoice o Virgin Mary, thou only hast killed all heresies in the universe" and "The victory shall be credited to my name". A similar subject was painted a few years later in Karlskirche in Vienna.

(left) 1744 inlay decoration of the floor; (right) altar of the Giustiniani chapel; you may wish to see a page on the use of colour in the churches of Rome

The Borghese Sleeping Hermaphroditus

Museo e Galleria Borghese: Sleeping Hermaphroditus (mattress by Andrea Bergondi - late XVIIIth century)

According to tradition the Carmelite monks for whose monastery the church was built, expressed their gratitude to Cardinal Borghese by donating him an ancient statue of a Sleeping Hermaphroditus they had found in their premises. The Cardinal asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to restore it and to make Hermaphroditus' sleep more comfortable by placing the statue on a soft mattress (rather than just on a lion's skin). It became one of the main attractions of the collection of antiquities the Cardinal gathered in his villa. In 1807 it was sold to Napoleon and it is now at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Borghese however had another ancient Sleeping Hermaphroditus, which most likely was found near S. Maria della Vittoria too; they kept it in their city palace, but in 1814 they relocated it to the villa. A third Sleeping Ermaphroditus which was found in Rome in the XVIIth century is now at Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. A fourth Sleeping Hermaphroditus was found in the late XIXth century near Villa Peretti.

Antiquarium di Lucrezia Romana: small statue of Hermaphroditus (IInd century AD)

Statues of Standing Hermaphroditus as that found in the outskirts of Rome, not far from Villa dei Sette Bassi, are not as intriguing as those where the son of Aphrodite and Hermes is portrayed in his sleep and his sexual identity is not immediately visible.

Vigna Panzani

Vigna Panzani: (left) remaining window to the right of the fountain; (right) reconstructed portal at Museo Nazionale Romano alle Terme di Diocleziano

"Le Grand Hotel de Rome" was built in 1894 by Giulio Podesti for César Ritz, a famous Swiss hotelier, between Piazza di Termini and Mostra dell'Acqua Felice on the site of a vineyard which at the time of Pope Sixtus V belonged to two Panzani brothers. We know their names because they are quoted in a contract by which they agreed that the stonecutters who worked on the fountain could install their workshops on their property. The portal is dated late XVIth century whereas the window was added in the early XVIIIth century.

Next plate in Book 8: Monastero dei SS. Domenico e Sisto.
Next step in Day 2 itinerary: Chiesa di S. Bernardo alle Terme.
Next step in your tour of Rione Trevi: Chiesa di S. Nicola da Tolentino.
Next step in your tour of Rione Monti: Porta Pia.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:

Chiesa e Monastero di S. Susanna Nel campo Verano, ove fu sepolto il santo Diacono, si osserva questa santa Sulla piazza vicina è questa chiesa, eretta nella casa di s. Gabinio padre della s. Titolare, e fratello del suddetto s. Cajo Papa, il quale la contagiò, circa l'anno 290. Fu rifatta e ristaurata più volte; ma il Card. Rusticucci, essendone Titolare, vi fece il nobile prospetto col disegno di Carlo Maderno, il soffitto dorato, e molte pitture a fresco. L'istoria di Susanna del Testamento vecchio è di Baldassare Croce; le prospettive sono del P. Zoccolino reatino, e le statue di stucco del Valsolino. La morte di s. Susanna dipinta nell'altare maggiore è di Tommaso Laureti Siciliano, e le pitture nella tribuna di Cesare Nebbia; il martirio della Santa nell'altare a destra con altre pitture sono del Nogari, e la pittura incontro è di Baldassare Croce; il s. Lorenzo nell'altra cappella è del Nebbia, e le altre pitture di Gio. Batista Pozzo. Nell'altare di mezzo vi è parte de' corpi di s. Felicita, e suoi figliuoli, e nel monastero annesso sonovi le monache di s. Bernardo postevi in tempo di Sisto V. Fonte dell'Acqua Felice a Termini Da Sisto V. fu condotta in Roma l’antica Acqua Marzia, che ora dal di lui nome dicesi Felice, e presso alle divisate Terme fece il magnifico, e nobilissimo fonte con la direzione di Domenico Fontana, ornato di marmi, colonne di granito, e sculture antiche e moderne. Il Mosè nell'arco di mezzo, statua gigantesca in atto di aver colla verga battuto il sasso per farne scaturire l'acqua, è opera di Prospero Bresciano; e ne' due archi laterali sonovi in bassorilievo Aronne col popolo Ebreo, e Gedeone coll'esercito, che si levano la sete coll'acqua miracolosa. I quattro leoni sul labbro della gran tazza sono opere egizie, due lavorati in porfido bianco, e due in granito nero. Chiesa di S. Maria della Vittoria A destra del descritto fonte evvi la magnifica chiesa eretta l'anno 1605. col disegno di Carlo Maderno in onore della ss. Vergine sotto il titolo della Vittoria. È questa tutta incrostata di marmi, ed ornata di stucchi dorati, pitture, e sculture eccellenti. Il quadro di s. Maria Maddalena nella prima cappella a destra è di Gio. Batista Mercati; la ss. Vergine, e s. Francesco con li due laterali sono del Domenichino; il bassorilievo nella cappella, che siegue, è di Pompeo Ferrucci; li due altari uniformi nella crociata sono disegno del Cav. Bernini, il quale scolpì mirabilmente la s. Teresa coll'Angelo, che la ferisce; il s. Giuseppe però incontro, coll'Angelo, che lo avvisa, è scultura di Domenico Guidi, e li bassirilievi ne' laterali sono del medesimo. Nell'altare maggiore ornato di preziosi marmi, vi è l'immagine della ss. Vergine portata dalla Germania l'anno 1621. da un religioso de' Carmelitani Scalzi, che ne hanno cura. Nel coro vi sono due quadri; quello della ss. Nunziata è del Baroccio, e l'altro di s. Paolo è di Gerardo Olandese. Nella prima cappella dopo la crociata evvi il quadro dipinto dal Guercino da Cento: il ss. Crocifisso laterale, e l’altro incontro sono di Guido Reni; le pitture a fresco sono però di Gio. Francesco Bolognese; la cappella, che siegue, fu dipinta da Niccolò Lorenese, ed il Cristo morto nell'ultima cappella è del Cav. d'Arpino. Le pitture nella cupola sono di Gio. Domenico Perugino, e quelle nella volta maggiore degli Orazj.