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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 October 2009.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

S. Maria in Via Lata (Book 3) (Map B2) (Day 1) (View C7) (Rione Pigna)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
S. Maria in Via Lata
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
Palazzo De Carolis (and Il Facchino)

The Plate (No. 44)

S. Maria in Via Lata

Originally Via del Corso was the urban section of Via Flaminia, one of the roads which linked Rome to the provinces of its empire. Because of its relative width it was also known as Via Lata (wide) as many other main streets in Italian cities (Via Larga in Florence and Milan). It goes from south (Piazza Venezia) to north (Piazza del Popolo) so from the shadows we understand that the view was taken in the late morning and from the green dot in the map below.
In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Palazzo De Carolis; 2) Palazzo Pamphilj in Piazza del Collegio Romano; 3) Palazzo Pamphilj in Via del Corso. 2) is covered in another page. The small 1748 map shows also 4) S. Maria in Via Lata. The dotted line delineates the border between Rione Pigna (left side of Via del Corso) and Rione Trevi (right side of Via del Corso).

Small ViewSmall View
Today

The view today
Views in June 2009: (left) from the south; (right) from the north

This side of Via del Corso is unchanged, but the street is not as wide as shown by Vasi in his plate and it is often so crowded that passers-by do not notice the elaborate design of Palazzo Pamphilj and of the church.

S. Maria in Via Lata

S. Maria in Via Lata
(left) 1580 bell tower by Martino Longhi; (centre) façade; (right-above) coat of arms of Pope Innocent VIII; (right-below) coat of arms of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia

S. Maria in Via Lata is a very old church which was built making use of an ancient Roman portico; in the XIth century, because of the rise of the level of the ground, a new church was built above the old one. The medieval church was largely modified in the late XVth century at the initiative of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and Pope Innocent VIII whose coats of arms can be seen on the side wall.

S. Maria in Via Lata
The loggia

A new façade was built between 1658 and 1663 by Pope Alexander VII. It was designed by Pietro da Cortona and it is composed of a portico and a loggia; unlike many other baroque façades it does not have a curved shape and its Serliana recalls patterns of the late antiquity (see Six Mountains and a Star for another plate of the church and to see what is left of the heraldic symbols of Pope Alexander VII).

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

Palzzo Doria Pamphili
(left) Corner of the palace; (right) main entrance

The Palace has three façades of which that on Via del Corso was designed by Gabriele Valvassori in 1734. It is very innovative and today it is regarded as the finest example of Rococo in Rome, but initially and until the end of the XIXth century it was much criticized. The heraldic symbols of the Doria Pamphilj (fleurs-de-lys and doves holding an olive branch) provide the motifs for its decoration (a dove is portrayed in the image used as background for this page). See more of this palace in Where the Dove Flies.

Palzzo Doria Pamphili
Courtyard

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj was completed over a period of three centuries; the ground floor of the courtyard which can be seen from Via del Corso was designed in the early XVIth century when the building belonged to Cardinal Giovanni Sartorio, whereas the gallery of windows of the upper floor was designed by Valvassori two centuries later. Before being acquired by the Pamphilj, the family of Pope Innocent X, the palace belonged to the Della Rovere, the family of Pope Julius II and to the Aldobrandini, the family of Pope Clement VIII.

Palazzo De Carolis

Palazzo Decarolis
Façade


In his 1761 itinerary Vasi wrote about this palace: Questo fu eretto ... dalla famiglia di Carolis, che si estinse nel suo nascere. "It was built by the De Carolis, who were extinct in their early days". Livio De Carolis, a commoner who made a fortune in the trade of grains, bought a small fiefdom which granted him a title of nobility and he commissioned Alessandro Specchi to build an imposing palace on the site of a series of small houses along Via del Corso. The palace was completed in 1728, but after the death of Livio De Carolis in 1733, his heirs were unable to maintain it and by 1750 they sold it together with the fiefdom.

Il facchino
(left) Il Facchino; (right) Palazzo De Carolis: detail of the cornice showing the heraldic symbols of the Boncompagni Ludovisi

In 1833 the palace was bought by Prince Luigi Boncompagni Ludovisi who added his heraldic symbols on the cornice; his family had two popes: Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni and Pope Gregory XV Ludovisi.
The plate by Vasi shows a small fountain located below one of the windows of Palazzo De Carolis: it is called Il Facchino (the porter) and it represents a fresh-water seller; it was probably built by the related guild in the late XVIth century. It was one of the Talking Statues of Rome. In 1872 it was relocated in the street between the palace and S. Maria in Via Lata.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Palazzo de Carolis
Questo fu eretto con Magnifico disegno di Alessandro Specchi dalla famiglia di Carolis, che si estinse nel suo nascere.
Chiesa di S. Maria in Vialata
Porta questa chiesa un tal nome dall'antica Via Lata, in quei tempi molto celebre e frequentata, perchè essendo fuori della Città, era adorna e fiancheggiata da magnifici edifizj venali, per uso e comodo de' forestieri, non ammessi ancora alla cittadinanza. Si crede per antichissima tradizione, che quivi in una di quelle case venisse ad abitare s. Pietro Apostolo quando capitò la prima volta in Roma insieme con s. Marco, e s. Marziale, il quale vi eresse un oratorio in cui il Principe degli Apostoli potesse celebrare i divini misteri, e amministrare i Sagramenti, e per molto tempo fu chiamato oratorio di s. Marziale. Vi abitarono ancora s. Gio. Evangelista, s. Luca, ed altresì s. Paolo, che quivi scrisse le sue difese, e buona parte delle sue epistole: onde sommamente venerabile è questa chiesa, conservandosi sotto di ella la memoria de' suddetti ss. Apostoli, ed Evangelisti, espressi in un bassorilievo in marmo, ed una immagine della ss. Vergine fatta in creta cotta da Cosimo Fancelli.
Da s. Sergio Papa fu consagrata l'anno 700. la nuova chiesa, e poi da Innocenzo VIII. rifatta da' fondamenti. Vi era unito il celebre monastero di monache di s. Ciriaco; ma essendo poi ridotta in collegiata, è stata più volte ristaurata, e finalmente ornata tutta di marmi, metalli dorati e pitture, fra le quali vi è nel primo altare un santo Vescovo con s. Andrea, che viene dal Pomarancio, ed il s. Niccolò nel secondo è di Cesare Nebbia. Il disegno dell’altare magg. ornato di preziosi marmi e metalli dorati è disegno di Pietro da Cortona, e le pitture nella tribuna sono del Camassei; quelle però nel soffitto sono di Giacinto Brandi. Il s. Pietro in atto di battezzare è del Vasconio; il s. Lorenzo con altri Santi si crede del detto Consolano, ed il s. Michele, del mentovato Brandi. Il magnifico prospetto è di Pietro da Cortona, il quale fece ancora il bel portico colle scale, che conducono al sotterraneo suddetto.

Next plate in Book 3: Chiesa di S. Pietro in Vinculis
Next step in Day 1 itinerary: Collegio Romano
Next step in tour of Rione Pigna: Palazzo Pamphilj