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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 Macello Martyrum (Tempio di Pallade) (Book 3) (Day 3) (Rione Monti)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Le Colonnacce (Tempio di Pallade - Foro Transitorio)
Palazzo Rivaldi

The Plate (No. 53 - ii)


The view shows the last section of Via Alessandrina which was depicted by Vasi in its entirety in plate 102. The subject is a minor church named after the slaughter (Macello) of the martyrs (Martyrum), which supposedly took place in this area; Vasi shows only the side of the church, because the remaining columns of the Temple to Pallas Athena are the true objective of the view.
In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Tempio Antico di Pallade; 2) Ruins of Tempio della Pace; 3) S. Maria in Macello Martyrum. 2) is shown in another page. The small 1748 map shows also 4) Palazzo Rivaldi.

Small ViewSmall Map

Today

The view today
(left) The view in June 2009; (right) images of the temple (above) and of S. Maria in Macello Martyrum (below) before the excavations


In the 1930s the whole area was excavated and then partially covered to build Via dell'Impero (today Via dei Fori Imperiali), a large avenue between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseo; the temple was included in an archaeological area while S. Maria in Macello Martyrum was pulled down. The church was also known as S. Agata dei Tessitori because it belonged to the guild of the Weavers; it is not known whether the church was assigned to the Weavers because the reliefs of the temple showed women in the act or weaving or just by coincidence (see a list of churches belonging to a guild).

Le Colonnacce

The Colonnacce
(above-left) detail of the central relief including a scene portraying Athena in the act of cursing Arachne; (below-left) detail of the side relief; (right) portrait of the goddess

The Temple to Pallas Athena was referred to as "le colonnacce" (the ruined columns). Actually the columns did not belong to a temple, but to a porch which surrounded the Forum built by Emperor Domitian and completed by Emperor Nerva.
The reliefs show women involved in activities such as weaving which were protected by the goddess. Some scenes are thought to represent the myth of Arachne, a princess of Lydia of whose weaving skills Athena was envious. The goddess checked a cloth woven by Arachne in the hope of finding a fault; when she realized there were not any, she became upset and eventually she turned Arachne into a spider. The myth probably reflects a commercial war between Athens and Miletus, a Lydian town known for its dyed woollens.

The Colonnacce
Wall of the forum and in the background Torre de' Conti

Palazzo Rivaldi

Palazzo Rivaldi
(left) Palazzo Rivaldi; (right) fountain

Palazzo Rivaldi had a large garden reaching Tempio della Pace and from its high position had a commanding view over Colosseo. The large building was initially designed by Antonio da Sangallo in the first half of the XVIth century and then modified when it was acquired in 1567 by Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici (Pope Leo XI). In 1662 it was bought by a charity and turned into a hospice. In 1934 it lost most of the garden and later on it was abandoned because of a possible collapse. It is currently (2009) being restored by the City of Rome.
In the section of Via dei Fori Imperiali which has replaced the garden of Palazzo Rivaldi there is a modern fountain: its ancient upper basin was found in 1696 near Ostia and it was used to embellish the courtyard of Palazzo di Montecitorio.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa di s. Maria degli Angioli
Si disse anticamente questa chiesa in macello martyrum, perchè ivi appresso il tempio di Tellure, in tempo delle persecuzioni de' Cristini, se ne faceva macello; ed è tradizione, che nel pozzo, che si conserva nella medesima chiesa, vi siano stati posti molti corpi di santi Martiri. Dipoi essendo questa chiesa nel 1517. conceduta alla confraternita de' Tessitori, vi posero il titolo di s. Agata.
Quasi incontro a questa si vede un nobilissimo avanzo creduto del tempio di Pallade, ornato mirabilmente: ma per disavventura molto rovinato, e sepolto quasi per metà.

Next plate in Book 3: Chiesa di S. Maria Liberatrice
Next step in Day 3 itinerary: Ruine del Foro di Nerva
Next step in your tour of Rione Monti: Ruine del Foro di Nerva