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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 Cosmedin (Book 3) (Map C3) (Day 5) (View C10) (Rione Ripa)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
The church and Bocca della Verità
Palazzo Diaconale di Papa Niccolò I
Tempio di Vesta (di Ercole Vincitore)
The fountains

The Plate (No. 56)

The Church of S. Maria in Cosmedin

At Vasi's time Campo Vaccino, the cattle market, was held on the site of the ancient Roman Forum, which is not very far from S. Maria in Cosmedin. This explains the presence of cows, horses, haylofts and of a watering trough.
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) Temple used as a church (S. Stefano delle Carrozze/S. Maria del Sole); 2) Street leading to S. Paolo fuori le mura; 3) Haylofts. The small map shows also 4) S. Maria in Cosmedin; 5) Palazzo Diaconale di Papa Niccolò I.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The church today
The view in July 2009

At Vasi's time the church had an elaborate façade designed by Giuseppe Sardi in 1718, during the pontificate of Pope Clement XI. In the late XIXth century this addition was pulled down in an attempt to restore the appearance the church had in the XIIth century; in the 1920s the haylofts were replaced by a huge building and at the same time the street in front of the church was enlarged.

The Church and Bocca della Verità

The Church and Bocca della Verità
(left) Bocca della Verità; (right) façade and bell tower (in the inset romeartlover's nephew takes the risk)

In recent years S. Maria in Cosmedin has become a "must see" in most tours of Rome and Hop-on-hop-off buses stop at the church. The reason for this interest lies in an ancient circular relief which was placed in the porch in 1632; most likely it was the slab of a drain of nearby Cloaca Maxima; it portrays a human face with an open mouth which is believed to close upon the hand of any perjurer.
The bell tower is a fine XIIth century construction (you may wish to compare it with other Roman bell towers).

Cosmati decoration
Cosmati decoration

Records about the church say that it already existed in the VIth century when it was used by the Greek officers of the Byzantine administration of Rome; for this reason it was called in Schola Graeca. In 782 it was enlarged and embellished by Pope Hadrian I and at this time it was called Kosmidion (embellishment in Greek) which originated the current name.
The pavement of the church has a very fine XIIth century decoration.

Palazzo Diaconale di Papa Niccolò I

Palazzo Diaconale
Palazzo Diaconale di Papa Niccolò I

On the right side of the church Pope Nicholas I (858-67) built a small palace which he used as a temporary residence; it was fortified with an external wall for fear of raids by the Saracens; later on it was converted into a small monastery and some of the rooms were assigned to the deacon of the church.

Tempio di Vesta

Tempio di Vesta
(left) The temple; (right-above) the sacred image which gave the name to the church; (right-below) a capital

This ancient temple was shown by Vasi also in plate 94 and plate 95. Owing to its circular shape it was generally thought to be dedicated to Vesta, but the real temple to the goddess of the sacred fire was found during the excavations of the Roman Forum. It has now been identified with a temple dedicated to Hercules (Aedes Herculis Victoris): the demigod was involved in a legendary episode of the history of Rome which took place in this part of Rome and which is recalled also in nearby Arco degli Argentieri.
The temple was built in the IInd century BC and it was one of the first Roman buildings where Pentelic marble was used; it was restored by Emperor Tiberius and on that occasion Lunense marble was employed to replace some columns. During the Middle Ages the temple was turned into a small church: according to tradition it was named del Sole after a sacred image found in 1560 on the nearby river bank; the painting sent out rays of light (It. sole = sun).

The Fountains

The fountains
Fontana dei Tritoni aka Fontana della Bocca della Verità

The fountain was commissioned by Pope Clement XI: it was designed by Carlo Francesco Bizzaccheri and its subject recalls Fontana del Tritone by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The basin has the shape of a star and the tritons support a shell with inside a mountain; a star and a mountain were the heraldic symbols of the pope, whose coat of arms was designed on both sides of the fountain (you can see it in the image used as background for this page).

The fountains
(left) Watering trough; (right) coat of arms of Pope Clement XI

The watering trough which is shown in the plate has been relocated in a small garden near the river.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa di s. Maria in Cosmedin
Colla parola greca cosmedin, che significa ornamento, fu chiamata questa celebre chiesa, cred'io, perchè era ricca di sagri ornamenti; si disse ancora scuola Greca, non tanto per li monaci Greci, che quivi stettero, quanto perchè quivi anticamente si insegnava quell'idioma.
Il Fondatore di questa chiesa fu il Pontefice s. Dionisio, il quale per distruggere la superstizione de' Gentili, la eresse sopra il tempio della Pudicizia di cui ancora se ne vedono entro le pareti ella chiesa le colonne di marmo molto belle, e fu ristaurata da Adriano I.. Vi abitarono alcuni Sommi Pontefici, ed è ancora tradizione antica che quivi s. Agostino insegnasse rettorica, prima che andasse a Milano, e si facesse Cristiano. Dopo i monaci Greci vi stettero i Benedettini fino all' anno 1513. ora però è insigne collegiata, e parrocchiale, e conserva la venerabile sua antichità nell'altare isolato, ed amboni di marmi intarsiati di pietre dure. Si vede nel portico un gran marmo rotondo, coll'immagine, secondo appare, di Giove Ammone, e dicesi, che fosse della famosa Ara Massima, a cui i Gentili conducevano i testimonj per giurare il vero; ma considerato il marmo, e la figura, che ha gli occhi, e bocca forati, da alcuni fu creduto che fosse servito in qualche magnifico cortile per ornamento della chiavica. Fu nell'an. 1718. rinnovata la chiesa da Clemente XI. il quale fece ancora il prospetto, e fonte sulla piazza.
Chiesa di s. Maria del sole
Con maggior decoro, e stima dovrebbesi tenere il tempio rotondo, che quivi si vede sulla spiaggia del Tevere, non solo per l'unione de' marmi e colonne ben regolate, ma ancora per la bella sua forma circolare. Si crede da' più, che fosse della Dea Vesta, diverso però da quello, che era nel Campo Vaccino; altri lo dissero del Sole; ma poi purgato dalla folle superstizione de' Gentili fu dedicato in onore della ss. Vergine col titolo del Sole, ed ancora a s. Stefano Protomartire, dalla famiglia Savelli, e si disse ancora delle carrozze.

Next plate in Book 3: S. Sabba Abate
Next step in Day 5 itinerary: Spiaggia verso la Bocca della Verità
Next step in your tour of Rione Ripa: Spiaggia verso la Bocca della Verità