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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 August 2010.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

Palazzo Ruspoli (Book 4) (Map B2) (Day 1) (View C6) (Rione Campo Marzio) and (Rione Colonna)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Palazzo Ruspoli
Palazzo Fiano (or Peretti Ottoboni) and Arco di Portogallo
Ara Pacis Augustae
Streets of the Shopping District (Via Borgognona, Via Frattina and Via della Vite)
Palazzo Della Genga

The Plate (No. 68)

Palazzo Ruspoli

In his views Giuseppe Vasi did not show scenes of the Roman carnival and of the race which took place in the afternoon along Via del Corso; this etching however shows that the palaces along the street had special facilities for watching the race: scalino di Ruspoli was the name given to the high step on the Via del Corso side of Palazzo Ruspoli; chairs were placed on it during the race; they were reserved to the Ruspoli and their guests or they were rented to the many foreigners who came to Rome to see its carnival and not just its monuments and churches. Palazzo Ottoboni did not have a proper façade along Via del Corso, but it had a long covered balcony which granted an excellent view of the race (read a description of the Roman carnival by Charles Dickens).
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) Strada dei Condotti towards Piazza di Spagna; 2) Strada dei Condotti towards Ripetta; 3) Palazzo Ottoboni; 4) Palazzetto S. Marco (Venezia) and Torre del Campidoglio. 4) is shown in another page. The small map does not show Palazzetto Venezia: 4) indicates the location of Arco di Portogallo; 5) Palazzo Ruspoli; 6) Palazzo Della Genga; 7) Via Borgognona; 8) Via Frattina; 9) Via della Vite. The dotted line in the small map delineates the border between Rione Campo Marzio and Rione Colonna (lower right quarter).

Small ViewSmall MapSmall Map

Today

The view today
The view in June 2010: (in the enlargement) Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II at the end of Via del Corso which has replaced Palazzetto Venezia and Torre del Campidoglio; the modern pink façade of Palazzo Ottoboni Fiano can be seen in the right side of the enlargement

Palazzo Ruspoli has lost its scalino and its loggia has been modified, but overall it retains its late XVIth century design; in 1888 Palazzo Fiano Ottoboni was given a façade along Via del Corso which has approximately the same height as Palazzo Ruspoli.

Palazzo Ruspoli

Palazzo Ruspoli
(left) View of Palazzo Ruspoli showing Piazza del Popolo at the end of Via del Corso; (right) Palazzo Ruspoli seen from Via Borgognona

In 1544 Pope Paul III started the construction of Via Trinitatis (aka Via dei Condotti) which linked Porto di Ripetta with Platea Trinitatis, today's Piazza di Spagna; the street had the effect of favouring the urban development of the northern section of Via del Corso; the street was completed in 1550 and already by 1556 a rather large palace was erected at the corner between Via del Corso and Via dei Condotti. In 1583 the building was bought by Orazio Rucellai, a member of an important Florentine family; he commissioned Bartolomeo Ammannati, a famous Florentine architect, the enlargement and redesign of the palace which was completed in a few years.

Palazzo Ruspoli
(left) Northern side of Palazzo Ruspoli showing SS. Trinità dei Monti at the end of Via Condotti; (right) northern portal

In 1630 the palace was sold to the Caetani who made several changes to its internal layout and slightly modified the design of the northern façade; in the XVIIIth century the palace was acquired by the Ruspoli who enlarged it along Via Condotti.

Palazzo Ruspoli
(left) Decorated lamps of the northern portal; (right-above) detail showing the Ruspoli heraldic symbols; (right-below) 1780 inscription celebrating the enlargement of the palace in the XVIIIth century

Palazzo Ruspoli is very near Palazzo Borghese (along Via dei Condotti); the Borghese placed their heraldic symbols everywhere on the exterior of the main palace and on the adjoining buildings and the Ruspoli decided to imitate them; two lamps are decorated with vines and grapes which appear in the Ruspoli coat of arms and are also a reference to their fiefdom of Vignanello (nice small vineyard).
The image used as background for this page shows a coat of arms of the Ruspoli and Cesi families in the courtyard of Palazzo Ruspoli.

Palazzo Ruspoli
January 2013: a new colour for Palazzo Ruspoli (see Rome Ten Years Ago)

Palazzo Fiano

Palazzo Fiano
(left/centre) Parts of Palazzo Peretti; (right) details of the cornice showing three mountains, a rampant lion and pears, all heraldic symbols of the Peretti, the family of Pope Sixtus V

Piazza di S. Lorenzo in Lucina separates Palazzo Ruspoli from Palazzo Fiano which was initially built by the titular cardinals of that church. They gradually enlarged their residence and they eventually bought some houses on the other side of Via del Corso; they then built a covered passage above an ancient Roman arch to link their properties; the arch became known as Arco di Portogallo, because Jorge da Costa, from Portugal, was the titular cardinal of S. Lorenzo in Lucina between 1488 and 1508. In 1624 the complex of buildings was sold to Prince Michele Peretti, a relative of Pope Sixtus V, who commissioned the redesign of those behind the apse of S. Lorenzo in Lucina.

Palazzo Fiano
(left) 1665 Inscription placed by Pope Alexander VII to celebrate the demolition of Arco di Portogallo; (right) details of the windows of Palazzo Ottoboni Boncompagni showing the heraldic symbols of the Ottoboni (a double-headed eagle) and of the Boncompagni (a dragon)


Pope Alexander VII Chigi took several actions to improve the central section of Via del Corso where he had his family palace; Arco di Portogallo was demolished because it narrowed the street; two reliefs which decorated the arch and which portrayed scenes associated with the death of Sabina, Emperor Hadrian's wife, were detached and added to the collections of Musei Capitolini.
Towards the end of the XVIIth century the Peretti properties on both sides of Via del Corso were bought by Marco Ottoboni, a relative of Pope Alexander VIII; he was Duke of Fiano and the palace adjoining S. Lorenzo in Lucina became known as Palazzo Fiano, whereas that on the other side of Via del Corso at the corner with Via della Vite was called Ottoboni Boncompagni because the only daughter of Marco Ottoboni married a Boncompagni.

Ara Pacis Augustae

Ara Pacis - Mother Earth
Relief of "Saturnia Tellus" (Earth)

In 13 BC the Senate decreed to consecrate an altar to Pax Augusta, i.e. the peace resulting from the victorious campaigns of Emperor Augustus in Spain and Gaul; an annual sacrifice took place at the altar.
Two sides of the altar were decorated with a long relief showing the procession of magistrates and priests on their way to the ceremony; many of the individuals attending the procession have been identified as members of Augustus' enlarged family.
The altar was located near Horologium Divi Augusti, a gigantic sundial erected behind today's Palazzo di Montecitorio; in 1568 fragments of the altar were found beneath Palazzo Fiano; they were bought by Cardinal Giovanni Ricci and they ended up on the walls of Villa Medici and in Florence; other fragments were found in the following centuries; in 1937-38 a thorough excavation campaign yielded other parts of the altar which was eventually reconstructed near Mausoleo di Augusto.


Children
Details showing children of Gens Julia, the imperial family, attending the procession

Streets of the Shopping District

Vie Borgognona, Frattina and Della Vite
(left to right) Via Borgognona, Via Frattina and Via Della Vite

Via Condotti was the main of a series of parallel streets between Via del Corso and Piazza di Spagna which made up the Strangers' Quarter of XVIIIth century Rome.
Via Borgognona was also called Via Rucellai because it started from the entrance to Palazzo Rucellai Ruspoli; its name is a reference to the fact that it ends opposite Casa dei Borgognoni.
Via Frattina was named after fratte (bushes), an indication of the rural condition of the area before its development in the late XVIth century; it starts opposite Piazza di S. Lorenzo in Lucina and it ends in Piazza di Spagna near Colonna dell'Immacolata.
Via della Vite (vine) starts opposite Palazzo Fiano and it ends at Palazzo di Propaganda Fide; in the past it had a dubious reputation because the papal government authorized prostitutes to live and work there.
In the second half of the XIXth century travelling patterns changed in favour of railway; because Stazione Termini was located in a very different part of Rome the Strangers' Quarter lost most of its hotels and cafés; it then became a popular shopping district; in recent times some of its historical shops have been replaced by chain stores.

Palazzo Della Genga

Palazzo Della Genga
(left) Palazzo Della Genga forming an angle between Via del Leoncino (left) and Via di Fontanella Borghese (right); (right) XVIIIth century madonnella

This simple XVIth century palace was modified in 1612 when Pope Paul V Borghese straightened the section of Via Condotti between his family palace and Via del Corso (this section is currently called Via di Fontanella Borghese). The Della Genga family became famous in 1823 when Cardinal Annibale Della Genga, a strong advocate of reactionary policies, was elected Pope Leo XII.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Palazzo Ruspoli già Gaetani
Con disegno di Bartolommeo Ammannati fu eretto questo magnifico Palazzo della nobilissima famiglia Gaetani, ed è riguardevole per la scala composta di gradini di marmo pario, per le statue, e per li busti, e bassirilievi antichi, che sono in esso.
Palazzo Fiano
A destra della riferita chiesa si vede parte dell'antichissimo palazzo de' Cardinali Titolari della medesima, che poi fu posseduto dalla famiglia Peretti, indi de' Ludovisi, ed ora de' Duchi di Fiano Ottoboni. Si legge, che da un Cardinale Inglese fu fabbricato l'an. 1300. sopra le rovine di un grande edifizio, che dicevasi di Domiziano. Era appoggiato al medesimo un arco trionfale, che dal volgo fu detto di Tripoli, forse per i trofei, de' quali fu adorno; o pure per la vittoria di tre città avuta da quell'Imperatore. Fu detto ancora di Portogallo, da un Cardinale di quella nazione, che vi abitò. Il Nardini considerando i bassirilievi, che vi erano, lo credette di Marco Antonio, e stette in piedi fino al pontificato di Alessandro VII. il quale per rendere libera la strada del Corso, fece demolirlo: pose però nel casamento incontro una lapide per memoria di esso, e li bassirilievi furono posti in Campidoglio nel palazzo de' Conservatori.

Next plate in Book 4: Palazzo Borghese
Next step in Day 1 itinerary: Chiesa di S. Lorenzo in Lucina
You have completed your tour of Rione Campo Marzio!
Next step in your tour of Rione Colonna: Piazza Colonna