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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 February 2010.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

Passo della Barchetta all'Armata (Book 5) (View D4)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Passo della Barchetta all'Armata
S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini (rear view)
Acqua Lancisiana

The Plate (No. 87 - ii)

Passo della Barchetta all'Armata

In the 1740s Giuseppe Vasi published Vedute di Roma sul Tevere, his first book of etchings which included fifteen views of the river; while in general the works by Vasi show a lot of attention to the details of the monuments of Rome, his early engravings are more similar to a landscape painting. It is likely that Vasi was influenced by Prospectus Magni Canalis Venetiarum, a book of fourteen etchings by Antonio Visentini after view paintings of the Grand Canal of Venice by Canaletto; the book was part of the print collection of Cardinal Neri Corsini (nephew of Pope Clement XII) to whom Vasi dedicated Book 9. In the plate shown above S. Pietro and S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini are part of the background, while the attention of Vasi is focused on the ferries crossing the river, although these small boats (It. barchette) cannot be compared to those of the Grand Canal (see an engraving by Visentini - external link).
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) Via della Lungara; 2) Dome of S. Pietro; 3) Villa Barberini; 4) Chiesa ed Ospedale di S. Spirito; 5) S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini. 1), 2), 3) and 4) are shown in more detail in other pages.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The view today
The view in January 2010 (from Ponte Mazzini); in the insets the domes of S. Pietro (left) and S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini (right); at the centre of the image the buildings added to Ospedale di S. Spirito in the 1930s and Ponte Principe Amedeo di Savoia, Duca, d'Aosta

The high walls built in the late XIXth century to prevent floods and several modern bridges caused the ferries to disappear. Today the only opportunity for seeing several boats on the river is to attend Madonna Fiumarola, a procession which takes place in July.

Passo della Barchetta

Where it was
Detail from the 1748 map by Giovanni Battista Nolli showing "Passo della Barchetta all'Armata"


The very accurate map by Giovanni Battista Nolli shows the exact location of Passo della Barchetta all'Armata; Via dell'Armata (the street of the armed guards who controlled the access to Carceri Nuove, the prison of Rome) is No 691 and No 689 is the point on the left bank where passengers boarded the ferry (No. 690 is S. Eligio degli Orefici). The boarding point on the right bank was located between Giardino Farnese and S. Giacomo alla Lungara.
Between Ponte S. Angelo and Ponte Sisto there were two other ferries, in addition to Passo della Barchetta all'Armata: one between S. Anna de' Bresciani and S. Giuseppe and the other between Mola dei Fiorentini, a mill near S. Giovanni de Fiorentini and Porta S. Spirito.

S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini

Villa Barberini e S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini
Rear view of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini


The façade of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini is shown by Vasi in plate 87; the dome, because of its location on the edge of the river and of its high drum, is one of the best known landmarks of Rome. It was designed by Carlo Maderno.

Acqua Lancisiana

Where it was
(left) Steps leading to the fountains and in the background Villa Barberini; (right) fountain with inscription and coat of arms celebrating Pope Clement XI


Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654 - 1720) was a physician who is still known for his studies of anatomy. He worked in Ospedale di S. Spirito where he founded a medical library (see some of its halls - external link). He used to recommend the water of a spring close to the hospital (thus called Acqua Lancisiana). The fountain built by Pope Clement XI at his suggestion was relocated in 1830 near the Tiber by Pope Pius VIII; after the construction of the walls along the river the original inscriptions and coats of arms of the popes were placed above two small modern fountains (which since the 1950s have been turned off because their water is no longer drinkable).

Next plate in Book 5: Fianco della Lungara e di Strada Giulia