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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 January 2010.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

Fianco della Lungara e di Strada Giulia (Book 5) (Map C3) (Day 7) (View D8) (Rione Regola)

In this page:
The plates by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Ponte Sisto
Palazzo Farnese (rear view)
Palazzo Falconieri
Collegio Ghislieri (and Palazzo Cisterna and Palazzo Baldoca)

The Plates (No. 87 - iii and 88)

Fianco della Lungara e di Strada Giulia

In the first edition of Book V which covered the monuments along the river and which was published in the first months of 1754, Giuseppe Vasi made use of some copperplates he had engraved in the 1740s for Vedute di Roma sul Tevere, a book covering the same subject, but with views of a smaller size. In the plate shown above Vasi enlarged the original view by adding more sky in the upper part and a larger coverage of Giardino Farnese on the left; the additions are clearly noticeable. The plate was not numbered.

Fianco della Lungara e di Strada Giulia

By the end of 1754 Vasi published a second edition of Book V and he replaced the patched view of the river between Via della Lungara and Strada Giulia with a new one which covered also Ponte Sisto and gave more relevance to the buildings along Strada Giulia. In the new edition the plate was numbered as 88, the number previously used for a plate covering Giardino Farnese.
Via della Lungara and Strada Giulia are two streets opened by Pope Julius II at the beginning of the XVIth century to facilitate access to the Vatican from Trastevere and from Ponte Sisto.
The view (in the final plate) is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below this plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Giardino Farnese; 2) Palazzo Farnese; 3) Chiesa della Morte; 4) Palazzo Falconieri; 5) Spirito Santo dei Napoletani; 6) S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini; 7) Carcere Nuovo. All but 2) and 4) are shown in detail in other pages. The small map shows also: 8) Collegio Ghislieri.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The view today
Ponte Sisto: view in January 2010 (in the background the dome of S. Pietro)

Fianco della Strada Giulia
Palazzo Falconieri (left) and Palazzo Farnese (right): view in January 2010

Today the view is necessarily split into two pictures. A frontal view of Ponte Sisto requires the camera to be placed at some distance from the bridge; from that point the buildings along the river are not visible also because of the curtains of plane trees flanking the modern streets (lungotevere) on the two sides of the river.
A bend of the river and the trees hide S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini and the other buildings shown in the plate with the exception of Palazzo Farnese and Palazzo Falconieri. Vasi's view was taken at sunset in summer, whereas the images above were taken in the morning and in winter to minimize the impact of the trees.

Ponte Sisto

Ponte Sisto
(left) Central "eye" and in the background Villa Barberini (left) and Casino del Belvedere (right); (right) inner structure of the central "eye"

Ponte Sisto was built in 1474 by Pope Sixtus IV on the site of Pons Aurelius, an ancient Roman bridge which was damaged by a flood in 792. The inner structure of the pillars and sections of the arches belong to the ancient bridge. Plate 89 shows the other side of Ponte Sisto.

Ponte Sisto on December 12, 2008
Ponte Sisto on December 12, 2008

The central "eye" provides an additional passage for the water and thus decreases the pressure on the pillars; in the past it also allowed easy measuring of the level of the river and it was a warning indicator of an incoming flood. Learn more about the Tiber floods.

Palazzo Farnese

Palazzo Farnese
(left) Rear façade; (right) details of the loggia and coat of arms of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1520-89)

The façade of Palazzo Farnese towards the Tiber was the last part of the building to be completed; it was designed by il Vignola and by Giacomo della Porta to whom in particular is attributed the loggia; at that time the palace was the residence of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III, whose name too was Alessandro. He financed the construction of il Gesù.

Palazzo Falconieri

Palazzo Falconieri
(left) XVIth century portal; (centre-above) detail of the portal showing the fleur-de-lys of the Farnese; (centre-below) detail of the second portal with the heraldic symbol of the Falconieri; (right) coat of arms which was modified by replacing the symbols of the Falconieri with those of the Medici del Vascello

Palazzo Falconieri was built in the XVIth century for the Odescalchi family, but in 1606 it was bought by the Farnese who sold it to Orazio Falconieri in 1638; the Falconieri were a rich family of Florentine origin (the main altar of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini was decorated at their expense). The building was enlarged by Francesco Borromini who added a second portal on the façade in Via Giulia and designed a very elegant loggia on the back of the palace.

Palazzo Falconieri
Loggia of Palazzo Falconieri


Falconieri means falconers and thus the decoration of the building is based on falcons. In the XIXth century the palace was sold to Giacomo Medici del Vascello; he was known for his strenuous resistance at Villa del Vascello during the 1849 Defence of the Roman Republic; in 1876 in consideration of his long military career he was appointed Marchese del Vascello; a coat of arms was designed for the new noble family; it portrays the Roman she-wolf with the twins and the ruins of il Vascello.

Collegio Ghislieri and other Renaissance palaces

Palzzo Baldoca
Collegio Ghislieri: (left) portal; (right) relief showing the Holy Family and inscription celebrating the foundation of Collegio Ghislieri

The eastern section of Via Giulia retains some other interesting buildings, in addition to Palazzo Falconieri. Giuseppe Ghislieri, a doctor and a distant relative of Pope Pius V founded in 1630 an institution for the education of 24 students belonging to noble families who could not pay tuition fees. The institution was moved in 1670 in a palace in Via Giulia of which only the portal remains, because the rest of the building was pulled down to make room for a high school.

Collegio Ghislieri
(left) Palazzo Cisterna (left) and Palazzo Baldoca (right); (centre) detail of Palazzo Baldoca; (right) window of Palazzo Cisterna

Palazzo Cisterna and Palazzo Baldoca are XVIth century buildings named after their later owners (Cisterna XIXth century; Baldoca XVIIth century). In the XVIth century they belonged to the sculptor Guglielmo della Porta, who is best known for the monument to Pope Paul III in S. Pietro. Some windows retain a complex inscription making reference to him.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Palazzo Falconieri sulla strada Giulia
Fu rinnovato questo palazzo dal Cav. Borromini, vedendosi verso il fiume la di lui architettura disposta con grazia e bizzarria. Vi sono negli appartamenti de' quadri di gravi autori, e nella cappella, molte reliquie di Santi.

... vi è il collegio Ghislieri fondato l'anno 1636. per la gioventù, che ha voglia di studiare le scienze umane e divine senza obbligo del chiericato.

Next plate in Book 5: Veduta del Giardino Farnese
Next step in Day 7 itinerary: Chiesa di S. Caterina della Ruota
Next step in your tour of Rione Regola: Palazzo Farnese