Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Links to this page can be found in Book 7, Map C3, Day 7, View D8 and Rione Regola.

The page covers:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
S. Paolo alla Regola and Convento dei Padri Dottrinari
Palazzo Spada
Galleria Spada
  - Selected Paintings from Galleria Spada
Palazzo Ossoli
S. Maria de' Macellari or della Querce

The Plate (No. 131)

In 1756, when Giuseppe Vasi engraved this etching, this corner of Rome was a very modern one where XVIIIth century buildings had replaced a medieval quarter, leaving space also for a small square in front of the 1728 church of S. Paolo alla Regola. Vasi had a special interest in this church and in the adjoining monastery because they belonged to the Sicilian branch of the Franciscan Order and Vasi was very fond of his homeland, although he had left Sicily in 1736.
In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) S. Paolo alla Regola; 2) Strada dei Vaccinari; 3) Convento dei Padri della Dottrina Cristiana (on the rear side of S. Maria in Monticelli). The map shows also 4) Palazzo Spada; 5) S. Maria de' Macellari; 6) Palazzo Ossoli.
2) Strada dei Vaccinari was named after the tanners who worked in this part of Rome; S. Bartolomeo dei Vaccinari, the church of their guild was located along this street; in fact Strada dei Vaccinari was the continuation of Via di Monserrato, the main street of Rione Regola.

Today

(left) Entrance to the Franciscan monastery in November 2006; (right) S. Paolo alla Regola in April 2009

The square is not as large as Vasi showed it in the plate and today the street is almost a dead end, so one does not see S. Paolo alla Regola by chance. A recent restoration has given a very bright aspect to the façade of the church, whereas the portal of the adjoining monastery shows the impact of time (it now leads to premises belonging to the church).

S. Paolo alla Regola

(left) Stucco decoration of S. Paolo alla Regola; (right) marble inlay above the entrance to Convento dei Padri Dottrinari (Christian Doctrine Fathers) depicting symbols of the Passion of Jesus Christ which can be better seen at Ponte S. Angelo

According to tradition St. Paul lived in this area while awaiting trial (some ancient Roman houses have been found under nearby buildings) and a church dedicated to him existed on this site since the XIth century; for a short period during the XVIth century it was a parish church; in 1619 it was assigned to the Sicilian branch of the Franciscan Third Order, which was under the patronage of the King of Spain. This led to the construction of a large monastery (Collegium Siculum) and eventually to the replacement of the old church by a brand new one. The façade is a work by Giacomo Ciolli and Giuseppe Sardi, to whom in particular the elaborate stucco decoration is attributed.
The Christian Doctrine Fathers are a religious congregation founded in the late XVIth century to promote the education of children; Pope Benedict XIII reorganized the congregation and assigned S. Maria in Monticelli and the adjoining building to its members. The Christian Doctrine Fathers acquired importance after 1773 when the Jesuit Order was suppressed and they took over the management of some Jesuit institutions. The headquarters of the congregation are still in this building.

1701 frescoes by Luigi Garzi in the apse of the church depicting episodes from the life of St. Paul in an unusual sequence: (left) Preaching of St. Paul; (centre) Conversion; (right) Death; see another painting by Garzi at S. Caterina a Magnanapoli

S. Paul alla Regola. This small church of the third Order of S. Francis is situate in the via di S. Paolo alia Regola, near the Trinita de' Pelegrini, in the VII. region, Regola, from which it takes its name. It had belonged to the Augustinians until 1619, when it passed to its present owners, who rebuilt both church and convent. (..) Over the great altar is an ivory crucifix two feet ten inches long, probably the largest ivory crucifix in Rome, all of one piece except the arms and in the tribune are three frescos, representing, in the centre, the Conversion of S. Paul, to the left the Apostle of the Gentiles in the act of preaching and to the right his Decapitation, all good productions by Luigi Garzi.
Rev. Jeremiah Donovan - Rome Ancient and Modern - 1843

(left) Altar of St. Anne by Giacinto Calandrucci (see the ceiling he painted at S. Maria dell'Orto); (right) old image inside a golden stucco frame

Over the first altar, outside the sacristy, is an ancient Madonna. Over the second altar is a painting, by Calandrucci, of S. Anne, S. Joachim, S. Joseph and the B. Virgin, who has given the Infant Saviour into the hands of S. Anne. Donovan

(left) Tombstone of a 1687 "cubicularius apostolicus", i.e. a person in charge of the Pope's private apartments; (right) monument to Bishop Pietro Gioeni from Girgenti (today Agrigento) (d. 1761 by an unknown sculptor)

The church houses only a few tombstones and one funerary monument. The tombstones are decorated with the symbols of death which were very much in fashion in the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries (see a page on this topic). The monument to Bishop Gioeni follows a pattern which was popular in the XVIIIth century with the portrait of the dead inside a medallion placed on a pyramid (see some better examples).

1096 inscription from S. Cesario de Arenula, i.e. near the beach of the Tiber

This little church was near St. Paul: its clergy received the money from the presbytery: it was therefore very ancient. In 1630 it was still standing, as can be seen from the Acts of the Visits made in that year. (..) It was destroyed for the construction of the hospital for convalescents, near the Trinità dei Pellegrini.
Mariano Armellini - Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX - 1891
St. Caesarius of Terracina was an early Christian martyr (d. in 107) to whom another lost church was dedicated on the Palatine and eventually S. Cesareo in Palatio at the beginning of Via Appia.

Palazzo Spada

(left) Palazzo Spada; (right) statue of Julius Caesar framed by an elaborate decoration

Palazzo Spada is definitely the missing plate in Book 4 which Vasi dedicated to the main palaces of Rome in 1754; he mentioned it and he talked about its decorations, the courtyard, the changes made by Francesco Borromini, but he did not show it. Perhaps the design of the façade did not suit the taste of the time. We know that in the XIXth century it was viewed with disapproval.
Between the windows of the first-floor are niches with ancient statues: the mezzanini, which come next, are encompassed by a superfluity of stucco ornaments and the windows of the upper story come too near the roof. Donovan
Mamma and I went, yesterday forenoon, to the Spada Palace, which we found among the intricacies of Central Rome; a dark and massive old edifice, built around a court. (..) The Spada Palace itself has a decayed and impoverished aspect, as if the family had dwindled from its former state and grandeur, and now, perhaps, smuggled itself into some out-of-the-way corner of the old edifice.
Passages from the French and Italian Note-Books of Nathaniel Hawthorne - May 21, 1858

Coat of arms of the Spada family between Faith (left) and Charity (right) and two "tondos" with the motto/heraldic symbol of Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro (see another image of the façade)

The palace was built at the expense of Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro in 1548-1550, probably by Giulio Mazzoni who is known to have designed its complex stucco decoration; the central section of the façade was initially decorated with a coat of arms of Pope Paul III, who died in November 1549 (a coat of arms of his successor Pope Julius III was placed in the courtyard). In 1632 the palace was bought by Cardinal Bernardino Spada; his heirs replaced the papal coat of arms with that of their family, but they did not touch the references to Cardinal Capodiferro i.e. the circular reliefs portraying a dog sitting next to a flaming column with the inscription Utroque Tempore (which means "at both times" - see also the image used as background for this page).
Cardinal Capodiferro chose this motto and the symbol of the dog to proclaim his loyalty to the Catholic Church at a time of great religious conflicts; the motto was taken from Exodus 13, 21: Dominus autem praecedebat eos ad ostendendam viam per diem in columna nubis, et per noctem in columna ignis: ut dux esset itineris utroque tempore. (And the Lord went before them to shew the way, by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; that he might be the guide of their journey at both times. Douay-Rheims Bible).

Decoration of the courtyard with the stucco statues of Neptune and his wife Amphitrite and below them frieze portraying fights between couples of centaurs

When Giulio Mazzoni was decorating the courtyard of Palazzo Spada, the Roman Catholic Church was in the process of developing a response to the Reform, but the Renaissance love for the Classic World was still permeating the cultural circles of Rome. Cardinal Capodiferro did not see any contradictions between his role as a Prince of the Church and the decoration of his palace with naked statues of the Pagan gods.
Giulio Mazzoni was a pupil of Daniele da Volterra, who in turn was an assistant to Michelangelo; his stuccoes show the influence of the great master.

Friezes on the façade (above) and in the courtyard (below); you may wish to see a similar decoration of the same period in the Papal Apartment of Castel Sant'Angelo

The stuccoes were based on patterns and subjects which decorated Roman sarcophagi, e.g. putti and festoons and sea thiasos with tritons and mermaids.

Coats of arms of King Henry II of France with the Collar of the Order of St. Michael in the courtyard (left) and of Cardinal Spada in the inner portico (centre) and in the fake façade opposite the entrance (right)

Cardinal Capodiferro represented the Pope to the King of France and he placed a coat of arms of King Henry II in the courtyard. When Cardinal Spada bought the palace he commissioned a coat of arms which had an oval support similar to that of the king, but for the coat of arms which he placed on a wall opposite the palace he preferred a mosso (Music: with animation/lively) design, typical of the taste of his time.

Borromini's perspectives: (left) Galleria Prospettica; (centre) decoration on the wall of Palazzo Ossoli opposite Palazzo Spada; (right) view from the garden

Cardinal Bernardino Spada enlarged the building, but he did not touch the courtyard and its decoration; he did however enlarge the view one had from it; Virgilio Spada, the cardinal's elder brother, was a member of Oratorio dei Filippini and he knew well Francesco Borromini to whom are generally attributed the "tricks" which expanded the views from the courtyard and in particular Galleria Prospettica, a short gallery which seems much longer. The fake façade on the side of Palazzo Ossoli opposite the entrance to Palazzo Spada provided a viewer standing at the centre of the courtyard with a deeper perspective.

(left) Galleria Prospettica seen at close range to highlight the features which (from the right distance) make it seem very long; (right) the small statue and the fake garden at its end

In the cortile is a curious piece of architectural jugglery, a covered portico with Doric columns, gradually diminishing in height, thus enhancing the real effect of the perspective. The success of the experiment is quite complete, for, though only about thirty feet in length, the portico seems to the eye to be at least twice as long; and, after walking through it and ascertaining its exact dimensions, we feel a little as if we had been imposed upon, somewhat in the same mood as when we learn that our compassion has been roused by a feigned tale of distress.
George Stillman Hillard - Six Months in Italy in ca 1847-1848
In the XIXth century Borromini was regarded as a champion of bad taste, yet the ingenuity of some of his works could not be denied.
Between about 1635 and the end of his career Borromini had a hand in a great number of domestic buildings of importance. But in spite of this, no palace was entirely carried out by him. At the beginning stands his work in the Palazzo Spada, where he was responsible for the erection of the garden wall, for various decorative parts inside the palace and, above all, for the well-known illusionist colonnade which appears to be very long, but is, in fact, extremely short. The idea seems to be derived from the stage. But one should not forget that it also had a respectable Renaissance pedigree.(..) The concept of the Spada colonnade is, therefore, neither characteristically Baroque nor is it of more than marginal interest in Borromini's work. To over-emphasize its significance, as is often done by those who regard the Baroque mainly as a style concerned with optical illusion, leads entirely astray.
Rudolf Wittkower - Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750

(left) A small courtyard; (right) a view of the rear garden

Galleria Spada

(left) 1782 engraving showing the statue of Pompey: (right) the same in an ilustration of "A short history of the Roman people" by William Francis Allen 1890

The Statue of Pompey is big as the Life, holding a Globe in One hand, and the Other stretched out as making a Speech; 'tis Excellent; and moreover, 'tis the very Statue at the foot of which Julius Caesar fell, and is the Only one in Rome of this Great Man, and found in the time of Julius III in the Ruins of the place Plutarch has describ'd.
Jonathan and Jonathan Richardson - Account of Some of the Statues, etc. in Italy - 1722
In the antechamber of Palazzo Spada, stands the celebrated statue of Pompey. (..) It was at length discovered, I believe about the beginning of the seventeenth century, in a partition wall between two houses. After some altercation, the proprietors of the two houses agreed to cut the statue asunder, and divide the marble; when fortunately the Cardinal de Spada, heard the circumstance, and by a timely purchase, prevented the accomplishment of the barbarous agreement.
John Chetwode Eustace - A Classical Tour through Italy in 1802
The statue is unlikely to have ever portrayed Pompey and it was massively restored in the late XVIIth century; it is now placed in the main hall of Consiglio di Stato, the highest administrative Italian court which occupies a part of the palace. The premises of Consiglio di Stato house a catoptric sundial designed by Father Emmanuel Maignan in 1644.

First Room with a large portrait of Cardinal Bernardino Spada by Guido Reni and to its left one by il Guercino. They were made when the Cardinal was Legate (Governor) of Bologna

Cardinal Bernardino Spada - Whole-length Sitting. The Clair-Obscure in Perfection; the Face is Evidently the Principal, the light descends gradually, and sweetly spreads itself throughout; for all is Light, and Gay; but with such due Gradations, that all is Harmony, and very Strong. The Face has a prodigious Relief, tho' upon a broad light Ground, a Curtain of a Laky Colour which Guido greatly delighted in. The Flesh is Warm, and the Colouring clean, and Transparent. No Hair is seen; he has a Red Cap, and the drapery exquisitely painted, 'tis Cardinal Summer Dress Crimson Sattin. The Cardinal sits at a Table With a Pen in his Hand and his other hand falling in his lap: his Face turn'd. from his Writing, and What Shadow it Has is on the Broad Side. This Picture is much talked about and with good reason. Richardson
Cardinal Spada spent many years in Bologna where he protected Guido Reni and il Guercino.

Eberarth Keilhau, aka Monsù Bernardo, Marchioness Maria Veralli and five of her sons (1663-65)

Monsu Bernardo, (1624-87), Rembrandt's pupil, working in Italy from 1651 on. (..) This painter delights in illustrating homely or gaudy and grotesque scenes and the beholder is entertained by the narrative. Wittkower
The collection of paintings of the two cardinals was greatly increased by those of Maria Veralli, wife of Orazio Spada, their nephew. The Veralli were a family from Cori and Giovanni Battista Veralli was the personal doctor of Pope Paul III. His son Girolamo was created cardinal in 1549. Another Veralli, Fabrizio, was made cardinal in 1608. Gerolamo and Fabrizio Veralli were buried in S. Agostino in two identical monuments. In 1643 Maria Veralli became the heiress of all the family properties. The current catalog of Galleria Spada makes specific references to the works of art which belonged to the Veralli. The gallery of paintings in Palazzo Spada has been kept almost as it was. This was made possible by a clause (fideicommissum) in the will of a descendant of the Spada which did not allow to sell piecemeal the collection.

Third and largest room with two 1620 globes by Willem Blaeu, a Dutch cartographer (see some details of them)

From this anteroom we passed through several saloons containing pictures, some of which were by eminent artists; the Judith of Guido, a copy of which used to weary me to death, year after year, in the Boston Athenæum; and many portraits of Cardinals in the Spada family, and other pictures by Guido. There were some portraits, also of the family, by Titian, some good pictures by Guercino; and many which I should have been glad to examine more at leisure; but, by and by, the "custode" made his appearance, and began to close the shutters, under pretence that the sunshine would injure the paintings, an effect, I presume, not very likely to follow after two or three centuries' exposure to light, air, and whatever else might hurt them. However, the pictures seemed to be in much better condition, and more enjoyable, so far as they had merit, than those in most Roman picture galleries. N. Hawthorne

Third Room which was decorated by Michelangelo Ricciolini at the beginning of the XVIIIth century: (above) Spada coat of arms; (below) Africa and America; see a ceiling painted by Ricciolini at S. Maria delle Vergini

The palace also contains over 200 pictures, chiefly of the Bolognese school of the 16/17th cent. , but these are not shown without a special introduction.
Karl Baedeker - Guide to Central Italy - 1900
Some of the rooms were redesigned at the end of the XVIIth century by Tommaso Mattei.

Third Room: monochrome paintings by Michelangelo Ricciolini who is mainly known as a decorator

Passing towards the Pallace of Cardinal Spada, I entered into it, and there saw many exquisite Pictures.
Richard Lassels - The Voyage of Italy - late 1660s but publ. in 1686
The palace was bought by the Italian State in 1927. Not all the paintings on display in the museum are exactly in the same place they were in 1927. They were rearranged in order to recreate the aspect of the rooms which were described in detail in some XVIIth century guides to Rome.

(left) Galleria Spada: Sleep, school of Alessandro Algardi; (right) Galleria Borghese: Sleep by Algardi

In the Palazzo Spada, is the great Statue of Pompey mostly naked. (..) There are other fine things in this Palace; Morpheus (Sleep) with Poppies about his Head, white Marble. He is generally seen in black Marble, as more alluding to Night. (..) In the Great Gallery is a most admirable Ritratto of Cardinal Spada, a whole-length Figure, sitting by Guido. The Rape of Helena, by the same. Massaniello's Revolution in Naples., by Mich. Ang. da Battalia. Several Ritrats by Titian and other good Pictures.
Edward Wright - Some Observations made in France, Italy etc. in the years 1720, 1721 and 1722, [1730].
In addition to paintings the Spada had a small collection of ancient or pseudo-ancient statues.

Small statues (IInd century AD): (left) putto on a sea horse (Veralli collection); (right) head of Minerva (largely restored in the XVIIth century)

(left) IInd century AD bust, perhaps an empress; (right) XVIIth century head based on that of Laocoon

Other objects: (left) XVIth century marble relief from the Veralli collection which was placed in a wooden tabernacle cabinet expressly made for Cardinal Bernardino Spada: (right) Parisian mantle clock (1790s)

Selected Paintings from Galleria Spada

It is often said that a significant step in the slow and persistent shift from the primarily religious art of the Middle Ages to the primarily secular art of modern times was accomplished during the seventeenth century. (..) It cannot be denied that the largest part of Italian artistic production during the period under review (1600-1750) is of a religious nature. By comparison the profane sector remains relatively insignificant. This is correct, even though after Annibale Carracci's Farnese ceiling classical mythology and history become increasingly important in the decoration of palaces. (..) It was in the years around 1600 that a long prepared, clear-cut separation between ecclesiastical and secular art became an established fact. Events in Rome hastened this division for the whole of Italy. Still life, genre scenes, and self-contained landscapes begin to evolve as species in their own right at this historical moment. Wittkower
It must be added that religious painting was chiefly executed in large fresco cycles, whereas canvasses prevailed in secular art. Galleria Spada, although being rather small, offers a representative sample of secular paintings in XVIIth century Rome. The following selection is arranged in a broadly chronological order and the accompanying text is often based on excerpts from Wittkower's book. Similar pages cover some of the paintings at Palazzo Corsini and at Palazzo Barberini.

(left) Bartolomeo Passarotti (Bologna 1528-1593), The Botanist, 1570; (right) Prospero Fontana (Bologna 1512-1597), The Astrologist 1575 ca.

These two paintings were bought by Cardinal Bernardino Spada when he was governor of Bologna. The contribution of this town to the development of Italian painting during the first half of the XVIIth century was enormous. Passarotti and Fontana have both been associated with the initial steps of Agostino and Annibale Carracci. The portraits testify to the increasing attention which was paid to scientific developments in the second half of the XVIth century, during which botanical gardens were founded in Italian universities (and in some private villas, e.g. Orti Farnesiani) and astronomy was at the centre of attention. Astronomists, including Galileo Galilei, were requested to develop horoscopes for their patrons and astrology was regarded as a science (you may wish to see the horoscope of Agostino Chigi at Villa la Farnesina).

(left) Orazio Gentileschi (Pisa 1563-London 1639), David with the head of Goliath (1613-21 ca - Veralli collection); (right) Giovanni Domenico Cerrini (Perugia 1609-Rome 1681), David with the head of Goliath, 1649 (a gift of Cardinal Virgilio Spada to his brother Bernardino)

Few of Caravaggio's followers actually met him in Rome, but most of them were deeply moved by his work while its impact was still fresh and forceful. The list of names is long and contains masters of real distinction. Among the older painters Orazio Gentileschi stands out. (..) He was in Rome from 1576 and came under Caravaggio's influence in the early years of the new century. But a typically Tuscan quality always remained evident in his work - so much so that his pictures are on occasions reminiscent of Bronzino and even of Sassoferrato: witness his clear and precise contours, his light and cold blues, yellows, and violets as well as the restraint and simplicity of his compositions. Moreover, his lyrical and idyllic temperament is far removed from Caravaggio's almost barbaric vitality. (..) Among the rank and file of artists born between 1600 and 1620 the pattern of development varies but little. Andrea Camassei, Francesco Cozza, Sassoferrato and Giovanni Domenico Cerrini stem mainly from Domenichino. Wittkower
The David by Gentileschi has the composure of an ancient Roman statue and it shows the influence of Annibale Carracci who studied these statues at Palazzo Farnese and developed many of the figures of his frescoes out of them. The painting by Cerrini reflects a more theatrical approach where the attention of the viewer is shifted from the academic portrayal of David towards a dramatic depiction of Goliath's head.

(left) Domenico Tintoretto, son of Jacopo Robusti il Tintoretto (Venice 1560-1635), Portrait of Luca Stella, Archbishop of Zara, 1615 (coll. Bernardino Spada); (right) Jan van den Hoecke (Antwerp 1611 - Brussels 1651), Portrait of Cardinal Luigi Caetani

The portrait by Domenico Tintoretto follows a pattern which was very common in the case of members of the nobility, i.e. to show one of their fiefdoms in the background of the painting. In the case of Luca Stella, Zara, a Venetian town on an islet in Dalmatia can be seen from the open window. A similar portrait of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese was made by il Domenichino.
As the century advanced beyond the first decade three more trends became prominent, the impact of which was to be felt sooner or later throughout Italy and across her frontiers, namely the classicism of Annibale Carracci's school, Caravaggism, and Rubens' s northern Baroque, the last resulting mainly from the wedding of Flemish realism and Venetian colourism. This marriage, accomplished by a great genius, was extraordinarily fertile and had a lasting influence above all in northern Italy. Wittkower
Van den Hoecke was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of wall tapestries. He was one of the principal assistants in Rubens' studio in the 1630s. He later travelled to Italy where he resided for a decade in Rome. He was a versatile artist who created portraits as well as history and allegorical paintings. His portrait of Cardinal Caetani shows a depth of psychological penetration which is typical of Flemish painting. The Cardinal is buried in the family chapel at S. Pudenziana.

Guido Reni (Calvenzano 1575 - Bologna 1642), The Rape of Helen, 1631. Copy made by Giacinto Campana with final touches by Reni himself (coll. Bernardino Spada); original at the Louvre in Paris

Both the ancient and the modern iconography of Paris showed him in connection with the three goddesses, among whom he was asked to select the most beautiful one. In this painting the goddesses are shown in the background and Paris and Helen, escorted by Mercury, are merrily walking towards their sea honeymoon. The change is most likely due to the fact that the painting was intended to be a wedding gift. It was commissioned to Reni by King Philip IV of Spain, and Cardinal Spada as governor of Bologna was in charge of following up the deal. Eventually Philip IV gave up the purchase and Cardinal Spada advised Queen Mary de' Medici, mother of King Louis XIII, to buy it, which she did, but due to her fall in disgrace the painting was acquired by a French collectionist. Cardinal Spada managed to get an almost original copy for his private collection, a practice which was rather common at the time.
When at Bologna Cardinal Spada bought a fine painting by Guercino portraying the death of Dido which impressed many visitors of Galleria Spada: The Death of Dido, she is fallen on the Ground, and the Sword comes above a Yard through her Body; the Expression is something Savage, and Outre', but withal very touching; the Picture is bigger than the Life. Tis in a Strong, Black manner, as almost all his are. Richardson

Valentin de Boulogne (Coulommiers en Brie 1591 - Rome 1632), Holy Family with young St. John the Baptist, 1626-30 ca. (Veralli collection) (see another painting by Valentin at Palazzo Barberini)

Little has so far been said about the most conspicuous and at the same time the most revolutionary element of Caravaggio's art, his tenebroso. (..) . Figures are now cast in semi-darkness, but strong light falls on them, models them, and gives them a robust three-dimensional quality. At first one may be inclined to agree with the traditional view that his lighting is powerfully realistic; it seems to come from a definable source, and it has even been suggested that he experimented with a camera obscura. Further analysis, however, shows that his light is in fact less realistic than Titian's or Tintoretto's. (..) With Caravaggio light isolates; it creates neither space nor atmosphere. Darkness in his pictures is something negative; darkness is where light is not, and it is for this reason that light strikes upon his figures and objects as upon solid, impenetrable forms. (..) The list of Caravaggio's followers is long and contains masters of real distinction (..) apart from a host of northerners, among whom the Italo-Frenchman Valentin should here be mentioned. (..) The son of an Italian, coming from France (Boulogne), Valentin settled in Rome in about 1612. Most of his known work seems to date from after 1620. His pictures are not only disciplined, but also exhibit an extensive scale of differentiated emotions and passages of real drama. Valentin carried on Caravaggio's manner in Rome longer than almost any other Caravaggista. Wittkower
See paintings by Caravaggio at S. Maria del Popolo, S. Luigi dei Francesi, Musei Capitolini and Galleria Borghese which influenced Valentin de Boulogne.

Pietro Testa aka il Lucchesino (Lucca 1607 - Rome 1650), The Massacre of the Innocents, 1639-40 ca. (coll. Fabrizio Spada)

In Testa's case the conflict between an innate romanticism and the classical theories which he professed, takes on tragic proportions, for his brief career - he died at the age of about forty - probably ended by suicide. Born at Lucca, he was in Rome before 1630, began studying with Domenichino, subsequently worked with Cortona, and became one of the main collaborators of Cassiano del Pozzo in the 1630s and was thus drawn into Poussin's orbit. (..) Passeri describes him as an extreme melancholic, bent on philosophical speculations, who found that work in black-and-white was more suitable than painting to express his fantastic mythological and symbolic conceptions. (..) It was Passeri's opinion that Testa outdistanced every painter by the variety and nobility of his ideas and the sublimity of his inventions. Wittkower
Testa's depiction of The Massacre of the Innocents has little in common with the usual treatments of this familiar biblical theme. He infuses even this gruesome event with the poetic aura of his mythological histories. The biblical story becomes a mood painting, an oriental fairy tale. In terms of color and luminosity this is Testa's most perfect achievement. Even the brittleness and the arbitrary manner of composition are not unpleasant; indeed they are subordinated as essential expressive means for the poetic vision.
Hermann Voss, from Baroque Painting in Rome (1925), revised and translated by Thomas Pelzel
Cardinal Fabrizio Spada (1643-1717) was the second son of Ottavio Spada and Maria Veralli and he enriched the family collections. He died at Palazzo Spada and he was buried at S. Maria in Vallicella, the church of the Congregation of St. Philip Neri which had been supported by Cardinal Virgilio Spada.

Michelangelo Cerquozzi aka Michelangelo delle Battaglie (Rome 1602-1660), The Revolt of Masaniello at Naples, 1648 (coll. Virgilio Spada)

Then I went to see the markets here, and found them most admirable, especially those of fruit, which Campania sends hither: and were but the taxes taken off, or reasonably moderated, Naples would be the cheapest and richest place in the world. But the Kings officers if they suck in Milan and fleece in Sicily, they slay in Naples, which usage drove the people some years past, into such a desperate humor, that they took up arms under the comand of Mazaniello: his true name was Thomas Angelus Maia, a poor fisherman without Stockings or Shoes, who for ten dayes together, swaggered here so powerfully in the head of two hundred thousand mutinous people, that when he commanded them to burn a house, they did it: when he commanded them to cast into the fire, all the goods, papers, plate, beds, hangings, of the Gabelliers they did it without reserving the least pretious piece to themselves: when he commanded them to cry out: Down with the Gabells, they did it: when he put his finger to his mouth, they were all silent again, as if this poor fisherman had been the soul that animated that great body of people. It was prodigious indeed that such a poor young man (not past twenty-three) in wastcoat and drawers, and his fishers cap on, would find such obedience, from such rich and witty Citizens. But as tumultuous people make arms of every thing their fury meets with, so they make Captains of every man that will but head them. (..) They shewed me the house of this fisherman: but the other houses shewed me his fury. Thousands have not yet recovered from those ten daies tumults. Lassels
In the meantime, the lower genre, the so-called Bambocciate, to which Pieter van Laer had given rise, found scores of partisans. These "Bamboccianti" had become a powerful coterie even before the 1640s; apart from Michelangelo Cerquozzi, Viviano Codazzi and a few others, they were however mainly northerner. (..) The classically constructed vedute were peopled with figures by Cerquozzi. Wittkower
Two small paintings by Pieter van Laer at Galleria Spada are shown in a page on S. Costanza, the church where the Bamboccianti used to meet. Cerquozzi, best known for his depictions of battles, collaborated with Viviano Codazzi, a painter of Roman ruins in 1648 on a canvas depicting the Revolt of Masaniello. This work deals with the anti-Spanish rebellion that took place in July 1647 in the Piazza del Mercato in Naples. The view is characterized by the belltower of Chiesa del Carmine and by an open view of Mount Vesuvius. The depiction of the actual revolt used the typical naturalistic bambocciata manner. Today the overall impression is of a chaotic assemblage of miniature episodes, but, at the time the canvas was made, all these episodes were well known to the viewers. The presence of this painting in the gallery testifies to the filo-French and anti-Spanish attitudes of Virgilio and Bernardino Spada.

Ciro Ferri (Rome 1634-1689), The Vestals, 1666-67 ca. (coll. Fabrizio Spada)

It was mainly Ciro Ferri, Cortona's closest follower, who ensured the continuity of the Cortona succession in Florence. Ferri made Florence his home from 1659 to 1665 in order, above all, to complete the Palazzo Pitti frescoes which his master had left unfinished when he returned to Rome in 1647. Wittkower
Ciro Ferri was involved in the decoration of many Roman churches, e.g. S. Agnese in Agone and he specialized in frescoes and in cartoons for mosaics at S. Pietro. At Palazzo Pitti instead he painted some historical subjects. This canvas was painted by Ferri in 1665-1667 when he was working at the decoration of a church of Bergamo, perhaps to be developed in a large fresco. The scene depicts the Vestals keeping alight the sacred fire; their round temple was known after ancient reliefs and coins before it was discovered in the 1880s.

Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari (Rome 1654- 1727), Bacchus meets Ariadne at Naxos, 1697, one of four paintings depicting episodes from the Metamorphoses by Ovid (coll. Fabrizio Spada); see an ancient Roman mosaic depicting the same episode

The oldest of Maratti's pupils was the Palermitan Giacinto Calandrucci, the most faithful Giuseppe Chiari, the most original Giuseppe Passeri. (..) They accomplished the transformation of the Marattesque into an elegant and sweet eighteenth-century style. Wittkower
Chiari worked with Maratta at the decoration of S. Pietro and fresco ceilings by him can be seen at Palazzo Barberini and S. Clemente. The Metamorphoses offered sculptors and painters a wide choice of subjects; one of the four paintings by Chiari depicted Apollo and Daphne, perhaps the most popular one (see the statue by Gian Lorenzo Bernini).

Francesco Solimena (Serino 1657 - Barra 1747), The Rape of Orithyia, 1699 ca. (coll. Fabrizio Spada), see the same episode in an ancient Greek vase and read Ovid's account

Luca Giordano's heir-apparent was Francesco Solimena, who headed the Neapolitan school unchallenged during the first half of the eighteenth century. Next to Luca Giordano and Cortona, Lanfranco and Preti exercised the most formative influence upon his work. From the latter stem the brownish shadows of his figures - as much a mark of his style as the vivid modulation, the flickering patterning of the picture plane, and, in his later work, the somewhat pompous elegance of his figures. Although carefully constructed, many of his multi-figured compositions make the impression of an inextricable melée, in line with the general tendencies of the Late Baroque. But if one takes the trouble of surveying figure by figure, their studied poses and academic manner is evident, and it is easy to distinguish conventional and even canonical figures and groups deriving from such acknowledged classical authorities as Annibale Carracci, Domenichino, and even Raphael. (..) Solimena worked in Naples all his life, and yet became one of the most influential European painters; after Maratti's death and before the rise of Tiepolo's star he had no peer. Wittkower
The comment by Wittkower perfectly applies to the figures of Boreas, the northern wind, and Orithyia, an Athenian princess whom he raped. See The Massacre of Scio, a famous painting by Solimena.

Francesco Trevisani (Capodistria 1656 - Rome 1746), Banquet of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, details 1702 (coll. Fabrizio Spada); see an altarpiece by Trevisani at SS. Stimmate di S. Francesco

Francesco Trevisani, never forgot his Venetian upbringing under Antonio Zanchi, produced cabinet pictures in a true Rococo style. Rivalling Sebastiano Conca's popularity, Trevisani's sweet Madonnas and porcelainly children found a ready market all over Europe. Wittkower

Palazzo Ossoli

(left) Façade; (right-above) ancient cornice above the entrance; (right-below) courtyard

This small palace was built in 1520-1527 for Giordano Missini, a rich merchant from Orvieto. Its elegant design shows the hand of a talented architect, maybe Baldassarre Peruzzi. The tiny courtyard is worth having a look at. The palace is named after the Ossoli, a family from Milan who acquired it in 1674. It was eventually sold to the Spada Veralli.

S. Maria de' Macellari

(left) Gathering of members of the butchers' brotherhood on Palm Sunday 2009; (right) façade; (inset) the badge of the guild showing the sacred image inside the church

In 1507 Pope Julius II assigned a small church known as S. Nicolò de Curte and which was almost falling apart to the horse merchants who exercised their trade at nearby Campo de' Fiori; they came from Maremma and they were devoted to S. Maria della Querce (Oak), a sanctuary near Viterbo, which was built by the Pope and by his uncle Pope Sixtus IV. For this reason the name of the church was changed and a holm oak was planted in the small square in front of the church. The tree has been replaced repeatedly, the last time in May 2016.

Detail of the façade with a window which resembles those at S. Sisto

Their beef is very good, not much inferiour to ours in England. Before they kill their beasts they put them in a great heat and chase, for the same reason I suppose that we hunt Deer and bait Bulls in England, viz. to make the flesh eat more tender and short, which yet spoils the colour of the meat, and in some mens judgment the taste too, disposing it to putrefaction. Their sucking veal, which they call vitella mangana they imagine all Europe cannot parallel for goodness and delicacy. Their kid or Caprette is also accounted very good meat and so is their Swines-flesh. Their Mutton is the least commendable, as being for the most part tough and dry.
John Ray - Observations (..) made in a journey through part of (..) Italy in 1663
A few years later the church was assigned to the guild (Università de' Macellari) and the brotherhood (Venerabile Compagnia della Santissima Madonna della Quercia dei Macellari) of the butchers, (macellari, in modern Italian macellai). Similar to what occurs today, the butchers were doing pretty well and in 1727-1730 the church was redesigned by Filippo Raguzzini.

(left) Main altar; (right) Madonna della Querce

The Virgin and Child, over the great altar, is of the school of Caracci. The church is officiated by a Chaplain, appointed by the brotherhood. Donovan
In 1801 the guild was abolished by Pope Pius VII, but the church continued to be maintained by the brotherhood. In 1864 the interior was decorated with fake marbles having very bright colours and the main altar was redesigned. The brotherhood still owns the church and uses it for gatherings and celebrations.

Early XVIIIth century organ (see a page on this topic)

You may wish to see the lavishly decorated interior of S. Maria dell'Orto, another church belonging to a guild.

(left) Wooden sculpture showing Madonna and Child in a frame of oak branches; (right) the modern standard of the brotherhood. You may wish to see a directory of churches belonging to a guild and some other standards of brotherhoods at Festa de' Noantri

Sacristy: (above) ceiling: the Virgin Mary, St. Dominic, St. Philip Neri and St. Pius V (XVIIIth century); (below) decoration of a large cupboard with a small image of Madonna della Quercia

Next plate in Book 7: Convento dei PP. Cappuccini.
Next step in Day 7 itinerary: Chiesa dei SS. Vincenzo e Anastasio.
Next step in your tour of Rione Regola: Monte di Pietà.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:

Chiesa e Conv. di s. Paolo alla Regola Dopo l'ospizio de' Pellegrini segue quest'antica, e bella chiesa, la quale dalla contrada, si dice corrottamente alla regola, in vece di arenula. La tennero per molto tempo i frati di s Agostino riformati; ma poi avendola nell' anno 1619. conseguita quelli del Terz'Ordine di s. Francesco della provincia di Sicilia, vi stabilirono un collegio di studj, e vi fabbricorano di nuovo la chiesa col disegno di fra Gio. Batista Borgonzoni; le pitture nella tribuna sono del Pacieri, e la s. Anna di Giacinto Calandracci allievo del Maratti, il quale, dicesi, che vi abbia fatto qualche cosa: le pitture in alto sono del Cav. Monifilio; ed il s :Francesco incontro di n. n. Palazzo Spada, e chiesa di s. Maria di Loreto de' Macellari Fu questo palazzo edificato dal Card. Girolamo Capo di Ferro col disegno di Giulio Merisi da Caravaggio, e fu ornato tanto nel prospetto, che nel cortile di statue e bassirilievi di stucco lavorati da Giulio Piacentino. Evvi una magnifica scala, e tre deliziosi giardini, in uno de' quali una bellissima prospettiva con colonne di rilievo, creduta opera del Borromino in concorrenza della scala regia fatta nel palazzo Vaticano dal Bernini. Negli appartamenti terreni e superiori sonovi de' quadri e statue di sommo pregio, fra le quali evvi la statua di Pompeo il Grande, come dicemmo, trovata nel Pontific. di Paolo III. nel vicolo de' liutari, accanto alla chiesa di s. Lorenzo in Damaso, per la quale succedette una graziosa lite, poichè fu scoperta sotto un muro divisorio di due cantine, in una delle quali stava il capo, e nell'altra il rimanente; perciò ciascun padrone di quelle due case, pretendeva la statua intera; allegava uno, che avendo egli il capo, a lui conveniva il resto; e l'altro, che tenendo egli la maggior parte della statua, a lui spettava anco il capo; su di ciò, fu dal giudice decretato, che ognuno tenesse la sua parte. Udito questo dal Card. Capodiferro, ne dette pronto ragguaglio al Papa, il quale, come sommo dilettante dell'antichità, comprò per 500. scudi la statua, e per gradimento della notizia, la donò al detto Cardinale. Nel vicolo incontro evvi la piccola chiesa eretta dalla confraternita de' Macellari, ornata di marmi, e di pitture.