The convent at San Cosimato has a unique history of artistic patronage during the 15th and 16th centuries. During this period, the sisters at the convent seemed to behave less like active buyers and commissioners of works of art, but more like…

In the middle of the 15th century, each of the Roman Franciscan convents (San Cosimato, San Lorenzo in Panisperna, and San Silvestro in Capite) were reformed and re-staffed with nuns from Observant Clarissan convents in Perugia. They also expanded…

The Campidoglio served multiple functions during its time as a processional landmark in medieval Rome. While it was the center of the medieval Roman government, the square and area around the Capitoline hill also held one of the city’s major markets,…

The Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia, or the first monumental hospital built in Rome, was established under Pope Innocent III in the early 13th century CE. The complex got its name from its location at the site of the former Schola Saxonum, which…

Near the Piazza S. Cosimato, a medieval portico juts out from the sides of a nondescript building. The portico leads to the outdoor atrium of the church of San Cosimato, a part of the former Monastery of San Cosimato. It began as a Benedictine house…

While no longer visible to the modern visitor, from the 6th to 19th centuries, mills constituted an essential facet of the trading operations on the Tiber. The majority of mills were concentrated where the current was the strongest. Katherine Rinne…

The via Papalis or via Sacra is a set of streets throughout Rome that connect the Lateran Complex all the way to St. Peter's square, passing through the Castel Sant’Angelo, the Capitoline Hill, and a series of prominent marketplaces along the way. It…

In the early 15th century, the Roman building that is now the Venerable English College was the Hospital of St. Thomas of Canterbury. This particular hospital was famous for housing Margery Kempe at the beginning and end of her stay in Rome, from…

During the period when the seat of the papacy was in Avignon, many of the municipal leaders in Rome began to gain more power over the urban institutions. Once the popes returned to the city they attempted to reestablish control of many of the…

Established as a monastery in the 7th century by Palestinian monks who had fled Jerusalem, the current church structure of San Saba dates to the 12th century but has undergone numerous renovations and restorations. After Pope Lucius II gave the…

Though it is now the home to an expansive museum of art as one of the branches of the National Roman Museum, the Palazzo Altemps has a long history of noble occupation. From the time of the ancient Romans the site was one of the largest marble…