1500s Items (16 total)
Cola on the Capitoline
Now Cola de Rienzi, though still somewhat fearful, gathered his courage and set out, together with the Pope’s vicar, and climbed to the Palace of the Campidoglio in the year of our Lord thirteen forty-six. He had a force of about one hundred armed…
San Giacomo degli Incurabili
The hospital of San Giacomo in Augusta was the third hospital built in Rome during the Middle Ages. According to Cardinal Pietro Colonna’s will, the initial structure of the hospital was erected in 1339 in honor of his uncle Giacomo Colonna, who had…
Urban Processes in the 15th Century: The Streets of Trastevere & the Banks of the Tiber
Medieval Rome’s systems of urban governance mirrored those of other medieval Italian cities but were somewhat less centralized. In the 14th century, when the papacy left Rome for Avignon, the municipal government had to grow in order to fulfill…
Ponte Rotto
This bridge was built as Pons Aemelius in 179 B.C. As early as the 6th century, during the papacy of Gregory the Great, it formed a vital connection between the two most populated areas of Rome: Trastevere and the area between the east bank and the…
The Fountain of Ponte Sisto
The Fountain of Ponte Sisto is currently located at Piazza Trilussa, on the west side of Ponte Sisto. According to its niche inscription, this fountain was moved to its current location for the purpose of widening the river’s opposite bank in 1898.…
Palazzo Cesi
Although nothing remains of the original Palazzo Cesi and its surrounding gardens next to St. Peter’s Square, standing in the place where it would have been still gives us insight into the site’s setting in relation to the Vatican and the other…
Borgo prostitutes' races
A resident in the Borgo area in 1503 would have witnessed prostitute races ending in St.Peter’s square. The participants were not limited to this certain group: interestingly, children, youth and the elderly would run nude while prostitutes would…
The Scourge of Father Tiber: Flood Markers in Rome
Walking along the bank, the Tiber looks like a formidable river. During the flood season the current is swift — carrying branches and other debris down the river— and the water level can rise above the bike paths that are now populated by bicyclists,…
Bramante's Tempietto
On top of the Gianicolo Hill (also known as the Janiculum) in Trastevere sits San Pietro in Monotorio, built most likely by Baccio Pontelli. Inside a small courtyard Bramante’s high renaissance architectural masterpiece, The Tempietto (1502-1510),…
Landscape Imaginaries at the Villa Farnesina
Today, the Villa Farnesina is known for its impressive set of frescoes. These frescoes feature imagery of astrological time-telling symbolism, ancient mythology, precious materials, and pastoral landscapes. Diane Spencer suggests that some of the…
Villa Farnesina
The Villa Farnesina is a beautiful Renaissance building near the entrance to Trastevere. Across the river from central Rome and its namesake family's main residence (the Palazzo Farnese), the contemporary museum and gallery provide an excellent…
Santa Maria in Porta Paradisi
The Chiesa di Santa Maria in Porta Paradisi, located in the Campo Marzio district and in existence since the 9th century, was rebuilt and given its name in 1523 as part of the extension of an adjoining hospital, which in turn was part of the…
Vineyards and Towers: The history of Rome's Caffarella Valley
While the center of Rome can be hectic and claustrophobic, it only takes a short bus ride (30 minutes, to be exact) to reach the Caffarella Valley, a beautifully preserved park that maintains some characteristics of the historically romanticized…
Ponte Sisto
Ponte Sisto connects connecting the east bank of the Tiber River to its west bank at Trastevere. The original bridge, called Pons Agrippae, Pons Antoninus, Pons Aurelianus, Pons Janiculensis, or Ponte Valentinianus, depending on the source, was an…
The Villa Medici: A Tale of Two Villas
Purchased by Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici in 1576, the Villa Medici can be understood as a tale of two villas. One is a traditional urban palace with a stoic, regimented front facade (pictured here). The other is a true garden villa demarcated by…