Piazza Colonna
Quick Facts
- Piazza Colonna was once the most important square in Rome around 1750, as palaces of the rich and famous lined the streets.
- The column was built sometime between 180 and 193 CE after the death of Marcus Aurelius.
- The spiral relief sculptures depict the war campaigns of Aurelius against tribes in modern day Northern Austria and Eastern Hungary.
- The statue of St. Paul was placed on the top of the column in 1589.
- Three meters of the base are below the ground because Via Flaminia was about 6 meters lower than today’s Via del Corso.
- The design of the column is almost identical to Trajan’s Column. The relief sculptures on Trajan’s column are superior.
- The fountain was commissioned in 1577 and was later slightly restored by Bernini. The dolphins were added in 1830.
The Column of Marcus Aurelius
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Marcus Aurelius was Emperor from 161 until 180 CE, and is known as the last of the Five Good Emperors. He is considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers from the School of Hellenistic Philosophy, founded in Athens in the third century.
He co-ruled with his brother Verus and engaged in battles against the German tribes of Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatia. Verus, was the war machine in the family. Marcus mostly stayed home in Rome ruling by reason rather than by force, with an ombudsman-like approach. He improved the laws to protect minors, widows, and slaves. He wasn’t particularly fond of Christians but didn’t personally pursue them. He wrote his famous Meditations, which outline his reflections of the time and of his reign. Even though the column is dedicated to Marcus, in history, he is not remembered for his war efforts. The column, made of white marble from the ancient city of Luna, now called Cararra, depicts the stories of his battles. The relief sculptures are similar in design to Trajan’s Column in that the stories are designed in a spiral that starts at the base and proceeds to the top. It is believed that the stories of the Marcomanni and Quadi wars are shown in the lower half of the column and the war with the Sarmatians in the upper half. Art historians always compare the quality of the carving on this column to the carving on Trajan’s column and speak of the inferiority of the reliefs, on the Aurelius column. Over 40 different sculptors were used to create the relief panels. The heads of the people are larger than they should be and therefore, are out of proportion. It is also possible to notice different carving techniques are within the individual scenes. Cochlis is a Greek word for snail shell. Ancient sources refer to the column as columna cochlis because the column contains an internal staircase that swirls to the top of the column in the shape of a snail shell. In the Middle Ages, it was possible to pay a fee and be allowed to climb the stairs for a lovely view of Rome from the platform. Although set back from the road, the column is in this square beside the Via Flaminia, because it is the road that led north to the war campaigns used by the armies to get to and return from the campaigns. |
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The Weekend Palace
Quick Facts
- It is thought that the Temple of Marcus Aurelius was built on this site although no foundation or evidence supporting this idea has ever been found.
- The palace we see today was designed by Giuseppe Valadier. This is the same man who designed the Piazza del Popolo and the Pincian Hill.
- The palace was built by Pope Gregory XVI so the papal Postmaster could live here.
- The 12 columns in the portico were brought from ruins of the ancient, walled Etruscan city of Veii, which was located approximately 16 km northwest of Rome. Veii was the greatest centre for the production of terra-cotta statues including those for the Temple of Jupiter on Capitol Hill.
- The two columns near the main doorway were taken from the ruins of the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, which burned down.
- Karl Wedekind, a German-Italian oil tycoon and banker bought the building in 1852.
- In 1871, the building became the Ministry of Education.
- In 1943, its focus changed as it became the headquarters of the Roman Fascists who remained here until the liberation of Rome.
- Il Tempo newspaper was founded in 1944 and took over the location.
The Chigi Palace
Quick Facts
- The wealthy Aldobrandini banking family were ousted from Florence by the Medici’s and moved to Rome where they had close ties with the Vatican. They built their palace here, in Piazza Colonna in1562.
- The Chigi family bought the building in 1659 and it became their family palace.
- We met up with the Chigi family earlier in this tour at Santa Maria del Popolo in the Chigi Chapel.
- The Chigis did a few renovations including the addition of a couple of Raphael paintings.
- The earliest records of the Chigis date to the 13th century.
- They were mostly bankers with the odd Pope and Prince thrown-in here and there. Ippolito Aldobrandini became Pope Clement VIII in 1592.
- Agostino Chigi was very prominent during the Renaissance as he held the salt monopoly of the Papal States. He also controlled the production and sale of alum in the Tolfa region just outside of Rome.
- Alum was used in the textile industry to set dye into material. It was a very lucrative business.
- The Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Italy lived here in 1878.
- The Italian government bought the building in 1916 and it is currently the official residence of the Prime Minister.
- In April 2013, a well-dressed, unemployed man shot and seriously wounded two police officers in front of the Palace as the new Prime Minister was being sworn-in. The gunman wanted to kill himself after the shooting but he didn’t plan it out very well as his six shooter had run out of bullets.
Directions Piazza Colonna to Sant 'Ignazio - Distance 300 M Time 4 Min
Palazzo Montecitorio and the Obelisk
The Palazzo Montecitorio is a Bernini building designed for Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, who was the nephew of Pope Gregory XV.
When the Pope died in 1623, funding for construction stopped and the project was put on hold for 68 years until Pope Innocent XII decided the building could be used for public functions. He hired Carlo Fontana to complete it and it is he who added the bell gable.
It is Baroque because:
The interior was extensively renovated at some point thus leaving only the original façade in place.
The building has had various uses over the years and currently is the home to the Mayor of Rome.
The Solare Obelisk
The obelisk in this square is the sister to the Flaminio obelisk that we saw in Piazza del Popolo. Both were brought to Rome from Egypt by Emperor Augustus in 10 BCE, when they were already over 1,000 years old.
When the Solare obelisk arrived in Rome it was placed in the centre of a giant sundial on the Monte Mario meridian line that runs through Rome, in the Field of Mars, or Campus Martius. It was the gnomon of the sundial. The gnomon is the part that of the sundial that casts the shadow.
Rome was sacked various times, was struck by earthquakes and floods and fell into ruins. The obelisk was a victim of these events and over the years was broken into parts and buried with rising ground levels.
The obelisk was found during the rule of Pope Benedict XIV in 1748. He had it repaired and installed in this piazza. He also installed a symbolic meridian line that runs sort-of from the base of the obelisk almost to the front door of the Mayor’s house.
When the Pope died in 1623, funding for construction stopped and the project was put on hold for 68 years until Pope Innocent XII decided the building could be used for public functions. He hired Carlo Fontana to complete it and it is he who added the bell gable.
It is Baroque because:
- Bernini did the original design.
- The time period is right for Baroque.
- The entrance way follows the plans of a triumphal arch and displays an attention grabbing concentration of elements expressing emotion.
- Clustered order of pilasters decorate the corners of the central building.
The interior was extensively renovated at some point thus leaving only the original façade in place.
The building has had various uses over the years and currently is the home to the Mayor of Rome.
The Solare Obelisk
The obelisk in this square is the sister to the Flaminio obelisk that we saw in Piazza del Popolo. Both were brought to Rome from Egypt by Emperor Augustus in 10 BCE, when they were already over 1,000 years old.
When the Solare obelisk arrived in Rome it was placed in the centre of a giant sundial on the Monte Mario meridian line that runs through Rome, in the Field of Mars, or Campus Martius. It was the gnomon of the sundial. The gnomon is the part that of the sundial that casts the shadow.
Rome was sacked various times, was struck by earthquakes and floods and fell into ruins. The obelisk was a victim of these events and over the years was broken into parts and buried with rising ground levels.
The obelisk was found during the rule of Pope Benedict XIV in 1748. He had it repaired and installed in this piazza. He also installed a symbolic meridian line that runs sort-of from the base of the obelisk almost to the front door of the Mayor’s house.
