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Rome hotels.
visit Rome in 2 days
- 1st day
- 2nd day
visit Rome in 3 days
visit Rome in 4 days
- 1st day
- 2nd day
- 3rd day
- 4th day
discover Rome:
- Water in Rome
- Along the Tiber
- Medieval Rome
- Egyptian Obelisks
- The historic squares
- Baroque Rome
- Renaissance in Rome
- Villas and gardens
- Arches ancient Rome
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Basilica SS. Quattro Coronati - Photo (c)
Suomi2005
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Medieval Rome.
It is not easy to find artistic
remainders of the Middle Ages in Rome, also because they are often
incorporated into buildings built during later periods, or hidden
in places rarely visited by the occasional tourists. In addition
to the ancient, Renaissance or Baroque city, there is also a
medieval Rome with its monuments and works of art which can, in
part, be discovered through this itinerary.
Of the numerous churches built in
the Middle Ages in Rome, around 40 remain with their original
appearance. And of the 300 existing towers, we can count 50 of
them, many of which are absolutely unknown because they are hidden
by the buildings against which they stand.
In the Middle Ages Rome was
obviously smaller than it is today, and extended along the Tiber,
a fundamental resource for water supply and as a communication
route. In the Trastevere quarter, along the right-hand riverbank,
there are still churches and residential buildings dating from the
Middle Ages.
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The visit may thus begin from the Isola Tiberina and end in the
heart of Trastevere, in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere.
On the Isola Tiberina today it is still possible to admire what
remains of the Castle of the Caetani, built against the Torre dei
Pierleoni dating from the 10th century. In 1087 Matilde di Canossa
and Pope Victor III hid in the tower to escape the dangers of the
army of the antipope Clement II and, in 1089, Pope Urban II
resided there. The Caetani became the owners of the fortress in
around 1294, the year Benedetto Caetani was elected pope with the
name Boniface VIII. The tower, which today is still at the head of
the Ponte Fabricio, is also known as the Torre della Pulzella
(Tower of the Maid), referring to the small marble head of a young
woman set into the brick facing.
The towers were residences and fortresses of the aristocratic
families, and symbols of their power. Down through the years, many
of the tower-houses suffered damage from earthquakes or were torn
down as ordered by Senator Brancaleone degli Andalò in 1252.
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Roman and medieval remains in Isola Tiberina
Photo (c)
Paolo Subioli
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With
the Renaissance, the residential palace style took hold, and the
towers were incorporated into the new buildings or else totally
demolished.
Inside the Church of San Bartolomeo
all'Isola, before the steps of the presbytery, is one of the most
important medieval pieces of the church: a marble puteal or well
curb created from a Roman column fragment.
It is one of the very few pieces of
Ottonian art found in Rome, In fact, it dates from the 10th
century, from the time of Otto III, who probably commissioned it-
To the left of the church façade rises the Romanesque bell tower,
built in the 12th century.
From the Isola Tiberina it is
possible to reach the Piazza in Piscinula with the Casa Mattei, an
elegant complex of 14th-century dwellings built for the noble
Roman family and restored, during the Fascist period, by Lorenzo
Corrado Cesanelli.
On the ground floor of the building
several rooms were occupied by the inn called "della Sciacquetta".
The Romanesque poet Trilussa lived for a certain period in the
building on the corner of Via della Lungarina.
From Piazza in Piscinula we take the Via Arco dei Tolomei which
takes its name from the medieval arch which can still be seen,
even if it has been considerably reworked.
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The monument was erected for the
noble Sienese family who lived in this quarter from the 14th
century. From Via Arco dei Tolomei we turn onto Via dei Salumi
("of the Cold Cuts": like many streets of the quarter, it owes its
name to the trades of the shopkeepers), from which the picturesque
Vicolo dell'Atleta starts.
The Vicolo dell'Atleta is so named because the Apoxyomenos statue
("The Scraper": an athlete scraping off the sweat and dust mixed
with the oil with which he was coated before the fight) was found
there in 1849. The sculpture, a 1st century A.D. Roman copy of a
Greek original by Lysippus, is now kept in the Vatican Museums.
At no. 14 of Vicolo dell'Atleta we can see a pretty 13th-century
construction, with a loggia and small pointed arches on stone
corbels, and with an inscription in Hebrew on the central column.
It is considered the only surviving ancient Jewish synagogue in
the quarter, which was populated by a sizeable colony of Roman
Jews in the Middle Ages.
In this zone of Rome, the center of
the oldest Trasteverine folklore, people danced the "saltarello",
a typical dance from the regions of Abruzzo and Ciociaria dating
from the 14th century.
Each year since 1535, the traditional "Festa de Noantri"
("Festival of Us Others", i.e. the citizens of Trastevere as
opposed to "voantri", the "you others" of the other quarters) is
held, dedicated to Our Lady of Carmine, whose feast-day falls on
16 July.
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Knocker - Via dei Salumi - Photo (c)
antmoose
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The religious feast-day is supported by the civil
festivities which include concerts, sports competitions, and
various attractions, ending with a display of fireworks.
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Basilica di Santa Cecilia - Photo (c)
deglispiriti
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Going back to Via dei Genovesi we
can take Via di Santa Cecilia which leads into the
square dominated by the church of the same name. Across from the
entrance to the Basilica of Santa Cecilia, at the corner of
Piazza dei Mercanti there is a lovely example of a 14th-century
house.
The church of Santa Cecilia,
considerably changed down through the centuries, has a beautiful
Gothic tabernacle executed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1293, and
precious 9th-century apse mosaics. The monks' choir holds the
famous fresco with the Last Judgement by Petro Cavallini, the
greatest Roman painter of the late 13th century.
Once again going back to Via dei Genovesi we arrive in Piazza Sonnino,
which has one of the most well-know medieval constructions: the
Torre degli Anguillara, better known as the "House of Dante".
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The fortress,
consisting of a crenellated wall which, strengthened by a tower,
enclosed dwellings and stables, dates from the 13th century.
Enlarged in the 15th century by Count Everso II, the building was
heavily restored in the 19th century. Since 1914 it has been the
seat of the "House of Dante", a cultural institution that promotes
studies on the poet.
Near the square is the church of San Crisogono, one of
Trastevere's great medieval basilicas. In the apse is a
13th-century mosaic erroneously attributed to Pietro Cavallini.
The bell tower, 5 storeys tall, was
built ca. 1120 by order of the church's cardinal, Giovanni da
Crema, who also had the basilica built.
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Going all the way down Via della Lungaretta swe arrive at the
square of Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of Rome's medieval gems. The apse contains the famous mosaics with the
Coronation of the Virgin, executed in 1143, and the Stories of the
Virgin done by Pietro Cavallini in the 13th century.
To the left of the apse is the Altemps Chapel, containing the
6th-century Our Lady of Mercy, one of the oldest images of the
Virgin arriving up to the present day.
The church allegedly stands over
the Taberna meritoria where, in 38 B.C., a miraculous eruption of
oil took place, interpreted later as an annunciation of the birth
of Jesus. The first church in the city dedicated to the cult of
the Virgin was thus founded on the site of the miracle in the 4th
century. In reality, more than a miracle, the eruption was caused
by the natural emission of oil from the ground.
This quarter, fairly tranquil
during the daytime, at night becomes populated with Romans and
foreigners seeking a place to eat and have fun. An excellent pizza
can be enjoyed at Da Ivo, at Via San Francesco a Ripa 158 (06
5817082), or you can eat at Gildo, at Via della Scala 31/A (06
5800733). In Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere there is the
restaurant Sabatini, a true institution in the quarter (06
5812026). In any case, almost all places propose excellent
selections, suitable for all tastes and wallets!
Length of itinerary: about 4 hours.
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Santa Maria in Trastevere -
Photo (c)
number one dana
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Practical advice: The itinerary takes place on foot. We recommend
taking it in the afternoon, in order to be able to end the day
with a meal in a typically Roman restaurant.
Text courtesy of
romaturismo.com Azienda Promozione Turistica Comune di Roma
(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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