The fountain fights the church

When in Rome… Piazza Navona

This When in Rome… blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast and B&B Little Italy in Rome.      All Hotels and B&B’s in Rome Piazza Navona is, according to many tourists, the most beautiful square in Rome and the Fountain of the Four Rivers and the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone contribute a lot to its splendor. There is a Roman legend, however, saying that the church and the fountain were not always in harmony. Apparently Borromini, who designed most of the church, had placed a statue of Sant’Agnese on the facade. It depicted the saint who, with her hand on her heart, assured that the church would never fall. Bernini was appointed to design the fountain and, not liking Borromini very much, had all four statues shield their faces in disgust from his nemesis’ despised sculpture. Although there is no proof that this legend has its basis in actual truth Romans as well as Roman tour guides keep repeating this myth to tourists. Though a beautiful story well worth telling, it is probably entirely fictional.

Rome Accommodation Chaplin B&B Rome Little Italy Hostel Rome All Rome Hotels    Hotels near Pantheon   Piazza Navona About Rome Rome Hotels      About Piazza Navona Piazza Navona Index Fountain of the 4 Rivers Sant’Agnese in Agone Church More Piazza Navona Sights Fountain against church

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More Piazza Navona tourist attractions

When in Rome… Piazza Navona tourist attractions

This When in Rome… Piazza Navona blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast and B&B Little Italy in Rome.        All Hotels and B&B’s in Rome Palazzo Pamphili The original Palazzo Pamphili (or Pamphilj) was built in 1630, on top of a number of already existing houses. When Giovanni Battista Pamphilj became Pope (as Innocent X) in 1644 he commissioned Girolamo Rainaldi to reconstruct and enlarge the palazzo which led to the destruction and/or adaptation of even more adjacent buildings. Nowadas the Palazzo is property of Brasil and houses that country’s embassy. Fountain of the Moor The original Fontana del Moro (on the south end of Piazza Navona) was erected by Giacomo della Porta in 1575. The 4 tritons blowing shells and the masks were carved by other sculptors. The Moor in the middle was added in 1654. It was ordered by the Pope’s sister-in-law Donna Olimpia and designed by Bernini. The basin was designed with a marble called Portasanta (Holy Door), since it was also used for the doorjambs at Sain Peter’s. In 1874 all original sculptures were moved to the Giardino del Lago in Villa Borghese, and Luigi Amici sculpted the copies that can still be seen on Piazza Navona.  Fountain of Neptune Also for this fountain the marble known as Portasanta was used. Giacomo della Porta designed it in 1574 in a way that would make it comparable to the Fountain of the Moor, but his project was never carried through. The statue- and decorationless fountain came to be called the Fountain of the Coppersmiths (Fontana dei Calderai) until Antonio della Bitta carved the statue of Neptune slaying an octopus (hence Fontana del Nettuno) and Gregorio Zappalà the group of sea animals and nymphs playing in the basin.

Rome Accommodation Chaplin B&B Rome Little Italy Hostel Rome All Rome Hotels    Hotels near Pantheon            Piazza Navona     About Rome Rome Hotels     About Piazza Navona Piazza Navona Index Fountain of the 4 Rivers Sant’Agnese in Agone Church More Piazza Navona Sights Fountain against church

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Sant’Agnese in Agone – A Pope’s Private Chapel

When in Rome… Sant’Agnese in Agone

This When in Rome… Sant’Agnese in Agone blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast and B&B Little Italy in Rome.      All Hotels and B&B’s in Rome          Construction of the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone was started by Carlo and Girolamo Rainaldi and Borromini in 1652. Under the influence of his sister-in-law Donna Olimpia, Pope Innocent let Borromini take over a year later, as a result of the slowness and indecisiveness of the Rainaldi’s. When the pope died Borromini was fired and Carlo Rainaldi was allowed to finish the work (1672) under supervision of a commission of architects. According to legend the church was built on the spot where the young Christian Agnes was pilloried naked and covered herself with her long hair . In reality a place of worship dedicated to Agnes had existed there since the 8th century. A modest funerary monument for Pope Innocent X, who while still alive was able to attend mass rom a hidden window in the Palazzo Pamhilj (which can be visited upon request to the Brasilian Embassy housing there nowadays), can be found above the church entrance.  Pope Innocenzo X Pamphilj meant to create a sort of piazza-courtyard with its own palazzo and church, as the Farnese and Barberini families had done before him. Numerous existing buildings had to be detroyed or adapted for the construction of the new church and the Palazzo Pamphilj. When Borromini took over he could not change the design of the interior, but he changed the facade in order to highlight the cupola, which appears to protrude way further than it actually does. The impression of vastness is caused by the light coming in through the cupola’s windows.

Rome Accommodation Chaplin B&B Rome Little Italy Hostel Rome All Rome Hotels    Hotels near Pantheon                  Piazza Navona   About Rome Rome Hotels     About Piazza Navona Piazza Navona Index Fountain of the 4 Rivers Sant’Agnese in Agone Church More Piazza Navona Sights Fountain against church

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The Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome

When in Rome… Fountain of the Four Rivers

This When in Rome… Foutain of the Four Rivers blog article is written for the guests of the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast and B&B Little Italy in Rome.        All Hotels and B&B’s in Rome The 17m tall obelisk in the middle of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s fountain of the four rivers in the middle of Piazza Navona in Rome originally stood in the Circus Maxentius along the Via Appia in the same city. Bernini designed the fountain in 1651. The approximately 5m tall, white, marble statues surrounding the obelisk represent the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges and the Rio de la Plata, one river for each of the continents known at the time. For each one of the statues Bernini got a different assistant to tdo the actual work, whereas the palm tree, the lion and the horse and the 9m high rock were done by Bernini himself. The work was commissioned by Pope Innocenzo X, a member of the Pamphilj family, whose coat of arms, a dove with an olive branch, can be seen on the gilded cross on top of the obelisk.

Rome Accommodation Chaplin B&B Rome Little Italy Hostel Rome All Rome Hotels    Hotels near Pantheon            Piazza Navona       About Rome Rome Hotels       About Piazza Navona Piazza Navona Index Fountain of the 4 Rivers Sant’Agnese in Agone Church More Piazza Navona Sights Fountain against church

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Rome squares – largo Arenula

Maps of Rome made before 1748 show numerous buildings between the two churches of St. Anna and St. Elena. A 1931 plan shows that the buildings as well as the two churches had had to make way for what is now Largo Arenula and for the streets Via Florida and Via delle Botteghe Oscure. The houses themselves had been built (and rebuilt, since they often got destroyed by fires) on the ruins of a sacred area with votive and sacella temples from the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.

After the Middle Ages the rich and aristocratic started building sumptuous palaces in the area.

Between 1926 and 1939 all houses were demolished again in order to dig for the archeological remains, creating a wide rectangular area between Largo Arenula and Largo di Torre Argentina.

To reach Largo Arenula from the Hostel Chaplin Bed and Breakfast Rome take either a 40E or a 64 bus and get off at Largo Argentina. From the Rome B&B Little Italy you take the metro line A to Repubblica (2 stops) and then the 40E or the 64 bus.

Tip: From Largo Arenula it is a very nice walk to the Trastevere area, crossing the Ponte Garibaldi with a view over the Isola Tiberina, or crossing the Ponte Fabricio and then walking through the island itself.