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ITINERARY 10 - St.Maria sopra Minerva, The Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Ara Pacis, San Luigi dei Francesi, Palazzo Borghese.

CHURCH OF ST.MARIA SOPRA MINERVA: From Piazza Venezia, by way of Via del Plebiscito, we reach the Piazza del Gesù, and so arrive in the Piazza Minerva. At the centre of the piazza is a small Egyptian obelisk (6th century B.C.) supported on the back of Bernini marble elephant. To the right is the church of Santa Maria della Minerva. Erected in the 8th century over the ruins of a temple dedicated to Minerva, the church has undergone various alterations and restorations. Its interior is notable for its fine chapels containing some valuable works of art. We may mention, among the many: the chapel of the Annunziata in the right aisle, designed by Carlo Maderno with a fine altarpiece by Antoniazzo Romano depicting the Annunciation; the Carafa Chapel in the right transept with wonderful frescoes by Filippino Lippi (1488-92) and tombs by Giuliano de Maiano and Giacomo Cosma (tomb of Guglielmo Durand); the Aldobrandini chapel in the right aisle by Giacomo della Porta and Carlo Maderno with the monuments to the parents of Clement VIII by Nicolò Cordier; in the sanctuary, Michelangelo statue of the Redeemer; in the chancel behind the high altar, the funerary monuments of Clement VII and Leo X designed by Antonio da Sangallo; the tomb of Cardinal Diego de Coca by Andrea Bregno; the tomb of Francesco Tornabuoni by Mino da Fiesole.

THE PANTHEON: The Pantheon is one of the most important and most imposing of Roman temples: it is also the best preserved. It was built by Marcus Agrippa, son-in-law of Augustus, in 27 B.C., in honour of all the Gods: hence its name. Destroyed by a fire in 80, it was rebuilt in the time of Hadrian (between 110 and 125). In 609 the temple was consecrated as a christian church by Pope Boniface IV, who dedicated it to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyr Saints. The church became the burial place of illustrious italian artists, such as Raphael Sanzio, the architects Baldassarre Peruzzi and Vignola, the painter Annibale Carracci, and also members of Italy royal family: the Kings of Italy Victor Emanuel II and Umberto I and Queen Margherita. The pantheon is circular in plan, preceded by a pronaos of Greek type supported by sixteen granite columns surmounted by Corinthian capitals. We enter the temple through an imposing bronze portal of Roman date. The interior is majestic and highly original in its architecture. Rectangular alternating with semicircular niches are laid out round its walls. The hemispherical dome, of exceptional diameter (43.30 meters: equal to its maximum height from the floor), is decorated with coffering and illuminated by a central aperture some 9 meters in diameter. With regard to the building sophisticated constructional technique, it seems that the skeleton of the dome consists of a series of ribs whose weight is supported on and relieved by the massive arches situated in the parts of the cylindrical walls not opened by the large niches. This and other ingenious architectural solutions make the Pantheon a wonderful monumental work in which grandeur of mass and gracefulness of line combine to form an awe-inspiring cohesion of effect. The church of San Luigi dei Francesi, reachable by the Via Giustiniani, was erected in the 16th century by Domenico Fontana. Its interior houses important works of Caravaggio. In the street running parallel to it, the Corso Rinascimento, is the Palazzo Madama, seat of the Italian Senate since 1870. Decorated with a beautiful baroque facade, it contains a richly-endowed library of over 230,000 volumes. The building adjacent to it on the same street is occupied by the State Archives. It has a handsome courtyard, at the further end of which rises the Chapel of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, by Borromini.

THE PIAZZA NAVONA: From the Corso Rinascimento we enter Piazza Navona. Situated on the site, and retaining the shape, of the ancient stadium of Domitian, it is one of the most popular and most characteristic centres of the city. The piazza is adorned with three fountains, of which the central one is the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers. Commissioned by Pope Innocent X as a setting for the obelisk that rises at its centre, it was sculpted by Bernini and some of his pupils in 1650-51. The four statues placed round the grotto at the foot of the obelisk represent four rivers: the Ganges, symbolising Asia, the Nile (Africa), the Danube (Europe) and the Plate (America). At the southern end of the piazza Navona is the Fountain of the Moor, originally designed by Della Porta, but later modified by Bernini and Giovanni Mari. At the other end of the piazza is the fountain of Neptune. Originally designed by Della Porta and partially realised by Bernini, this fountain long remained incomplete. It was not completed till 1878 when the sculptor Antonio della Bitta added the statue of Neptune from which it takes its name. Facing on to the Fountain of the Rivers is the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone (17th century), a masterpiece of baroque architecture by Rainaldi and Borromini, who designed its facade and dome. The piazza is completed by a further three buildings: the church of San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, the Palazzo Lancellotti, and the Palazzo Pamphilij. The latter, built by Rainaldi for Innocent X in 1650, is now theBrazilian Embassy, and contains a large hall with frescoes by Pietro da Cortona. Adjacent to the piazza are two other churches: the church of Santa Maria dell'Anima (16th century) and Santa Maria della Pace (15th century). From here we reach the Piazza di Tor Sanguigna, and make our way along the Via del Governo Vecchio, on which is situated the Palazzo del Governo Vecchio, erected in the 15th century. Further on is the Palazzo del Banco di Santo Spirito, the former papal mint designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, while nearby is the church of San Salvatore in Lauro, situated in the piazza of the same name. Returning in the direction of Piazza Navona by way of Via dei Coronari, we can visit the church of Santa Apollinare and the church of Sant' Agostino. The latter, built in the 15th century by Giacomo da Pietrasanta using blocks of travertine pillage from the Colosseum, has an elegant facade in the Renaissance style and is topped by the first dome to be built in the city since Roman times. Some notable works of art are preserved in its interior, such as Sansovino statue of the Madonna del Parto; Raphael fresco of Isaiah; Caravaggio altar piece of the Madonna of the Pilgrims; and Guercino Saint Augustine, John and Jerome. Worth visiting nearby is the Palazzo Primoli (Via Zanardelli) which now houses the Napoleonic Museum containing a rich collection of objects belonging to the Bonaparte family. On Via dei Portoghesi not far away is the church of Sant' Antonio dei Portoghesi, built in the early years of the 15th century but remodelled in the baroque style by Martino Longhi in the 17th. It contains Vanvitelli beautiful Altar of the Concession. In a side-street (Via del Clementino) of Via della Scrofa stands the huge Palazzo Borghese, built for Cardinal Dezza in 1590 and subsequently transformed by Flaminio Ponzio. The palace is entered through a large and majestic portal, which leads into the magnificent courtyard, with a garden ornamented with antiquities and fountains at its further end. We now reach Via di Ripetta on which are situated the churches of San Girolamo (16th century) and San Rocco, erected in 1499 and with a handsome facade by Valadier. Adjacent to the latter is the Mausoleum of Augustus, built by Augustus himself in 28 B.C. as a tomb for his family. Following centuries of abandonment, it was finally restored to its original appearance in 1936 by Mussolini. Opposite is one of the most important Roman monuments in the city: the Ara Pacis Augustae, erected between 13 and 9 B.C. to celebrate the peace established by Augustus throughout the Roman world. Further on, on Via di Ripetta, is the Institute of Fine Arts, Rome main art school built by Camprese in the 19th century.

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