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Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Piazza Barberini (Book 2) (Map B2) (Day 2) (View B7) (Rione Trevi)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Fontana del Tritone
Palazzo Barberini
Rival stairs
Ponte Ruinante
In the gardens
S. Andrea degli Scozzesi

The Plate (No. 36)

Piazza Barberini

The objectives of Vasi in this view are the Triton's fountain by Bernini and Palazzo Barberini al Quirinale. Hadrian had erected an obelisk near Porta Maggiore in front of the (empty) tomb of his favorite Antinous. Pope Urbanus VIII brought it into the gardens of Palazzo Barberini. Vasi shows the obelisk in his plate on the right. The view is taken from the green dot in the map below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Palazzo Barberini; 2) The Obelisk in the Barberini gardens; 3) Fontana del Tritone; 4) The pedestal of the cross in front of Convento dei Padri Cappuccini. The small 1785 map shows also 5) S. Andrea degli Scozzesi; 6) The site where Fontana delle Api was located.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The Piazza today

Today Piazza Barberini is one of the busiest traffic centres in the city, but the view has not changed. In 1822 Pope Pius VII moved the obelisk of Antinous into the Pincio gardens.

Fontana del Tritone

The Fontana del Tritone

The fountain is one of Bernini's masterpieces in honour of his great protector Urbanus VIII. Four dolphins support two valves on which is seated a triton who blows water through a shell held up in his hands. Behind the Triton fountain another fountain by Bernini: the little fountain of the Barberini Bees, which is the background of this page. The fountain was at the beginning of Via Due Macelli; with the enlargement of Via del Tritone it was removed to its present location in Piazza Barberini.

Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini was begun by Carlo Maderno, but eventually was completed by Bernini, with the help of young Borromini. The central block is by Bernini, but some small windows and the coat of arms are by Borromini. The decoration has several references to the heraldic symbols of the Barberini: the bees and the sun.
Today the palace hosts Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.

Palazzo Barberini - details

Rival Stairs

Rival Stairs

Two stairs lead to the main apartment. The larger one by Bernini is on the left, whilst Borromini was entrusted with the smaller one on the right and showed that passion for curved lines which would be a constant feature of his work.

Ponte Ruinante

A ruined bridge

The obelisk shown in the plate is now in the Pincio Gardens. It had been discovered in 1570 near Porta Maggiore and in 1632 Pope Urbanus VIII moved it to his family palace with the idea to erect it next to Ponte Ruinante (falling bridge), a bridge designed by Bernini with two very different objectives: one was very practical, i.e. to provide the palace with a direct access to the upper part of the gardens; the other one was to add yet another memento of ancient Rome to the many already existing in the gardens. To this purpose Bernini designed a bridge with one arch which is in part collapsed and the other one with the stones of the vault on the verge of falling.
A fine strigilato sarcophagus used as a basin is another component of the "Ancient Rome" decoration designed by Bernini (strigilato?!? click here and learn about this and other obscure terms).

In the Gardens


Lost Coat of Arms and Apollo Citaredo

Wandering about in the gardens of Palazzo Barberini I came across this gigantic coat of arms of a Barberini Cardinal. A large Roman statue of Apollo Citaredo was found in the gardens and it was put behind the low wall along the street going to S. Susanna. Many XIXth century views of the area show the statue, which is now in a niche at the end of the garden.

S. Andrea degli Scozzesi

S. Andrea degli Scozzesi

The national church of Scotland is dedicated to St Andrew, whose cross and two fishes (a reference to his job) decorate the façade. The church, built in the second half of the XVIIth century, became important when in 1717, James Edward Stuart set his residence in Rome. The nearby building which once housed the Scottish Seminary is still decorated with the coat of arms and motto of that country. The church is in the street leading to the Quattro Fontane; regretfully in 2004 the church was deconsecrated: its paintings were moved to the new Scots College on the Via Cassia (click here for a list of national churches in Rome).

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Palazzo Barberini
Dal Pontefice Urbano VIII. fu fatto questo magnifico palazzo con disegno del Cav. Bernini , il quale fece prova dell'alto suo sapere nella distribuzione delle scale diverse, degli appartamenti , ornati di superbe statue antiche e moderne , e di pitture insigni, fra le quali é ammirabile lo sfondo della gran sala dipinta da Pietro da Cortona , che va in stampa . Dinanzi a quello si vede disteso per terra un piccolo obelisco egizio , che dovevasi alzare nel giardino per fare ornamento al prospetto posteriore del palazzo.
Chiesa di S. Andrea Apostolo e Collegio Scozzese
Sulla strada felice, ed incontro al divisato palazzo sta questa chiesa, nella quale un Po1acco dipinse il quadro a destra , e quello a sinistra Niccolò Lorenese , ed il martirio del Santo nell'altare maggiore è della scuola del Borgognone , e tanto la chiesa , che il collegio sta in cura de' Padri Gesuiti. Pochi passi avanti siegue la nobilissima
Piazza Barberini o Palestrina
La deliziosa fontana, che adorna questa piazza fu pensiero del Cav. Bernino , ma da altri messo in opera.

Next plate in Book 2: Piazza di Macel de' Corvi
Next step in Day 2 itinerary: Convento dei Padri Cappuccini
Next step in your tour of Rione Trevi: Chiesa dei SS. Vincenzo e Anastasio