Home

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
What's New!

Detailed Sitemap

All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Collegio Germanico (Book 9) (Map C2) (Day 4) (View C6) (Rione Ponte) and (Rione Sant'Eustachio)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Inside S. Apollinare and Collegio Germanico
Palazzo Altemps
Tor Sanguigna
Palazzo Baldassini

The Plate (No. 164)

Collegio Germanico

The church of S. Apollinare and the palace had just been almost completely rebuilt by Ferdinando Fuga when Vasi represented them in this plate. The view is taken from the green dot in the 1748 map below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Palazzo Altemps; 2) Street leading to Via dell'Orso; 3) Street leading to S. Agostino. The map shows also 4) Collegio Germanico; 5) S. Apollinare; 6) Tor Sanguigna; 7) Palazzo Baldassini. The dotted line in the small map delineates the borders between Rione Ponte (left) Sant'Eustachio (lower part of the map) and Rione Campo Marzio (top).

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The square today

The German Seminar has lost its proportions, because of the additional floor on the top. The clock on the roof is also of poorer design. In the late XVIIIth century the German Seminar was enlarged with a new building near S. Luigi dei Francesi.

Inside S. Apollinare and Collegio Germanico

Inside S. Apolinare and Collegio Germanico

S. Apollinare retains some of the works of art of the old church, rearranged into new chapels. The statue of St Francis Xavier is a fine work by Pierre Legros. The metal crab at the foot of the saint is a reference to an episode of his travels in the Far East: St Francis lost a crucifix at sea during a storm and the crab brought it back to him (the statue was completed by a wooden crucifix, held by St Francis) .

Collegio Germanico has several courtyards, in one of which there is a Baroque fountain of Bernini's school. Collegio Germanico has also another fountain which you can see in a page devoted to fountains in the courtyards of Rome.

Palazzo Altemps

The coats of arms of Cardinal Altemps

The coats of arms of the Popes

Palazzo Altemps hosts now part of Museo Nazionale Romano, but the memories of the life and tragedy of Cardinal Altemps, nephew of Pope Pius IV and with links to the Medici family in Florence are still there. The son of Cardinal Altemps was sentenced to death by Pope Sixtus V. Vainly the old father invoked papal mercy by throwing himself at Sixtus' feet. For the soul of his son he built a chapel in Santa Maria in Trastevere in honour of Madonna della Clemenza.
But Palazzo Altemps is also evidence of the wealthiness and of the sophisticated taste of the Cardinal: the rampant goat of the Altemps is everywhere, together with the coats of arms of the Medici popes Pius IV (left) and Leo XI (right). By looking more closely at the former you'll see where I found my background for this page.
Note: several of the Roman statues shown in the museum were "completed" by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Alessandro Algardi.

Tor Sanguigna

Tor Sanguigna

Sanguigna means sanguine, but the name of this medieval tower is not associated with bloody events it is just named after its owners the Sanguigni family. The tower shows a structure made of layers of bricks and of layers of small blocks of tufa. The Sanguigni had embellished the old church of S. Apollinare, but when it was rebuilt in the XVIIIth century the family was extinct and these embellishments were lost. The palace opposite to the tower has one of the finest XVIIIth century Madonnelle of Rome.

Palazzo Baldassini

Palazzo Baldassini

Palazzo Baldassini was quoted in what is considered the first detailed description of Renaissance and Baroque Rome, Filippo Titi's 1674 Studio di Pittura, Scoltura et Architettura, but it was forgotten in most of the guides which followed. In part this is due to the narrowness of the street which does not permit a proper view of the palace, designed by Antonio da Sangallo for Melchiorre Baldassini a counsellor of Pope Leo X at the beginning of the XVIth century. The courtyard has a fine loggia, typical of Renaissance buildings.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Collegio Germanico, e chiesa di s. Apollinare
Da Adriano I. fu eretta questa l’anno 772. per abolire il nome di Apolline, che quivi aveva il tempio. Ottenuta poi da s. Ignazio di Lojola l'anno 1552. insieme col palazzo del Card. Pietro di Luna, già Antipapa, vi stabilì il collegio che poi da Gregorio XIII. fu provveduto di sufficienti entrate per lo mantenimento di cento alunni, che devono essere tutti Tedeschi. Da Benedetto XIV. fu fatta di nuovo la chiesa, ed il collegio con disegno del Cav. Fuga. Nel portico si venera la immagine della ss. Vergine, che era nell' antico portico, ed il battesimo di Gesù Cristo è opera di Gaetano Lapis. La volta della chiesa dipinta da Stefano Pozzi, ed il quadro nell' altare maggiore tutto ornato di preziosi marmi, e metalli dorati è di Ercole Ferrari Bolognese. La statua di s. Francesco Saverio è di Monsù le Gros, ed il s. Ignazio incontro di Carlo Melchion; il s. Giovanni Nepomiceno è di Placido Costanzi, ed il quadro incontro di Niccolò Ricciolini; quello nella sagrestia è Niccolò Bonito, e le pitture nella volta di Corrado Giaquinto.
Palazzo Altemps
Incontro alla riferita chiesa è questo palazzo adorno di statue, busti, e colonne di porfido, e di giallo antico; ma il maggior ornamento è la cappella domestica ornata similmente di marmi, e pitture, in cui fra le altre reliquie si conserva il corpo di s. Aniceto Papa cavato dalle catacombe di s. Sebastiano, in tempo di Clem. VIII. il quale lo donò a questa nobilissima famiglia; che perciò vi celebra ogni anno la festa, e l'ottava con pubblica solennità. Corrisponde questo palazzo in due altre piazze, una, che dicesi di Torresanguigna, e l'altra piazza Fiammetta, e vi sì vedono due nobilissimi palazzi uno de' Sagripanti, già Corsini, con disegno di Bramante, ed altro di Sampieri.

Next plate in Book 9: Collegio di Propaganda Fide
Next step in Day 4 itinerary: Chiesa di S. Simeone Profeta
Next step in your tour of Rione Sant'Eustachio: S. Salvatore alle Coppelle
Next step in your tour of Rione Ponte: S. Maria della Pace