Piazza del Popolo,

biserica Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Santa Maria in Monte Sarto

Piazza del Popolo is a harmonious large oval square situated near the Borghese Park, in Rome. Three churches border the square: Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, and Santa Maria in Monte Sarto, but the eye-catcher is an ancient obelisk from Heliopolis, Egypt.

The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars (populus in Latin, pioppo in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name. It is believed that a poplar had been growing at the site of the church before its construction.   

Piazza del Popolo este una dintre cele mai vechi pieţe publice din Roma. during Roman times, this square did not feature the many beautiful monuments one can see today. For centuries, the Piazza del Popolo was a place for public executions, the last of which took place in 1826. the square was dominated by a public fountain, which served as a horse trough and a cistern for washerwomen. The square was also smaller than the one of today. However, over the course of history, the square has been expanded several times. În prezentarea actuală, piaţa a fost reconstruită între 1811-1822, designed in neoclassical style după proiectul lui Giuseppe Valadier, favorite architect and town planner of two Popes during Napoleon's occupation of Rome (1808-14), reshaped the square and enlarged it into a large oval, surrounding the central obelisk with four lion fountains.

The piazza lies inside the northern gate in the Aurelian Walls, once the Porta Flaminia of ancient Rome, and now called the Porta del Popolo. This was the starting point of the Via Flaminia, the road to Ariminum (modern-day Rimini), built in 220 BC to connect Rome with the Adriatic coast. The Via Flaminia was one of the most important roads leading to Rome. At the same time, before the age of railroads, it was the traveller's first view of Rome upon arrival. Hence many travellers entered the city from the Via Flaminia, passing through Piazza del Popolo. Prin intermediul altor câteva artere care o traversează, Piazza del Popolo este legată de Piazza Venezia (de Via del Corso, anterior cunoscută sub numele de Via Lata), de Mausoleul lui Augustus (de Via di Ripetta) şi de Piazza di Spagna (de Via del Babuino).

Şi că tot ziceam de Via Flaminia, la una din intrările în piaţă se află Porta del Popolo (fosta Porta Flaminia). Evident, nu mai are nimic din înfăţişarea antică.

In 1562 pope Pius IV commissioned architect Nanni di Baccio Bigio to construct a large gate, the Porta Flaminia (Porta del Popolo), to impress the pilgrims who entered the city via the Via Flaminia.

Faţa externă a fost încredinţată de papa Pius IV spre refacere în stil renascentist lui Michelangelo. Care, la rândul lui, a dat-o mai departe lui Nanni di Baccio Bigio, unul din ucenicii săi. Cele patru coloane provin de la vechea basilică Sf. Petru, demolată în sec. 15 pentru a face loc actualei.

Faţada internă a fost proiectată de Bernini la comanda papei Alexandru VII în stil baroc, In 1655, on the occasion of Queen Christina of Sweden's arrival in Rome, having abdicated and converted to Catholicism.

But the decoration is actually a celebration of Pope Alexander VII, because the six mountains and the star were heraldic symbols of the pope. In the festoon Bernini united oak branches (another heraldic symbol of the pope) with ears of wheat, the heraldic symbol of the Vasa (or Wasa), the Swedish royal family.

Decoration by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; FELICI FAUSTOQ(UE) INGRESSUI = (to celebrate) the happy and lucky arrival

Giuseppe Vasi chose Piazza del Popolo for the opening etching of his 1752 book on the squares of Rome; he had two possible options for showing the square; he eventually did not make a choice because in the book he depicted Piazza del Popolo from its southern end and in a small etching in the title page he showed it from its northern end.The main etching focused on S. Maria del Popolo and Porta del Popolo and on the long queue of carriages waiting to make their entrance to Via del Corso during the Roman carnival; J. W. Goethe described in his Italian Journey this unusual traffic jam: As evening draws near, more and more people press into the Corso. The carriages have come to a standstill long ago. It can happen that, when night falls, they haven't been able to budge for two hours. (..) When one coachman backs, all those behind him have to back too. The guards start cursing and threatening him. (..) Either he must get back into line or drive into a side street, but these are usually already full of standing carriages, which came too late to get into the Corso, because the vehicles there had already ceased to circulate (translation by W. H. Auden and Elizabeth Mayer - Collins).

The small etching showed the Tridente (hayfork), the three streets ideally departing from the obelisk at the centre of the square: Via del Babuino leading to Piazza di Spagna (left), Via del Corso leading to Piazza Venezia (centre) and Via di Ripetta leading to Porto di Ripetta (right); prior to the development of railway this was the first view of Rome for travellers coming from the north.

This plate is rather academic, whereas Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a contemporary etcher, chose a different viewpoint resulting in a less formal scene. The view of the main etching is taken from the green dot in the 1748 map below, that of the small etching from the blue dot. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) the obelisk and the fountain; 2) S. Maria del Popolo; 3) Porta del Popolo; 4) S. Maria dei Miracoli. The small map shows also 5) S. Maria in Montesanto; 6) Palazzo Sterbini; 7) Via Laurina.

During the annexation of Rome to the French Empire several projects were developed to redesign Piazza del Popolo in conjunction with the opening of large gardens on the Pincio, the hill overlooking the square; the changes were eventually completed by architect Giuseppe Valadier in 1818, after the return to Rome of Pope Pius VII and the restoration of the Papal State.

Giuseppe Valadier published his first proposal for the Piazza del Popolo in 1794; the final proposal as built appeared in 1816, when the works were already in progress.

He removed a modest fountain by Giacomo Della Porta, erected in 1572,[2] and demolished some insignificant buildings and haphazard high screening walls to form two semicircles, reminiscent of Bernini's plan for St. Peter's Square, replacing the original cramped trapezoidal square centred on the Via Flaminia.

Rome through the ages has always been a hot bed of art. Whether copying graceful Greek statues, bringing mosaics to a high art form, inventing the "Futurist" movement at the turn of this century and the Neo-classicism of De Chirico and his pals, and more recently the flowering of artists and galleries when Rome was the "dolce vita" capital.

Looking from the north, three streets branch out from the piazza into the city, forming the so-called "trident" (il Tridente): the Via del Corso in the centre; the Via del Babuino to the left (opened in 1525 as the Via Paolina) and the Via di Ripetta (opened by Leo X in 1518 as the Via Leonina) to the right. The twin churches (the chiese gemelle) of Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1681) and Santa Maria in Montesanto (1679), begun by Carlo Rainaldi and completed by Bernini and Carlo Fontana, define the junctions of the roads.

The central street, now known as the Via del Corso, was the ancient Via Lata and to the north it links with the ancient Roman road, the Via Flaminia,beyond the city gate and southwards, to the Piazza Venezia (formerly the Piazza San Marco), the Capitol and the forum. The Via di Ripetta leads past the Mausoleum of Augustus to the River Tiber, where the Baroque riverside landing called the Porto di Ripetta was located until it was destroyed in the late 19th century. The Via del Babuino ("Baboon"), linking to Piazza di Spagna, takes its name from a grotesque sculpture of Silenus that gained the popular name of "the Baboon".

To the north of the piazza stands the Porta del Popolo, beyond which lies the Piazzale Flaminio and the start of the Via Flaminia.

The redesign of Piazza del Popolo had a minor impact on the view of the Tridente. the comparison between today's image with the etchings by Vasi and Piranesi shows that the bell towers of the almost twin churches were built at a later time: in 1758 that of S. Maria in Montesanto (left - design by Giuseppe Theodoli) and in 1760-65 that of S. Maria dei Miracoli (right - design by Francesco Navone).

Piazza del Popolo seen from Porta del Popolo

In 1586 Domenico Fontana, at the request of Pope Sixtus V, relocated a standing obelisk from the side of S. Pietro to the centre of the square in front of it; the successful completion of the move led the pope to order the restoration/relocation of three other ancient obelisks in the frame of an overall redesign of modern Rome. In 1589 one of the two obelisks which stood on the ground of Circus Maximus was moved to Piazza del Popolo and placed at the junction point of the Tridente.

(left) Original inscription (identical to that on the obelisk of Piazza di Montecitorio); (centre) tip of the obelisk with the bronze cross and the heraldic symbols of Pope Sixtus V; (right) XIXth century fountains

The obelisk was erected in Heliopolis and it celebrated Pharaoh Rameses II; it was brought to Rome by Emperor Augustus; it was relocated to Piazza del Popolo also because Pope Sixtus V decreed that S. Maria del Popolo could replace S. Sebastiano as the seventh basilica to be visited by pilgrims (to see all the obelisks of Rome click here). Prior to the relocation of the obelisk the centre of the square was marked by a fountain designed by Giacomo Della Porta in 1570; it was the first of a series of fountains for the distribution of Acqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct first restored by Pope Sixtus IV and then expanded at the time of Pope Gregory XIII; the fountain was slightly moved towards Via del Corso to make room for the obelisk; ; in 1823 Giuseppe Valadier designed four small fountains surrounding the obelisk and the old one was relocated opposite S. Pietro in Montorio and then moved to Piazza Nicosia.

The aqueduct carrying the Acqua Vergine Nuovo was completed in the 1820s, and its water provided the opportunity for fountains and their basins that offered the usual public water supply for the rioneor urban district. Ever since the Renaissance such terminal fountains also provided an occasion for the grand terminal water show called in Rome a mostra or a show. "What makes a fountain a mostra is not essentially its size or splendor, but its specific designation as the fountain that is a public memorial to the whole achievement of the aqueduct."[5] Valadier had planned fountains in the upper tier of the Pincio slope, but these were not carried out, in part for lack of water.[6]

Fountains by Giovanni Ceccarini (1822–23), with matching compositions of a central figure flanked by two attendant figures, stand on each side of the piazza to the east and west, flanked by neoclassical statues of The Seasons (1828).[7] The Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune) [8] stands on the west side, Neptune with his trident is accompanied by two dolphins. Rome between the Tiber and the Aniene on the east side, against the steep slope of the Pincio, represents the terminal mostra of the aqueduct. Dea Roma armed with lance and helmet, and in front is the she-wolf feeding Romulus and Remus.[6]

Neptune Fountain Fountain of the goddess of Rome

In his urbanistic project, Valadier constructed the matching palazzi that provide a frame for the scenography of the twin churches and hold down two corners of his composition. He positioned a third palazzo to face these and matched a low structure screening the flank of Santa Maria del Popolo, with its fine Early Renaissance façade, together holding down the two northern corners. Valadier outlined this newly defined oval forecourt to the city of Rome with identical sweeps of wall, forming curving exedra-like spaces. Behind the western one, a screen of trees masks the unassorted fronts of buildings beyond.

Valadier enlarged the square by adding to two large half circles flanked by identical buildings which were much criticized for their unassuming design; the overall size of the square was deemed to be excessive in relation to the size of the churches and of the obelisk.Piazza del Popolo is a preferred location for political rallies.

The eastern half of Piazza del Popolo and behind it il Pincio

The original French project included the erection of a gigantic statue of Emperor Napoleon on the top terrace of the Pincio; this idea was scrapped by the return of Pope Pius VII, but the overall decoration of the square continued to be influenced by an "imperial" approach and by an exaltation of Ancient Rome, which in the past the popes had avoided.

Valadier's Piazza del Popolo, however, incorporated the verdure of trees as an essential element. On one side, he created a typically French vista leading up to the Pincio Gardens, with neoclassical sphinxes on the first tier, statues of men in phrygian caps on the second and an arcaded fountain above. Valadier's masterstroke was in linking the piazza with the heights of the Pincio, the Pincian Hill of ancient Rome, which overlooked the space from the east. He swept away informally terraced gardens that belonged to the Augustinian monastery connected with Santa Maria del Popolo. In its place he created a carriage drive that doubled back upon itself and pedestrian steps leading up beside a waterfall to the Pincio park, where a balustraded lookout, supported by a triple-arched nymphaeum is backed by a wide gravelled opening set on axis with the piazza below; formally-planted bosquets of trees flank the open space. The planted Pinco in turn provides a link to the Villa Borghese gardens.

Steps lead from the Piazza del Popolo to the Pincio to the east..Group of statues portraying Rome between Tevere and Aniene by Giovanni Ceccarini; at the sides of the group two columns with "rostra"

In conclusion one could say that there are two distinct Piazza del Popolo; one on a north-south axis with a Renaissance/Baroque character and one on an east-west axis which has a typical Neoclassic design; they have in common the obelisk, but otherwise they seem to ignore each other.

Până recent, piața a fost ticsită de transport auto. Din fericire în prezent ea este pietonală. Adăugând faptul că piaţa se află situată între Colina Quirinale şi Colina Pinciana (notabilă pentru prezența mult renumitelor Grădini Vila Borghese), este evident că Piazza del Popolo nu poate şi nici nu trebuie să fie trecută cu vederea de către turiştii care vor să experimenteze Roma în totalitatea atracţiilor sale esenţiale, în special întrucât Piazza del Popolo este o amplă zonă pietonală, ideală pentru plimbări lungi sub cerul roman.

In Piazza di Popolo, doua biserici sunt alaturate , fatada principala a acestora fiind orientate spre poarta de nod a Zidului Aurelian, la intrarea Via del Corso in piata.Santa Maria dei Mircoli si Santa Maria in Montesanto sunt cunoscute sub denumirea de biserici gemene, datorita aspectului lor exterior asemanator: ele insa au anumite deosebri cat in aspectul exterior( detalii de fatada), atit si in cel interior ( planele).

Privite din piata, aceste doua biserici defines asa numitul ,,trident” al strazilor ce pleaca din Piazza del Popolo : incepand cu stanga , Via del Babuino, Via del Corso si Via di Ripetta. Primele doua sunt separate de Santa Maria in Montesanto si mai apoi de Santa Maria dei MIracoli.

Bisericile vazute de pe obelisc: (stanga) S. Maria in Montesanto; (dreapta) S. Maria dei Miracoli

Originea acestor doua biserici dateaza din secolul 17 , cand a avut loc restaurarea intrarii principale a Romei din Evul Mediu si Renastere, de pe Via Flaminia ( cunoscuta ca Via Lata si Via del Corso in context urban). Papa Alexander VII a promovat anumite initiative pentru a imbunatati partea de Via del Corso de la Piazza Colonna ( unde era amplasat palatal sau familial) pana la Piazza del Popolo in 1661. El a insarcinat proiectarea monumentala a intrarii la Via del Corso arhitectului Carlo Rainaldi. Aceasta cuprindea doua biserici cu plane centrale, dar forma diferita a siturilor disponibile a impus modificari majore in proiectele initiale. Ambele proiecte au fost finantate de cardinalul Giorlamo Gastaldi, membru al unei familii genoveze instarite , care a fost inmormintat cu fratele sau linga altarul principal al Santa Maria dei Miracoli, blazonul familiei acestora fiind present in ambele biserici chiar si in zilele noastre.

Bisericile nu sunt identice . Ele au fost proiectate sau mai bine zis inghesuite printre strazile care deja existau, si constituiau artere importante ale orasului. Mai mult ca atat, terenurile pe care au

fost contruite bisericile aveau dimensiuni diferite. Suprafata terenului care era prevazut pentru constructia Santa Maria in Montessanto ( la stanga) era mai mica.Pentru a crea iluzia de simetrie, Rainaldi a proiectat o cupola ovala pentru aceasta biserica si o cupola circular pentru Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

Aparenta finala a bisericilor a intensificat senzatia de adincime a acelor trei strazi care pornesc din Piazza del Popolo si a reflectat sugestiile facute de Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Arhitectul Carlo Rainaldi, a terminat constructia Santa Maria di Montesanto in 1675 si a inceput sa lucreze asupra celei de a doua biserici Santa Maria dei Miracoli, finisand-o in anul 1681. Cupolele au fost restaurate la inceputul secolului 19 si acoperite cu placi de ardezie , o tehnica neobisnuita in roma , care le atribuia cupolelor o culoare fumurie, ce poate fi vazute de pe terasa Pincio.

Santa Maria in Montesanto, ridicata peste o biserica cu acelasi nume care era situate la inceputul strazii Via del Babuino, a fost ocupata de calugarii Carmelite. Numele Montesanto (Muntele Sfant) se refera la Muntele Carmel in Israel. Constructia bisericii actuale a inceput pe data de 15 iulie 1662, sub patronajul Cardinalului Girolamo Gastaldi, si a fost finisata in anul 1675, cu toate adaugarile in 1679. Planurile initiale au fost proiectate de Carlo Rainaldi, insa mai tarziu acestea au fost revizuite de Gian Lorenzo Bernini si ulterior completate de Carlo Fontana. O clopotnita a fost adaugata in secolul 18. Se considera ca statuile sfintilor din exterior au fost schitate de Bernini.Interiorul are un plan elliptic, cu o cupola dodecagonala. In 1825, biserica a fost transformata intr- o mica basilica.

In 1953, Monsignor Ennio Francia established the tradition of the Mass of the Artists. On the last Sunday of October till June 29, a mass is held every Sunday with reading by an artist, and animated by music. At the end of the mass, a prayer for the artists is read.[1] For these reasons the Montesanto church is also called the Church of the Artists.

The first chapel to the left is the cappella di Santa Lucia (Saint Lucy). The second chapel is dedicated to Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzi, designed by Carlo Rainaldi to honor the Carmelite nun canonized by Pope Clemente XI in 1669. The ceiling and the altarpiece of the Miracle of the saint (c. 1685) was painted by Ludovico Gimignani.

The third chapel is the cappella Montioni. The Monitoni family commissioned the design by Tommaso Mattei, pupil of Carlo Fontana. The altarpiece of the Madonna with Child and Saints Francis and Jacob (c. 1687) was completed by Carlo Maratta. The Assumption fresco was painted by Giuseppe Chiari. Upon the altar is a modern statue of the Angel for the artists by Guelfo (1937–1997). At one time, the sacristy held frescoes by Baciccia.

The presbitery is stuccoed with angels by Filippo Carcani and houses the miraculous 15th-century altarpiece of Virgin of Montesanto, which tradition holds was painted by an 11-year-old girl. The sacristy has a frescoed vault with angels and the instruments of passion, the altarpiece of the Deposition (c. 1600) is attributed to Biagio Puccini.[2]

(left) S. Maria in Montesanto; (right) monument to Marquis Benedetto Gastaldi (design by Carlo Fontana, statues of the Virtues by Antonio Raggi) in S. Maria dei Miracoli

(left) S. Maria dei Miracoli; (right) its bell tower

Santa Maria dei Miracoli was begun in 1675 and finished in 1681. With a circular plan, it has an elegant 18th-century bell tower by Girolamo Theodoli and an octagonal cupola. The interior has a rich stucco decoration by Antonio Raggi, Bernini's pupil. The monuments for Cardinals Benedetto and Gastaldi were designed by Carlo Fontana, who also provided design for the cupola and the lamp. The busts in bronze were completed by Girolamo Lucenti.[3]

At the high altar is the miraculous image of the Virgin which has given the church its name. The first chapel on the right-hand side has an altar dedicated to Our Lady of Bétharram, named after a shrine near Lourdes. The order of Priests of the Sacred Heart was founded at Bétharram. There is a reproduction of Renoir's Madonna at Bétharram.

Maria dei Miracoli and its twin church, Santa Maria in Montesanto, are both attractive from the outside and seem perfectly set in their positions on the southern end of the piazza at the head of Via del Corso. The exterior makes a nice picture, especially from the northern side of the piazza where you are able to squeeze the obelisk into the frame. on the inside, What we did like was the Madonna dei Miracoli painting that was framed by with angels which is seen behind the alter, that was nice.