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S. Lucia alle Botteghe Oscure (Book 6) (Map C3) (Day 5) (View C8) (Rione Pigna) and (Rione Sant'Angelo)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 S. Lucia
 Palazzo Ginnasi
 Palazzo Caetani
 S. Stanislao dei Polacchi
 Porticus Minuciae e Torre del Papitto

The Plate (No. 114)

S. Lucia alle Botteghe Oscure

The second circus of Rome was Circus Flaminius and the arcades of its northern side were re-used in medieval times to get some little shops (Bottega) with a lot of inside space receiving little light from the entrance so they were obscure  (Botteghe oscure). The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Palazzo Ginnasi; 2) S. Lucia; 3) Part of Palazzo Ginnasi once used by the nuns; 4) Palazzo Mattei Paganica, then Caetani; 5) S. Stefano dei Polacchi. The small map shows also: 6) Porticus Minuciae; 7) Torre del Papitto.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The view today

The left side of the street was totally rebuilt in 1937 to get a larger street connecting Largo Argentina with Piazza Venezia. The balcony you see in the plate was added to a new building, which was to some extent similar to the old one.

S. Lucia

S. Lucia and Palazzo Ginnasi

The entrance to the church of S. Lucia was added to the front of the new building in Via delle Botteghe Oscure. Some of the monuments and the ornaments of the church were moved into a family chapel inside Palazzo Ginnasi which also was pulled down and rebuilt. A part of the palace with a late XVIth century portal was untouched by the enlargement of Via delle Botteghe Oscure.

Palazzo Ginnasi

Palazzo Ginnasi

The Ginnasi became a prominent Roman family at the beginning of the XVIIth century when Domenico Ginnasi was appointed cardinal by Clemens VIII. The lower part of the new palace has some elements in common with the old one. The coats of arms are those which stood on the façade of the old palace.

Palazzo Caetani

Palazzo Caetani

This palace is called in the plate Palazzo Mattei - Paganica but was built for the Caetani by Bartolomeo Ammannati in a style very similar to Palazzo Ruspoli.  It shows the simplicity and elegance of the Florentine Renaissance.

S. Stanislao dei Polacchi

S. Stanislao dei Polacchi

The church of the Polish Nation is today the Sunday meeting point of the large Polish community of Rome. You can see above the entrance the white and crowned Polish eagle on the red background. The main windows of the attached monastery are decorated by the same eagle so I had to pay tribute to Poland by showing this decoration in the background (click here for a list of national churches in Rome).

Porticus Minuciae e Torre del Papitto

Porticus Minuciae

The excavations to enlarge the street brought to light the ruins of a Roman temple. Two columns have been re-erected. The god or the goddess of the temple is not clearly known: the temple is located in a larger complex called Porticus Minuciae. Other excavations in 1929 near Palazzo Cesarini isolated a medieval tower called Torre del Papitto or Torre Persiani. Papitto (small pope) is most likely a reference to Anacletus II, antipope in 1130-38, a member of the Pierleoni family.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa di s. Lucia alle Botteghe oscure, e di s. Stanislao
Sopra un tempio di Ercole fu eretta questa piccola chiesa da' primitivi Cristiani , e prese un tal nome dalle botteghe ricavate nelle scure rovine del famoso Circo Flaminio, che quivi fu eretto da Caio Flaminio console per celebrarvi i giuochi Tauri, e Apollinari.
Principiava questo dalla riferita chiesa di s. Elena, e seguitava verso quella di s. Caterina, che or ora mostreremo, fino alla piazza Morgana tutto circondato da magnifici portici a due ordini, con sedili per li spettatori; e per quello, che si vide ne' secoli passati occupava di larghezza tutto il sito de' tre palazzi Mattei, per la fabbrica de' quali furono atterrati alcuni avanzi, che vi erano. Furonvi intorno de' tempj dedicati ai falsi Dei, e sopra uno di questi fu alzata la chiesa di s. Lucia, che poi dal Card. Domenico Ginnasi fu unita al suo palazzo, ridotto ad istanza di Caterina sua sorella, in parte per monastero delle religiose Carmelitane, che ora stanno appresso la chiesa de' ss. Pietro e Marcellino, e in parte per collegio di fanciulli studenti, e sì l'uno, che l'altro furono detti de' Ginnasj. Rimane ora la chiesa, comecchè è parrocchiale, in cura del suo Paroco, ed è ornata di marmi, e pitture diverse.
Incontro a questa è l'ospizio per li poveri Preti forestieri, ed incontro al collegio, evvi la chiesa di s. Stanislao de' Pollacchi con il loro spedale.

Next plate in Book 6: Chiesa di S. Marco
Next step in Day 5 itinerary: Palazzo Mattei
You have completed your tour of Rione Pigna!!!
Next step in your tour of Rione Sant'Angelo: Palazzo Mattei

Go to    or to  Book 6 or to my Home Page on Baroque Rome or to my Home Page on Rome in the footsteps of an XVIIIth century traveller.


All images © 1999 - 2003 by Roberto Piperno. Write to romapip@quipo.it