55. PIAZZA NAVONA
de Bonis, A(driano)

De Bonis took this overview of the Piazza Navona around 1860. This was the site of the Roman market until it was moved to Campo dei Fiori in 1869. Prior to 1867, when the level of the cobbles was raised, the drains from the fountains were blocked and the piazza periodically flooded in the summer months to create an artificial lake (lago estivo) where Romans aristocracy paraded around in their carriages. The Fontana del Moro occupies the foreground, while Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers occupies the middle of the piazza, opposite Borromini’s church of S. Agnese in Agone. In the distance the altana (belvedere tower) of the Palazzo Altemps is visible.

56. ABBEY OF MONTECASSINO, CHIOSTRO DEL PARADISO
de Bonis, A(driano) (attributed)

This octagonal well-head situated in the chiostro del paradiso of the Benedictine abbey of Montecassino, was carved between 1590 and 1595. Although the well-head’s design is intricate and robust, it clearly shows signs of heavy use in this semi-enclosed space. Interesting light enters from a high arch and illuminates the remaining space. The massive horizontal architrave spanning the two columns appears to have been designed to carry a larger, but perhaps less convenient vessel than the cast-iron bucket visible here. The well-head appears to have been modified to include a low spill basin to accommodate the tasks it served. One suspects that the photographer was drawn to the well-head precisely because of these utilitarian functions rather than the aesthetic intentions of its original design.

57. THE PORTA SAN LORENZO FRAMED BY AN ARCH OF THE ACQUA FELICE
de Bonis, A(driano)

This photograph records the appearance of the eastern periphery of the city within the Aurelian walls before the entire area was transformed by development associated with the railroad lines converging on the main train station. The view is framed by the Arch of Sixtus V, which casts its own rounded shadow pattern onto the road way. The Porta San Lorenzo is visible in the distance. The arch is part of the Acqua Felice aqueduct, the waters of which are celebrated in the terminal display of the Moses Fountain and then distributed throughout the lower city. The lion on the keystone and the eight-pointed stars in the spandrels are heraldic devices of the pope who brought the water to Rome in 1587. The arch still stands, but with the expansion of the train station and the layout of Via Marsala, what had been a tree-lined country lane--seen here with grooves of recently passed carts, quiet during the mid-day siesta – has become a busy urban thoroughfare. Trees and the crenellated battlements of the Aurelian Walls fill the frame created by the arch.

58. COURTYARD OF THE PALAZZO DELLA CANCELLERIA
Chauffourier, Gustavio Eugenio, print

The Palazzo della Cancelleria is one of the most imposing Renaissance palaces in Rome. It was constructed by Cardinal Raffaele Riario, the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV Della Rovere, between 1483 and 1517. The palace is unusually well documented in many interesting images that were printed by Chauffourier. In this one, the photographer lines the viewer up with the steps leading to the piano nobile from the ground floor arcade, the columns of which are capped with the rose of the Della Rovere family. He has also included his field darkroom kit, complete with mixing chemicals.

59. S. MARIA MAGGIORE
de Bonis, A(driano)

The background of this photograph is dominated by the facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, erected in 1741–43 following the design of Ferdinando Fuga. The 14th-century bell tower and dome of the Chapel of Sixtus V are also prominent. Visible above the roofline at the left is a statue of the Immaculate Virgin set on top of a column erected in 1614 by Pope Paul V Borghese. The most prominent foreground feature is a memorial to the absolution erected by Pope Clement VIII Aldobrandini to Henry IV of France on his being received back into the Catholic Church following the Wars of Religion in 1595. A pedestal with the papal arms supports a culverin, surmounting which is a cross carrying another bronze image of the Immaculate Virgin. In 1881 the monument was removed to a courtyard adjacent to the sacristy of the Basilica. Though the facade of Santa Maria Maggiore is quite horizontal, de Bonis here responded to the verticality of the Henry IV Cross in the foreground, the Virgin’s Column and the bell tower of Santa Maria Maggiore to orchestrate this image. He also worked to include the sharp silhouettes of the crescent moons on which the two Virgins stand. The photograph is framed on the left by a column; a man sits straight-backed on a convenient bollard to complete the up-and-down theme.

60. COURTYARD OF THE PALAZZO VENEZIA
de Bonis, A(driano)

61. THE FOUNTAIN OF THE PALAZZETTO OF PIUS IV
de Bonis, A(driano)

The Palazzetto di Pio IV incorporated a pre-existing fountain, with an inscription honoring Pope Giulius III, set at an angle to the Via Flaminia. The intervention effectively created a beveled corner that draws the view of passersby up the side street to the facade of the Villa Giulia. In the Holy Year of 1750, Don Filippo Colonna removed the old inscription, replacing it with one honoring himself, and set up his family coat of arms immediately above the fountain. In this photograph we see that the steps carved into the fountain basin provide easy access for washing and drawing water. As a flock of blurred urban ducks scurry along, dipping to drink in front of this fountain, a Roman boy lounges comfortably on rock foundations smoothed from repeated use. The scene is quintessentially Roman. The rubble on the roadway and crumbling stone fish as well as the River God with his oyster-shell cap and weeds growing out of his ears, add to our sense of how these structures live, breathe, and age along with the Romans themselves.

62. THE LOGGIA OF THE PALAZZETTO OF PIUS IV
de Bonis, A(driano)

The upper story of the Palazzetto di Pio IV includes a loggia framing a view to the west, looking over the Via Flaminia to the Tiber and the slopes of Monte Mario beyond. At the time the photograph was taken, the area outside the Porta del Popolo was still open countryside, as were the prati di castello on the opposite bank. The meandering Tiber and surrounding hillside are framed by the loggia, the double columns of which have been truncated by the photographer’s in-camera cropping. Subtle light suffuses the stuccoed walls and terra cotta brick floor, giving the viewer a sense of being there.

63. THE PORTICO OF THE PALAZZETTO OF PIUS IV
de Bonis, A(driano)

In 1561–62 Pirro Ligorio adapted a pre-existing structure marking the corner of the Via Flaminia and the road leading to the Villa Giulia for Carlo Borromeo, the nephew of Pope Pius IV. Over time, the building came to be known as the Palazzetto di Pio IV. In this view we are looking into the eastern arm of the barrel-vaulted portico that wraps around three sides of the hexagonal courtyard. The portico has been adapted to agricultural use, and a watering trough for animals interrupts the elegant engaged pilasters of the inner wall. Although no figure graces this image, everywhere here one senses evidence of human toil. The decaying bricks, stacked wagon wheels, piled wooden-slatted barrels and garden stakes conspire to create a picturesque scene, which de Bonis has admirably captured in this photograph.

Acknowledgments

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has helped to make this exhibition possible, especially the American Academy in Rome, Adele Chatfield-Taylor, Megan McNamee, Taliesin Thomas, Allan Ceen, Marina Miraglia, Ken Jacobson, Meg Pinto and Dee Lundberg.

Bruce Lundberg and John Pinto
1 November 2006

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |