Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( Flaminio)
For centuries the site of public executions, this dazzling piazza was origin-
ally laid out in 1538 to provide a grandiose entrance to what was then Rome's main north-
ern gateway. It has been remodelled several times since, most recently by Giuseppe
Valadier in 1823.
Guarding its southern entry are Carlo Rainaldi's twin 17th-century baroque churches,
Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Chiesa di Santa Maria in Montesanto, while over
on the northern flank is the Porta del Popolo, created by Bernini in 1655 to celebrate
Queen Christina of Sweden's conversion to Catholicism. In the centre, the 36m-high ob-
elisk was brought by Augustus from Heliopolis, in ancient Egypt, and originally stood in
the Circo Massimo. To the east are the Pincian (Pincio) Gardens.
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Popolo
CHURCH
(Piazza del Popolo; 7.30am-noon & 4-7pm; Flaminio)
A magnificent repository of art, this
is one of Rome's earliest and richest Renaissance churches. The first chapel was built here
in 1099 to exorcise the ghost of Nero, who was secretly buried on this spot and whose
ghost was thought to haunt the area. Some 400 years later, in 1472, it was given a major
overhaul and Pinturicchio added a series of frescoes in the Bramante-designed apse and
the Cappella Delle Rovere.
Raphael's Cappella Chigi - completed by Bernini some 100 years later - features a
famous mosaic of a kneeling skeleton, but the church's dazzling highlight is the
Cappella
Cerasi
with its two Caravaggio masterpieces: the
Conversione di San Paolo
(Conversion
of St Paul) and the
Crocifissione di San Pietro
(Crucifixion of St Peter).
Casa di Goethe
MUSEUM
( 06 3265 0412;
www.casadigoethe.it
;
Via del Corso 18; adult/reduced €5/3; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun;
Flaminio)
The Via del Corso apartment where Goethe enjoyed a happy Italian sojourn
(despite complaining of the noisy neighbours) from 1786 to 1788 is now a lovingly main-
tained museum. Exhibits include documents and some fascinating drawings and etchings.
Museo dell'Ara Pacis
MUSEUM
