Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( entrances Via del Teatro di Marcello 44 & Via Portico d'Ottavia 29;
9am-7pm summer, 9am-6pm winter;
Via
del Teatro di Marcello) F To the east of the Jewish Ghetto, the Teatro di Marcello MAP
GOOGLE MAP (Theatre of Marcellus; ) is the star turn of this dusty archaeological area.
This 20,000-seat mini-Colosseum was planned by Julius Caesar and completed in 11 BC
by Augustus who named it after a favourite nephew, Marcellus. In the 16th century, a
palazzo , which now contains several exclusive apartments, was built on top of the origin-
al structure.
Beyond the theatre, the Portico d'Ottavia is the oldest quadriporto (four-sided porch) in
Rome. The dilapidated columns and fragmented pediment once formed part of a vast rect-
angular portico, supported by 300 columns, that measured 132m by 119m. Erected by a
builder called Octavius in 146 BC, it was rebuilt in 23 BC by Augustus, who kept the
name in honour of his sister Octavia. From the Middle Ages until the late 19th century,
the portico housed Rome's fish market.
CHIESA DI SAN NICOLA IN CARCERE
MAP GOOGLE MAP
CHURCH
( 347 3811874; www.sotterraneidiroma.it ; Via del Teatro di Marcello 46; 10.30am-7pm, excavations to 6pm
Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat & Sun; Via del Teatro di Marcello) This innocuous-looking 11th-century church
harbours some fascinating Roman excavations. Beneath the main church you can poke
around the claustrophobic foundations of three Republican-era temples over which the
church was built, and the remnants of an Etruscan vegetable market. Marble columns
from the temples were incorporated into the church's structure and are still visible today.
Visits, led by local experts from Sotterranei di Roma, are by guided tour only.
TOP SIGHT
PALAZZO E GALLERIA DORIA PAMPHILJ
The grimy exterior of this palazzo hides one of Rome's richest private art collections, with works by Raphael,
Tintoretto, Brueghel, Titian, Caravaggio, Bernini and Velázquez.
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj dates to the mid-15th century, but its current look was largely the work of the current
owners, the Doria Pamphilj family, who acquired it in the 18th century. The Pamphilj's golden age, during which
the family collection was started, came during the papacy of one of their own, Innocent X (r 1644-55).
The opulent picture galleries, decorated with frescoed ceilings and gilded mirrors, are hung with floor-to-ceil-
ing paintings. Masterpieces abound, but look out for Titian's Salomè con la testa del Battista (Salome with the
Head of John the Baptist) and two early Caravaggios: Riposo durante la fuga in Egitto (Rest During the Flight in-
to Egypt) and Maddalene Penitente (Penitent Magdalen). However, the undisputed star is the Velázquez portrait
of an implacable Pope Innocent X, who grumbled that it was 'too real'. Compare it with Gian Lorenzo Bernini's
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