Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Introduction

Bestiary is a medieval treatise on beasts and this page briefly deals with the sculptures and reliefs showing animals in the streets of Rome.
The ancient Romans were very fond of statues and reliefs showing hunting scenes, including scenes where the hunter was an animal; they were also interested in statues of exotic animals. In medieval times the representation of animals was rather limited and linked to religious symbols (flocks of sheep and the symbols of three of the four Evangelists: an eagle, a bull and a lion). In the XIVth century Italy gradually became an important actor in Mediterranean trade and this led to bringing to the richest trading centers (Florence and Venice) exotic animals which were then exhibited. During the Renaissance each Italian court had a serraglio (menagerie) and an aviary. The discovery of Roman buildings having rooms entirely decorated with paintings and mosaics showing birds or wild animals had an influence on the Renaissance palaces (Loggia di Palazzo Altemps and Studiolo di Villa Medici are fine examples of this renewed interest for the animals). Between 1572 and 1655, a period of great urban development of Rome, five popes had animals in their coats of arms and this coincidence enormously increased the number of statues of animals which decorated churches and fountains. In the XVIIIth century the interest for the representation of animals became almost scientific. Antonio Canova, realizing that most of the statues of lions in Rome were "humanized", spent some time in Caserta, the Versailles of the King of Naples, studying the actual features of a couple of lions, kept in the royal menagerie. The results of his studies dal vero (from the true thing) can be seen in the couple of lions at the foot of the Monument to Pope Clement XIII.

Museo Pio-Clementino: Sala degli Animali

Pope Pius VI gathered in a large hall a collection of antique statues representing animals which he completed with many XVIIIth century statues. The colossal head of a camel, which you can see in the background of this page, was once part of an ancient Roman fountain (now it is in Sala degli Animali).

Another view of Sala degli Animali with a fine statue of Meleager next to the head of the Calydonian Boar

One of the finest ancient statues in Rome is a Meleager with a spear in his hand, and the head of a wild boar on one side if him. It is of Parian marble, and as yellow as ivory. One meets with many other figures of Meleager in the ancient basso relievos and on the sides of the sarcophagi, or funeral monuments. Perhaps it was the arms or device of the old Roman hunters; which conjecture I have found confirmed in a passage of Manilius, that lets us know the Pagan hunters had Meleager for their patron, as the Christians have their St. Hubert.
Joseph Addison - Remarks on several parts of Italy, in the years 1701, 1702, 1703

The Roman Eagle and other birds

(left) A detail of the pedestal of Colonna Traiana; (centre) XXth century eagle in Ponte Flaminio/Corso Francia; (right) falcon in Palazzo Falconieri

The Roman ensigns had on their top an eagle representing Rome. These symbols were held high by a special group of soldiers and during the battles they indicated the location of the commanding officers and they gave reassurance to the Roman legionaries. The choice of the eagle as the symbol of command was widespread among ancient civilizations. In Rome, according to the legend, this choice was due to the fact that Romulus, the founder of Rome, first saw an eagle, when he was competing (in a sort of modern bird-watching exercise) with his brother Remus for who should be the founder of the new town. The Roman eagle was usually represented with open wings and it was often inscribed within an oak-wreath (see a relief in SS. Apostoli). The Roman eagle was resurrected by Mussolini in the 1930s and several buildings of that period were decorated with eagles. Most of the eagles of Rome, however, are a reminder of Pope Paul V and his family: Villa Borghese, Palazzo Borghese, Acqua Paola, are some of the monuments which are decorated with their eagles (and dragons). A chequered eagle was the symbol of Popes Innocent III and Innocent XIII: their eagle can be seen at the foot of the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti and on Obelisco Vaticano. Innocent XI, Alexander VIII, Leo XII and Pius XI were other popes who had an eagle in their coat of arms.
The dove is the second most represented bird in Rome: see the page on this heraldic symbol of Pope Innocent X. Other birds can be seen in Palazzo Falconieri (falcons), Palazzo Rondinini (swallows) and S. Maria in Publicolis (pelicans).

The Roman She-Wolf

She-wolves in Corso Francia (left) and in a building near S. Maria Maggiore (centre); dog at the entrance of Biblioteca Casanatense (right)

The Romans associated the wolf with the cult of Mars, the god of war, so the legend of Romulus and Remus milked by a she-wolf symbolized the warrior spirits of the Romans. Seeing a wolf before a battle was a sign of forthcoming victory. The Etruscans, before the Romans, had this positive opinion of the wolf and the bronze statue of a she-wolf which is the symbol of the city of Rome is an Etruscan statue to which Antonio del Pollaiolo added the twins in the XVth century. The she-wolf in the act of milking the twins can be seen in many buildings as a homage to Rome: this scene is called Lupercale or Natale di Roma (Roman Christmas) (see the section of the Grand View of Rome by Giuseppe Vasi showing this scene).
In ancient Rome dogs were mainly represented in association with Diana, the hunting goddess, but the only dogs now on display in the streets of Rome are related to Dominican monasteries (e.g. SS. Domenico e Sisto) or institutions (e.g. Biblioteca Casanatense in Convento Dominicano della Minerva) as the Latin word Dominicanus was split into Domini (of the Lord) and Canis (dog) and in this way a dog holding a torch became the symbol of this religious order. Pope Benedict XIII had a Dominican dog in his coat of arms.

Horses

(left) Horse-tamers in Piazza del Quirinale; (right) Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II

The Dioscuri (from the Greek Dios Kuroi, sons of Zeus), Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces), were worshipped by the Romans too and Virgil celebrated them in his poem. Their miraculous appearance in a battle secured victory for the Romans. They were represented as horse-tamers in the statues in Piazza del Campidoglio and in Piazza del Quirinale: a memory of the horse-tamers can be also seen in some statues of Fontana di Trevi. Horses are obviously shown in equestrian statues, first of all that of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Other equestrian statues are those showing Constantine (by Gian Lorenzo Bernini) and Charlemagne in S. Pietro, Garibaldi in Terrazza del Gianicolo and King Victor Emmanuel II in the monument dedicated to him (it is the largest statue of Rome). Bernini sculptured another horse in Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi.

Lions

(left) Roman sarcophagus near Quercia del Tasso; (right) shutter in Palazzo Apostolico

The lion, the king of the animals, was mainly associated by the Romans with the myth of Hercules, who was always portrayed wearing a lion skin: this association did not get lost and can be seen again in a late Renaissance palace (Palazzo Madama). Lions protected the dead and were often portrayed in Roman sarcophagi. Egyptian lions decorate Mostra dell'Acqua Felice, Obelisco Flaminio and the steps leading to Piazza del Campidoglio. The Romans liked in particular scenes showing the lion in the act of hunting a deer and some of these reliefs can be seen in Casa di Lorenzo Manilio and in Strada dell'Orso. The lion is the most recurring animal in heraldry and many popes had a lion in their coat of arms: Paul II, Adrian VI, Sixtus V (whose lions decorated many churches and palaces), Innocent XI, Pius VIII and Pius IX. Leo X wanted lions bringing to mind his name in a church he rebuilt (S. Maria in Dominica) and even in the shutters of the papal apartment. Bernini placed a lion in the act of drinking in Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi.

Lions in Palazzo del Cinque (left) and in another building of Rione Colonna

More domestic lions decorate the windows of many XVIIIth century buildings. They have little of the king of the animals; they seem intent on chatting and watching the passers-by.

Bears and other wild animals

Orsini bears in Grotte Vaticane (left) and in Palazzo Orsini (right)

The bear was known by all ancient civilizations including the Roman one, but it was not as popular as other animals. In Rome statues or reliefs showing bears are almost entirely associated with the Orsini family (Orso in Italian means bear). Other wild animals were depicted by Bernini in Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (an alligator and a snake), in Obelisco della Minerva (an elephant) and in Fontana del Tritone (dolphins). Bernini (perhaps) added also the tortoises of Fontana delle Tartarughe.

Oxen and other domestic animals

Reliefs in Foro Romano (left) and in Palazzo Vitelli (right)

A frieze the Romans frequently used to decorate their buildings was based on skulls of oxen, a memory of the sacrificial role of these animals (these friezes can still be seen in Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella and elsewhere). The image above shows the head of an oxen ready for the sacrifice. Pope Calixtus III and his nephew Pope Alexander VI had cows in their coats of arms. Palazzo Vitelli in Campo Marzio is decorated with heads of young calves, because Vitelli means veal. Goats were a very common animal in Rome until the beginning of the XIXth century and many street names have references to them. A part of Campidoglio was called Monte Caprino (Capra means goat) because goats were brought there for their pasture. Today the only goat left is on the top of Palazzo Altemps.

Heraldic symbols and imaginary animals

(left) The Bees of Pope Urban VIII in Fontana delle Api; (right-above) the horses (actually they were unicorns) of Pope Paul III in Via Giulia; (right-below) the salamander of King Francis I of France near S. Onofrio

During the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII, Rome became a beehive: the heraldic bees of the Pope made their appearance everywhere: the fountain named after them (by Bernini) was their swansong: it was completed in 1644, the year the Pope died. Pope Paul III had unicorns as a secondary heraldic symbol and they appear next to his formal coat of arms in a house in Via Giulia. S. Luigi dei Francesi is decorated with reliefs showing salamanders, lizard-like animals supposed to live in fire. This very unusual subject decorates also the windows of a house near S. Onofrio.

Reliefs in Via del Parione (left) and in Villa Doria Pamphili (right)

The Romans inherited from the Etruscans some imaginary animals (e.g. chimera) which they added to those of Greek (e.g. Pegasus) and Egyptian (e.g. sphinx) origin. Two popes, Gregory XIII and Paul V had an imaginary animal (a dragon) in their coat of arms and this explains why there are so many dragons in Rome: you can see them in the following pages: The Dragon and the Calendar (Gregory XIII) and Dragons and Eagles (Paul V).