Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Links to this page can be found in Book 4, Map C3, Day 7, View D7 and Rione Regola.

In this page:
The Creators of the Collections
Collection of Antiquities
XVIth century Collection
The previous page covers:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Fontane di Piazza Farnese and Palazzo Mandosi
Palazzo Farnese
Palazzo Pighini
S. Brigida
Palazzo Fioravanti and Palazzetto Giangiacomo
S. Maria dell'Orazione e della Morte
Palazzo dell'Ordine Teutonico
SS. Giovanni e Petronio
Fontana del Mascherone a Via Giulia.

The Creators of the Collections

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: (left) Bust of Pope Paul III by Guglielmo Della Porta from Museo di Capodimonte at Naples; (right) A fleur-de-lis, the heraldic symbol of the Farnese with portraits of the Dukes of Parma, of the Pope and of the Cardinals (1693) from Musei Civici of Piacenza

Pope Paul III was both the founder of the Farnese rule over Parma and Piacenza and of the Farnese collections. In 1546 he promoted excavations at Terme di Caracalla in the hope of finding ancient sculptures and the initiative was very successful because the Hercules and the Bull, the two most celebrated pieces of the Farnese collection of antiquities were discovered on that occasion.
In 1714 Elisabeth Farnese, the last of the dynasty, married King Philip V of Spain. In 1748 as a result of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the Duchy was assigned to Philip of Bourbon-Parma, second son of the couple, whereas Charles, his elder brother was confirmed King of Naples. The Duchy lasted, with an interruption during the Napoleonic wars, until 1859.

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: (left) Portrait of Ottavio Farnese (1524-1586), Duke of Parma (1551) by Tommaso Manzuoli from The Cobbe Collection Trust: (right) Portrait of Margaret of Austria (1522-1586), his wife (1562) by Antoon Mor from Pinacoteca Stuard of Parma

Pope Paul III strengthened the fortunes of the family by marrying his grandson Ottavio, Duke of Castro and future Duke of Parma to Margaret, natural daughter of Emperor Charles V and widow of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence. It was with Margaret's dowry and heritage that books, gems and other antiquities belonging to the Medici entered the Farnese collection. Margaret herself added to the Farnese library by patronizing miniaturist Giulio Clovio. She often spent time at Palazzo and Villa Madama or at Castel Madama. She conducted an independent life and in 1559-1567 she was governor-general of the Netherlands and then of the Abruzzi.
The contribution of the Dukes of Parma to the Farnese collection was in general rather limited as they did not reside in Rome and did not visit it very often, especially after they lost the Duchy of Castro in 1649.

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: (left) Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese iuniore (1520-1589) by Perin del Vaga from Galleria di Palazzo Corsini; (right) Portrait of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese (1573-1626) by il Domenichino (1602 - in the background Villa la Farnesina) - Private collection

The development of the collection as well as of the decoration of the palace was mainly due to the initiatives of the Farnese cardinals who resided in Rome or at Caprarola, north of Rome. Alessandro Farnese was a patron of literature, science, and art and he was a decided supporter of the reforms of the Council of Trent, in which he participated. He promoted the construction of Chiesa del Gesù. Cardinal Odoardo Farnese completed the decoration of the Roman palace by commissioning Annibale Carracci the frescoes of the main hall. Because of the deterioration of the relations between the Farnese and the Barberini, the family of Pope Urban VIII, there were no other Farnese cardinals after Odoardo.

Collection of Antiquities

Archaeological Museum of Naples - Farnese Collection - The Hercules

November 6, 1644. Palazzo Farnese. Descending into the court, we with astonishment contemplated those two incomparable statues of Hercules and Flora, so much celebrated by Pliny, and indeed by all antiquity, as two of the most rare pieces in the world.
John Evelyn's Diary and Correspondence
In the Court I saw the famous statue of Hercules leaning upon his club, which was found in the Thermae of Antoninus Caracalla: one of the legs is modern, the rest old.
Richard Lassels' The Voyage of Italy, or a Compleat Journey through Italy in ca 1668
January 18, 1787. Rome is threatened with a great artistic loss. The King of Naples has ordered the Hercules Farnese to be brought to his palace. The news has made all the artists quite sad; however, on this occasion, we shall see something which was hidden from our forefathers. The aforesaid statue, namely, from the head to the knee, with the lower part of the feet, together with the sockle on which it stood, were found within the Farnesian domain, but the legs from the knee to the ankle were wanting, and had been supplied by Guglielmo Porta; on these it had stood since its discovery to the present day. In the mean time, however, the genuine old legs were found in the lands of the Borghese, and were to be seen in their villa. Recently, however, the Prince Borghese has achieved a victory over himself, and has made a present of these costly relics to the King of Naples. The legs by Porta are being removed, and the genuine ones replaced; and every one is promising himself, however well contented he has been hitherto with the old, quite a new treat, and a more harmonious enjoyment. (..) June 20 The Hercules Farnese is away; still I have seen him on his genuine limbs, which after so long a time were restored him. It is now incomprehensible how the first legs by Porta could so long have passed for good. Now it is one of the most perfect works of all time.
J. W. Goethe - Italian Journey - translation by Charles Nisbet

Archaeological Museum of Naples - Farnese Collection - The Bull

November 6, 1644. In a second court was a temporary shelter of boards over the most stupendous and never-to-be- sufficiently-admired Toro of Amphion, Zethus and Dirce, represented in five figures, exceeding the life in magnitude, of the purest white marble (..) to be valued beyond all the marbles of the World for its antiquity and workmanship. Evelyn
Then descending into a little back court, I saw the famous Toro. It is a statue of a great bull, to whose horns a rope being tyed at one end and at the other end of it a womans hair, two lusty fellows are striving to push this bull from a promontory into the Sea below, and the woman together with him, to make her away. Lassels
Dirce, Amphion and Zethus upon a vast rock with the Bull, and other Animals. The Figures are very fine, especially the Dirce, in Broad parts more remarkably than any other Statues. 'Tis in a Great Taste, but extremely Hard, and without any Delicacy at all. This is commonly call'd the Toro.
Jonathan and Jonathan Richardson - Account of Some of the Statues, etc. in Italy - 1722
In Naples the King will have a museum built, in which all the works of art he possesses, the Herculanean museum, the pictures of Pompeii, the pictures of Capo di Monte, the whole Farnese inheritance will be exhibited together. (..) Even the Toro Farnese is to go to Naples, and to be set up in the promenade there. Could they also take the Carracci gallery with them out of the palace, they would do so. Goethe
Under our windows and bordering on the beach is the royal garden, laid out in parterres, and walks shaded by rows of orange trees. In the middle stands the Toro Farnese, the celebrated Farnesian bull, a group representing Amphion, and Zethus binding Dirce to the horns of a bull.
John Chetwode Eustace - A Classical Tour through Italy in 1802
Villa Reale. The large granite basin which forms the central fountain, where formerly the Toro Farnese stood, was brought in 1825 from Salerno. The Toro Farnese was then removed to the Museo Borbonico, as it was found that the action of the sea air was injurious to the marble. Several other statues of interest and value were removed at the same time, and replaced here by copies of some of the most admired works of antiquity.
Murray - Handbook for travellers in Southern Italy - 1843

Archaeological Museum of Naples - Farnese Collection: (left) Wounded Gladiator; (centre) Flora; (right) perhaps Neoptolemus (Achilles' son) throwing Astyanax (Hector's son) over the walls of Troy

The other statues here of the two Floras, the two Gladiators, and others, are excellent pieces. Lassels
Next the Hercules is the Flora of which the Head, the Right arm from a little below the shoulder, and the other from a little above the Elbow, and both the Hands; and the Right-foot with about half the Leg, and the greatest part of the Left-foot have been lost, but supplied by the same Excellent Master as repaired the Hercules; my Father has a most Exquisite Model of this statue, just in the Condition it was before its lost parts were restored. Richardson
The colossal statue known as the Flora Farnese, found in the baths of Caracalla at Rome, and celebrated as one of the masterpieces of ancient sculpture. Though upwards of 12 feet in height, it is so finely proportioned and so graceful, that the unnatural effect of a colossal statue is not felt, and the spectator sees only one of the noblest specimens of the female form which Greek art has handed down to us. The head, the arms, and the feet were supplied by Della Porta and Albaccini, who, without any authority, gave it the character of Flora, Visconti thought that it represents Hope, and according to others Venus Genitrix. (..) The Wounded Gladiator, well known as the "Farnese Gladiator," a very noble statue, full of feeling, and painfully true to nature. Murray
In line with the usage of the time many of the ancient statues for which the Farnese collection was renowned were largely restored/completed.

Archaeological Museum of Naples - Farnese Collection: (left) Dionysus/Bacchus and Ampelos, a young satyr with whom the god fell in love (see a statue at Sagalassos and floor mosaics at Cologne and Arles); (centre) Apollo playing the cithara; (right) Ganymede and Jupiter in the guise of an eagle (see them in a small statue at Carthage and in floor mosaics at Sousse)

In the same gallery also stands the incomparable statue of Apollo in a flint stone. Lassels
Apollo of black marble leaning upon his Lyre; this is the finest statue in the Gallery; there are several others in the same attitude (perhaps a reference to one belonging to the Barberini) but none so good as this. Richardson
Bacchus and Ampelos (restored erroneously as a Cupid), a splendid group in Greek marble; the same subject as in the gallery at Florence, but in a more superb style. (..) Ganymede and the Eagle, in Greek marble, full of grace and beauty beyond almost any other example of the same subject. Murray

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: Pan and Daphnis (IInd century AD) from the Archaeological Museum of Naples and a sketch by Annibale Carracci from the Musée du Louvre, Paris (see a famous statue of Venus and Pan)

The pair of figures represents the god Pan, with goat-like features, seated beside the blind shepherd Daphnis, intent on playing the syrinx. Daphnis, son of Hermes and the nymph Daphne, embodies, in Greek myth, the ideal of the eromenos, the child of unparalleled beauty capable of fascinating every man or divinity. Pan encircles the young man with his left arm, while with his right arm he seems to guide him in the use of the instrument. According to late literary sources Pan taught Daphnis to play the syrinx and also fell in love with him. The god was also portrayed while making love to a she-goat in a statue found at Pompeii. Because of their strong erotic contents these statues were not shown to ordinary visitors.

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: (left) Crouching Venus (IInd century AD see a similar one at Ostia); (centre) Eros Farnese (see a similar one from Gabii and a bronze statue from Pompeii); (right) Camillus by Guglielmo Della Porta in the foreground and Camillus of Musei Capitolini

The Capitol (..) A Minister of the Sacrifices, call'd the Camillus. (..) Farnese Palace (..) Venus crouching, and Cupid playing with her; very fine! Large again as the Life: Air of a Head very good. (..) A Brass Camillus the same exactly with that exquisite one in the Capitol only that this is not so good; it is not a Cast from That Both being Wrought with the Hammer but it it must be a Copy from it. Richardson
Musei Capitolini. Room of the Camillus. 1. A triangular Bacchic altar, on which stands one of the Camilli or young priests of Romulus, a much admired bronze statue.
Rev. Jeremiah Donovan - Rome Ancient and Modern - 1843
Today the room is known as Sala dei Trionfi and it houses two other famous bronze statues namely The Boy with Thorn and the bust of L. Iunius Brutus. In the Roman world, camillus was the young man that helped the priest during the sacrifices to the gods, but for a long time the statue was thought to portray a young gipsy woman.

Archaeological Museum of Naples - Farnese Collection - Busts of Emperors: (left) Vespasian; (centre) Hadrian; (right) Antoninus Pius

Here is a Suite of Emperors; Busts, Antique; and all done (as is said here) in their Own Times (..) This Suite however is not complete; as none that I have seen in Rome or elsewhere is; I mean of Antiques, Galba is wanting. Richardson
Bust of Hadrian, considered one of the finest in the museum, a very dignified and noble countenance, marked with thought and refined expression. - Bust of Antoninus Pius, of beautiful workmanship, considered the finest bust of Antoninus known. Murray
The remark by Richardson was prompted by him having seen the Medici collection of busts at Galleria degli Uffizi where some of the missing emperors were replaced by modern busts.

Archaeological Museum of Naples - Farnese Collection: sarcophagus depicting a procession with Dionysus and a drunken Hercules (see a similar one at Musei Capitolini)

Sarcophagus, with a basrelief representing a Bacchanalian festival, with Bacchus drunken in his car, and Hercules resting upon Iole. Murray
The Studii or University (today's Archaeological Museum of Naples) is a very spacious edifice, where is already a noble collection of statues. Among these the celebrated Hercules by Glycon is the most remarkable. All these statues and monuments once adorned the Farnesian palace in Rome, and were transported thence by the king of Naples, who succeeded to the rich inheritance of the Farnesian family. This establishment is planned on a vast scale, and intended to contain all the royal museums and libraries, and to comprise the instruments and apparatus of all the arts and sciences. Eustace

British Museum: statues from the Farnese Collection which were not relocated to Naples and which were sold in 1864 by King Francis II: (left) Youth on horseback, perhaps Emperor Caligula; (right) Diadumenos, athlete wearing a ribbon, Ist century AD copy of a lost Greek bronze statue (see another marble copy found at Delos)

Augustus Caesar on Horseback, the same Action as the Marcus Aurelius and rather a finer Figure. (..) He is here a Young Man, and not Half Life. Richardson
In addition to those shown in this page other statues and reliefs from the Farnese collection of antiquities can be seen in other pages of this website:
relief from Tempio di Venere Genitrice
reliefs from the Temple to Hadrian
reliefs from Domus Flavia
statues of the Del Bufalo (marble well and Dacian prisoners)
statues from Giardino Farnese (Antinous and Venus Callypigys)
statues from Villa Adriana (tyrannicides Armodius and Aristogeiton)
statues from Villa Madama (Jupiter and Scylla)
The Farnese Atlas originally in the Forum of Trajan
bust of Sophocles
statue of Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma at Caserta.

Archaeological Museum of Naples - Farnese Collection - Carved gems: (left) Mars crowned by Victory; (right) Serapis, once thought to represent Jupiter

The Farnese had a large collection of ancient coins and carved gems which included pieces from the Medici family (see some of them which are still in Florence). Detailed catalogues listed them in 1566 and in 1588. The cardinals were assisted by Fulvio Orsini (1529-1600), of a minor branch of the Dukes of Bracciano, an illustrious antiquarian and librarian, who bequeathed his own collection of coins and gems to the Farnese.

XVIth Century Collection

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: Cassetta Farnese (1543-1561) and a detail with the coat of arms of a Farnese cardinal from Museo di Capodimonte at Naples

A splendid silver chest, known as the Cassetta Farnese, adorned with rock crystal and basreliefs representing mythological subjects, and various events in the history of Alexander the Great. It bears the name of Joannes de Bernardi, of Castel Bolognese. Murray
The chest was kept at Parma and it was made by the goldsmith Manno di Bastiano Sbarri, a pupil of Benvenuto Cellini (see his famous salt cellar), and by the carver Giovanni Bernardi da Castelbolognese.
I learnt that a certain Maestro Giovanni of Castel Bolognese had just come to Rome, very ingenious in the art of making medals of the sort I made in steel, and that I thirsted for nothing more than to compete with him and take the world by storm with some great masterpiece. (..) Giorgetto Vassellario of Arezzo, the painter (..) was subject to a species of dry scab, which he was always in the habit of scratching with his hands. It happened, then, that sleeping in the same bed as an excellent workman, named Manno, who was in my service, when he meant to scratch himself, he tore the skin from one of Manno's legs with his filthy claws, the nails of which he never used to cut. The said Manno left my service, and was resolutely bent on killing him.
The autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini - translated by J. Addington Symonds

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini from Museo di Capodimonte at Naples: (left) Hercules strangling the snake above a relief depicting his Labours by Guglielmo della Porta (1575); (right) detail of Cassetta Farnese showing the same event

In a third room stood the child Hercules strangling a serpent of Corinthian brass, antique, on a very curious bassorelievo. Evelyn
The Farnese collection of antiquities was complemented by modern works of art which were designated as ancient. Guglielmo della Porta, in addition to restoring/completing many ancient statues, created new ones to enrich the collection with subjects which were very popular both in antiquity (see a Vth century BC vase and a IIIrd century AD floor mosaic) and in the XVIth century (see a relief at Palazzo Massimi).

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: (left) Mary and Elizabeth with the baby Jesus and a genuflecting St. John by Raphael (1516-1518) from Museo di Capodimonte at Naples; (right) Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine (1585) by Annibale Carracci from Palazzo Reale at Naples

On the second floor of the northwest wing of Palazzo Farnese, which overlooked the courtyard, three rooms were set up to house the most important paintings and drawings of the Collection. One room housed the paintings with sacred themes, the other the portraits, while the third housed the drawings. The number of paintings was high: over two hundred. This suggests that they were displayed one close to the other or "frame against frame" until they covered the entire wall, according to a practice common in picture galleries of that time (e.g. at Palazzo Colonna).
From the Exhibition curators introductory remarks.
The Marriage of St. Catherine; a small picture, admitted by all critics to be one of the happiest examples of the grace and harmony of colour for which Correggio was remarkable. The subject, taken from one of the visions of St. Catherine, represents her betrothal to the infant Saviour, who is placing the ring upon her finger, while the Madonna, one of the sweetest faces which Correggio ever painted, guides his hand with an expression of tenderness. In the countenance of St. Catherine meekness and beauty are combined with innocence and gracefulness. Murray
The painting by Correggio was a very small one and Annibale Carracci reproduced the subject on a larger scale, retaining the sweetness of the original especially in the saint's downcast but slightly smiling eyes. The dark background emphasizes the softness of the light coming in from one side.

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: Three jesters of the Farnese court: a dwarf, a hairy-faced man and a fool by Agostino Carracci, brother of Annibale (1598) from Museo di Capodimonte at Naples

The collection of pictures formerly at the Capo di Monte had been removed on the approach of the French and not replaced. This edifice is a royal palace of great extent, and in a delightful situation, commanding a fine view of the town, and of the bay with all its islands and surrounding scenery. It was never finished, and is not inhabited. Its apartments were employed as picture galleries, and the collection is numerous and rich in master-pieces. Eustace
Annibale Caracci, A satirical picture of Caravaggio, who is represented as a savage. In one corner is Caracci himself, laughing at his rival. Murray
The wrong title given to the painting in the XIXth century is an allusion to the fact that the Farnese collection did not include any works by Caravaggio, unlike those of Cardinal Scipione Borghese and Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte.

2022 Temporary exhibition at Scuderie del Quirinale: Danae by Titian from Museo di Capodimonte

The year 1546 having come, Titian went at the invitation of Cardinal Farnese to Rome, where he found Vasari, who, having returned from Naples, was executing the Hall of the Cancelleria for the above-named Cardinal; whereupon, Tiziano having been recommended by that lord to Vasari, Giorgio kept him company lovingly in taking him about to see the sights of Rome. (..) Michelagnolo and Vasari, going one day to visit Tiziano in the Belvedere, saw a picture that he had executed at that time, a nude woman representing Danae, who had in her lap Jove transformed into a rain of gold; and they praised it much, as one does in the painter's presence. After they had left him, discoursing of Tiziano's method, Buonarroti commended it not a little, saying that his colouring and his manner much pleased him, but that it was a pity that in Venice men did not learn to draw well from the beginning, and that those painters did not pursue a better method in their studies.
Giorgio Vasari - Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors & architects - transl. by Gaston Du C. De Vere
In ca 1680 the painting was moved from Palazzo Farnese to the Duke's apartments at Parma. Eventually it was relocated to Naples where it was placed in the Gabinetto Segreto, a special section of the King's collections, the access to which was restricted.

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: (left) Portrait of Giulio Clovio holding a book of miniatures by El Greco (1571) from Museo di Capodimonte at Naples; (right) detail of "Healing the man born blind" by El Greco (1573) from Galleria Nazionale di Parma (you may wish to see some paintings by El Greco at Toledo)

Orsini became also a friend and patron of El Greco, while the painter was in Rome (1570-1577). Orsini's collection would later include seven paintings by the artist (the portrait of Clovio is among them). The painting depicting a miracle was most probably commissioned directly from the artist by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese - the painter was recommended to him by Clovio, then in the service of the Farnese family. The work was sent to Parma in 1662 to hang in the Farnese palace - at that time it was misattributed to Tintoretto.

2025 Temporary exhibition at Musei Capitolini: (left) Poems by Homer with a portrait of Piero de' Medici (1488) from Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli "Vittorio Emanuele III"; (right) Prayer book by Giulio Clovio (1546) from The Pierpont Morgan Library of New York

There is also a curious Library in which besides the curious books, are many rare pieces of miniature. Lassels
The library of the Studii contains more than fifty thousand volumes and some valuable manuscripts. Neither this library nor the collection of statues suffered much from the rapacity of the French during their late invasion. Eustace
The library contains 200,000 printed books, of which 6000 are works of the XVth cent., and 4000 M SS. Most of these were derived from the Farnese collection. (..) We have reserved for the last the unrivalled Uffizio of the Virgin, written by Monterchi, and illustrated with miniatures by Guido Clovio, which he executed for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese at the cost of nine years' labour, and which may be called the gem of illuminated works. The series consists of 28 small pictures, arranged in pairs. The 9th, illustrating the Mass of the Virgin, contains the Virgin and Child and the Creation. Murray

Return to page one.

Next plate in Book 4: Palazzo della Cancelleria Apostolica.
Next step in Day 7 itinerary: Palazzo Falconieri a Strada Giulia.
Next step in your tour of Rione Regola: S. Paolo alla Regola.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:

Regio palazzo Farnese Conveniva molto bene, che a sì elegante architettura corrispondesse ancora la nobiltà delle statue, le quali per dire il vero, sono così note al Mondo, che ognuno sa quale fama vola dell'Ercole, e del Toro Farnesiano, tanto che non viene in Roma nobile o ignobile forestiero, che non venga a visitare questi due maravigliosi sassi animati dallo scarpello degli antichi greci: onde io non mi dilungo a narrare le altre molte rarità di statue, di busti, e di monumenti antichi, esse sono nel pianterreno: ma portando il mio Lettore al piano superiore si osserva nel cortile pensile due statue a giacere, una, che rappresenta il Mediterraneo, e l'altra l'Oceano, ed in mezzo quella di Arione inviticchiato con un Delfino. A fianchi della porta della sala sono due statue di due Re barbari resi prigionieri, e altre due statue nelle nicchie, e sopra il frontespizio il busto di Claudio, e nell'altro quello del Re Pirro. La gran sala è tutta circondata di statue, e di busti antichi di metallo; sono però moderne le due statue a giacere a fianco del gran cammino fatte da fra Guglielmo della Porta, e la gran statua di Alessandro Farnese in atto di domare il fiume Schelda, e colla Vittoria, che lo corona di alloro fu ricavata dallo scarpello di Simone Maschino da un maraviglioso tronco di colonna, che sosteneva l'antico tempio della Pace fatto da Vespasiano. Fra li busti scompartiti nell'appartamento nobile, e ammirabile quello di Caracalla, e li due di Paolo III. uno fatto dal Buonarroti, e l'altro da fra Guglielmo della Porta, il quale rifece le gambe alla statua dell'Ercole con tanta perfezione, che poi trovate le antiche, il Bonarroti giudicò, che si dovessero lasciare in opera le moderne per dimostrare, che non hanno niente invidia all'antica bravura.