Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Links to this page can be found in Book 5, Map C3, Day 5 and Day 6, View C9, Rione Trastevere and Rione Ripa.

The page covers:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Ponte Cestio
Tempio Maggiore
Via dell'Atleta and a Walk through Ripa Romea (Palazzo Mattei di Trastevere)
S. Andrea dei Vascellari and Casa dei Ponziani
Palazzo Castellani

The Plate (No. 91)

This is the first of two etchings that Giuseppe Vasi dedicated to Isola Tiberina in 1754. In this one the small islet is shown from the west. In plate 93 it is shown from the east. In addition Vasi showed its access from Rome (plate 173) and S. Bartolomeo all'Isola, its main church (plate 92). The left side of the plate shows the houses of the Jewish Ghetto which stood right on the edge of the river. The rather tall buildings were due to the overcrowding of the neighbourhood, similar to what occurred at the Ghetto of Venice.
The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Jewish Ghetto; 2) Ponte Fabricio; 3) Ponte Cestio; 4) Mole da grano (mill); 5) Ancient walls on Isola Tiberina; 6) S. Maria in Cosmedin. 1), 2) and 6) are shown in detail in other pages. The map shows also 7) Palazzo Mattei di Trastevere; 8) Via dell'Atleta; 9) S. Andrea dei Vascellari; 10) Palazzo Castellani.

Today

The view from Ponte Garibaldi in June 2016

In the 1880s the Italian government took major steps to prevent the River Tiber from flooding large sections of Rome. High walls were built on the river banks and this led to pulling down the houses of the Ghetto. The river bed was deepened to ease the flow of the water and Ponte Cestio was modified by greatly enlarging its side arches for the same reason. The western end of Isola Tiberina was redesigned and new wards of Spedale di S. Giovanni di Dio were built on it in the 1930s.

(left) A representation of Isola Tiberina at Villa d'Este in Tivoli (also in the image used as background for this page); (right) the remaining blocks of travertine which gave the island the shape of a ship; (inset) relief on one of the blocks showing a serpent-entwined rod, the symbol of Asclepius, Greek god of Medicine to whom the island was consecrated (see the whole relief)

This island is one of the most fertile little spots in Rome. The garden is filled with trees borne down with oranges, citrons, and lemons. We begged permission to enter, and examined perhaps the most ancient relic in the old city. (..) The Senate built a temple on the spot, and dedicated it to Esculapius. The sides of the island were then fortified in imitation of a ship, which its eliptical form favoured. Part of the gunnel and stern still remain, upon which the figure of a serpent, wrought in the stone, is plainly to be seen. As the material is harder than most of the ancient remains, this fragment may record the curious legend another two thousand years.
William Gardiner's Sights in Italy related to Rome. Published in 1847.
Isola Tiberina resembles a ship ready to leave, but restrained by the two bridges. The form of the ship was very much emphasized in the Ist century BC by building an external travertine wall and by erecting at the centre of the small island an obelisk as a sort of mast (fragments of which are in museums in Naples, Paris and Munich). A small section of the travertine wall still remains at the eastern tip of the island (the plate by Vasi shows it also at the western one).

Isola Tiberina on December 12, 2008

There are days in which one fears that the disastrous floods of the past could occur again.

Ponte Cestio

Eastern view of Ponte Cestio

The seventh bridge (of Ancient Rome) of a Church neere it is called di S. Bartolomeo, and it is opposite to the fifth bridge, and joineth the Iland with that part of Rome called Trastevere, and of old it was called Esquilinus, and Cestius, and it is sixty foot long, having but one Arch of stone.
Fynes Moryson - An Itinerary: Containing His Ten Years Travel Through .. Italy (in 1594)
Ponte Cestio was built in 46 BC by Lucius Cestius or perhaps by Caius Cestius who is best known for his pyramidal tomb. Its construction followed that of Ponte Fabricio in 62 BC and it most likely replaced a previous bridge. In 370 AD it was almost entirely rebuilt by Emperors Valens, Valentinian I and his son Gratian. The bridge was often referred to as Ponte Graziano and eventually as Ponte di S. Bartolomeo with reference to the nearby church.

Inscriptions at Ponte Cestio

A large inscription of 370 AD celebrates the three emperors and their victories over the Germans, the Alamanni (Germanic tribes of the Upper Rhine Valley), the Franks and the Goths; this long list is by itself an indication of the growing difficulties the Roman Empire was experiencing on its Rhine/Danube border. The quality of the inscription is poor when compared to other Roman inscriptions and it is barely readable.

Domini nostri Imperatores Caesares Fl. Valentinianus Pius, foelix, maximus, Victor ac triumph. semper Augustus. Pont. max. Germ. max. Alam. max. Franc. max. Goth. max. Trib. Pot. VII. Imp. VI. Cos. II. P. PP. II. et Fl. Valens pius, foelix, maximus, victor, ac triumph. semp. Aug. VI. Pont. max. Germ. max. Alam. max. Franc. max. Got. max. Trib. Pot. VII. Imp. Cos. II. P. PP. et Fl. Gratianus pius, foelix max. Victor ac triump. semp. Aug. Pont. max. Trib. Pot. III. Imp. II. Cos. I. P. PP. Pontem Felicis nominis Gratiani in usum Senatus ac populi Ro. constitui dedicarique iusserunt.

Next to it a smaller inscription celebrates a restoration of the bridge by Senator Benedetto Carushomo in 1192. It is a sign of the power achieved by the municipality of Rome towards the end of the XIIth century. Senator was the title given to the head of the city government. Carushomo was overthrown after just two years in office.

BENEDICTUS ALME URBIS SUMME SENATO R RESTAURAVIT HUN C PONTEM FERE DIRU TUM

Benedict, the great Senator of the famous city repaired this bridge which was falling into ruin

The inscription attempts to imitate that of the emperors, but actually it shows a dramatic loss of skill. Words are split into two lines and they are not centrally aligned, a typical feature of ancient inscriptions.

Tempio Maggiore

Museo Ebraico di Roma: 1830 view of the building housing Cinque Scole by Giacomo Lenghi; on the right, behind the wall of the Ghetto the now demolished bell gable of S. Tommaso ai Cenci

No sooner was I over this Bridge, but I saw on my left hand, the great back door of the Jewry; for here the Jews live altogether in a Corner of the Town, and are locked up every night. I entred into their Synagogues here (which they call their Schools) where they meet upon Saturdays and sing and pray.
Richard Lassels' The Voyage of Italy, or a Compleat Journey through Italy in ca 1668
The Jews of the Ghetto prayed at Cinque Scole, five rabbinical schools/synagogues all inside one building, because papal authorities did not allow them to have more than one place of worship. The synagogue which had a direct access from the street was Scola Tempio which was reserved to the Jews of ancient Roman origin. The other four synagogues were reached through narrow passages, exception made for Scola Catalana which could also be accessed directly. Their ceremonies were attended by the Jews who came to Rome from Spain and Sicily in 1492 (Scola Catalana, Scola Castigliana and Scola Siciliana) and from minor towns of the Papal State in 1555 (Scola Nova).

Tempio Maggiore and in the background Terrazza delle Quadrighe in January 2010

The Jews live in a quarter of the city by them selves, called the Ghetto, where they are enclosed and locked up every night. Once a year the oldest among them are obliged to kneel at the Capitol, permission to live another year in Rome. In the late overflow of the Tiber, their district, being close upon the river, was suddenly inundated in the middle of the night, and had it not been for the good Pope (Pius IX), who thought of their dangerous situation and ordered the gates to be opened, many would have lost their lives. Under his mild reign they look forward to a relaxation of the severities practised upon them. Gardiner
At this moment there are nearly four thousand of them crowded together in this twisted knot of streets, where of sun and air they have not enough, and of water only too much; being always the first and greatest sufferers in those frequent inundations by which the Tiber vindicates its old reputation for turbulence and insubordination.
George Stillman Hillard - Six Months in Italy in 1847-1848
After the annexation of Rome to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, the Jews were no longer forced to live in the Ghetto. The neighbourhood was very unhealthy. This factor together with the construction of the walls along the river led to the decision to raze it to the ground.
A new large building which in addition to the prayer hall houses the offices of the Jewish Community was inaugurated in 1904 and it replaced Cinque Scole.

(left) Façade; (right) dome

Tempio Maggiore was designed by Osvaldo Armanni and Vincenzo Costa in what was defined as Assyrian-Babylonian style. It rather reflected the eclectic architecture of the time. The square dome was meant to distinguish the synagogue from the many circular domes of the churches. Owing to its size and position in a central area it has become a landmark of Rome.

Museo Ebraico di Roma: (left) 1523 Aron Kodesh (Torah Ark) from Scola Catalana in Renaissance style; (right) 1627 marble seat from Scola Nova

The building houses an interesting museum with some of the works of art which embellished Cinque Scole. They show that the synagogues were decorated in the styles and with the materials which prevailed in Roman churches and palaces, exception made for statues and paintings. The museum exhibits include inscriptions from the Ghetto, Ostia and the Jewish Cemetery.

Via dell'Atleta and a Walk through Ripa Romea

Palazzo Mattei di Trastevere

The Mattei are a family whose origin is dated XIIIth century. A branch of this family built a group of palaces in Rione Sant'Angelo on the other side of the river, not far from the Jewish Ghetto, while another branch lived in a group of houses in Trastevere opposite S. Benedetto in Piscinula.
In the XVIIIth century the property was split and eventually in 1870 a part of the building housed a miserable inn. In 1926-1927 new landlords carried out a major restoration which was aimed at emphasizing the medieval/Renaissance aspect of the complex of houses. The result is rather patchy.

(left-above) Window with the Mattei coat of arms at Palazzo Mattei; (left-below) coat of arms of a Cardinal Cybo, the family of Pope Innocent VIII on the walls of Palazzo Mattei; (right) a house covered with ivy in Piazza in Piscinula; the street (Via della Lungarina) leads to S. Grisogono

This part of Trastevere is not as popular and crowded as the area near S. Maria in Trastevere, but its houses covered with ivy and other creeping plants appeal more and more to the rich who look for a quiet place in the centre of Rome.

Via dell'Atleta: (left) the medieval building which housed a synagogue; (centre-above) detail of the inscription on one of its columns; the other images show a relief, the piece of a sarcophagus and an ancient column which were placed on the walls of medieval houses

In the Middle Ages this neighbourhood was known as Ripa Romea which meant Pilgrims' Bank because Romeo stands for pilgrim going to Rome and Ripa for river bank. The ancient river harbour of Rome was situated near Monte Testaccio on the left bank. For the reduced population of medieval Rome the old harbour was too remote and in the XIth century ships coming from the sea began unloading their goods on the right bank (i.e. Trastevere) near Isola Tiberina.
Ripa Romea was mainly populated by seamen, pilgrims, merchants and by the Roman Jews, whose synagogue (with a fine loggia) was in a little alley. In the XVth century proper harbour facilities began to be built at Ripa Grande, downstream of this neighbourhood, still on the right bank.

(left) Musei Vaticani: "Apoxyomenos" (Scraper), see a bronze "Apoxyomenos" from Ephesus in Vienna; (right-above) Museo Nazionale Romano: Greek inscription on the tombstone of Pomponius, archon (leader) of a synagogue, perhaps in Trastevere (IIIrd century AD); (right-below) Musei Vaticani: tombstone from the Jewish Cemetery outside Porta Portese

To mention only those discoveries which have taken place in my lifetime, I will name first of all the treasure-trove of the Vicolo delle Palme in Trastevere. In 1844 (..) under the house No. 17 in the above-mentioned passage, a most remarkable collection of works of art was discovered by mere accident. It included the Apoxyomenos of Lysippus, now in the Braccio Nuovo, - a marble copy from the bronze original, which stood in front of the baths of Agrippa; the bronze Horse, now in the Palazzo de' Conservatori, described by Emil Braun as "an unique work, masterpiece, and a genuine Grecian antique;" a bronze foot, with a beautifully ornamented shoe, which may possibly have belonged to the rider of the Horse; a bronze Bull, and many other fragments of less importance.
Rodolfo Lanciani - Ancient Rome in the light of recent discoveries - 1888

Musei Capitolini: bronze horse and bull from Vicolo delle Palme; you may wish to see similar horses in the museums of Florence and Naples

Here we have the evidence of a collection of works in metal, stolen from different places, and concealed in that remote corner of Trastevere, in readiness for shipment from the quay of the Tiber, close by. Whether the deed was accomplished by a barbarian of the hordes of Genseric, who entered and left Rome precisely at this quarter, or by a Jew of the transtiberine community, the fact is that the treasure was never removed from its hiding-place until its accidental discovery in 1849. Lanciani
The narrow street where the synagogue is situated was subsequently called Via dell'Atleta after the statue which was found there. It portrayed an athlete in the act of using a strigilis, a tool with a curved blade used to remove sweat or oil from the skin.

S. Andrea dei Vascellari and Casa dei Ponziani

(left) Casa dei Ponziani at the corner between Via dei Salumi and Via dei Vascellari; (centre) S. Andrea dei Vascellari; (right) coat of arms of the Ponziani (above) and a detail of the lintel of the church (below)

Via dei Salumi (salted meat), Via dei Vascellari (potters) and Piazza dei Mercanti (merchants) are names of streets which confirm that this part of Trastevere housed many trades in the past.
S. Andrea dei Vascellari (now deconsecrated) was built in the IXth century and later on it was acquired by the butchers' guild and in the XVIIIth century by the potters' guild (see a directory of churches belonging to a guild). The building next to it is the medieval house of the Ponziani, a family of butchers who became very important in the XIVth century. St. Frances of Rome, the founder of Monastero di Tor de' Specchi, married Lorenzo de' Ponziani in 1396.

Works of art in Casa di S. Francesca Romana (external link - it opens in another window)

Casa dei Ponziani is today a hostel for (wealthy) pilgrims with a chapel and other facilities which are decorated with fine works of art.

Palazzo Castellani

(left) 1495 Coat of arms of Rome and Rione Trastevere; (centre) 1495 coat of arms of the Castellani and Porcari families; (right) reliefs and inscriptions in Palazzo Nunes

The Castellani were a minor noble family of Trastevere and are recorded for having promoted some maintenance works at S. Benedetto in Piscinula; their small palace was pulled down in the late XIXth century when the river bed was enlarged. Two reliefs which decorated its entrance were walled in nearby Palazzo Nunes, a XVIIth century building which was enlarged and modified in the XIXth century.

Next plate in Book V: S. Bartolomeo all'Isola.
You have completed Day 5 itinerary! Move to Day 6.
Next step in your Day 6 itinerary: Chiesa di S. Salvatore a Ponte Rotto.
Next step in your tour of Rione Ripa: Spedale de' Benfratelli e Chiesa di S. Giovanni Calibita.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:

Isola Tiberina Sorse quest'Isola dopo scacciato da Roma Tarquinio Superbo, che per le iniquità sue, e del proprio figliuolo si era renduto odioso non meno al popolo che al Senato Romano; Onde essendogli confiscati tutti i beni, certo grano, che egli aveva nel Campo Marzio parte tagliato, e parte da tagliarsi, in vendetta fu buttato nel Tevere, il quale trovandosi per i caldi di quella Ragione più basso del solito, riuscì facilmente, che le paglie col peso del grano andassero al fondo dell'acqua, e fermatosi in quella parte, ove oggi è l'Isola con altre brutture, che vi sopraggiunsero, fece posatura tale, che aggiungendovisi poi l’industria, e l’opera umana, divenne un' Isola, e fu chiamata Mesopotamia, cioè fra due fiumi. Approdando poi in quest'Isola la nave cogli Ambasciatori, che da Epidauro portavano il Serpente, tenuto da loro per Esculapio Dio della medicina, a lui fu consagrata e però fu formata a guisa di nave, ed ove abbiamo veduto la chiesa di s. Bartolommeo, fu edificato un tempio, e vi fu posto il Serpente, che da' Sacerdoti veniva custodito ed alimentato con somma superstizione, e finsero, che per più secoli fosse ancor vivo; ma da s. Prospero di Aquitania fu scoperta la loro frode. Fu ancora in questo il tempio di Fauno e di Giove Liconio; onde negli atti de' santi Martiri si disse ancora Isola Liconia. E' massima comune, esservi stato ancora uno spedale; e perciò gran numero d'infermi vi concorreva con animo di conseguire la loro guarigione, ed affinchè i padroni non vi mandassero i loro schiavi ammalati, fu da Claudio Imperatore dichiarato, che fossero per sempre liberi li schiavi, che ivi si curassero. Ponte Cestio detto di s. Bartolommeo Per passare al Trastevere fu eretto il secondo ponte, che dal suo fondatore si disse Cestio, ed ora prende il nome dalla chiesa vicina di s. Bartolommeo, e nell'una e nell'altra parte si leggono due iscrizioni, che indicano essere stato rifatto da Valentiniano, Valentino, e Graziano Imperatori. Anticaglie e mole da grano attorno all'Isola A fianco della chiesa di s. Bartolommeo si vede la costruzione della nave con grossi macigni, ravvisandosi ancora in un sasso scolpito il Serpente di Esculapio. Dall'altra parte verso la corrente altri macigni si vedono formare la prora della nave, intorno ai quali fu raccolto, come dicemmo, il corpo di s. Quirino, e di vari altri ss. Martiri da' Gentili buttati nel Tevere. Le mole da macinare il grano, sebbene fossero state inventate, ed introdotte da Bellisario, già in tempo de' Re vi erano in Roma, mentre per tale effetto era stato aggiunto alla Città il Trastevere, in cui passando ci fermeremo forse con piacere nella seguente giornata