Piazza Farnese is the main square of the

Regola Regola is the 7th ''rione'' of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. VII, and belongs to the Municipio I. The name comes from ''Arenula'' (the name is recognizable in the modern ''Via Arenula''), which was the name of the soft sand (''rena'' ...

district of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

The history and breadth of the square began in 16th century, when Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, future

Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

, bought several houses on the square to demolish them and create an appropriate space palazzo which he had designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. The works began in 1514, were interrupted by the sack of Rome of 1527, and resumed after the election of the cardinal to the papal throne with the name of Paul III and, from 1546, under the direction of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

The square was paved in 1545, with a brick as a sort of pertinence of the building, and there was placed for ornamental purposes, in axis with the entrance on the facade, one of the two Egyptian granite tanks present today. According to Moroni (and the news was in Flaminio Vacca, Memories of various antiquities found in different places in the City of Rome, written by Flaminio Vacca in 1594, No 23) the tanks came from the

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...

. The first was found during the pontificate of

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

, and from these it was brought to Piazza San Marco, to adorn its Palazzo di Venezia. The second was found under Paul III and made by them here, adorning his palace. On the origin of the two granite tanks, however, the debate is long and unfinished After Pope Paul V had led the

Aqueducts in Rome The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining o ...

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

and also, bypassing the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

, to the Rule, and

Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623. Biography Early life Al ...

had granted 40 ounces to the Farnese for the feeding of the fountains, the family acquired the fountain of Piazza San Marco and commissioned

Girolamo Rainaldi Girolamo Rainaldi (4 May 1570 – 15 July 1655) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects. He was a successful competitor of Bernini. His son, Carlo Rainaldi, became an even ...

, around 1626, to draw the two fountains in which the two pools were located. The fountains were purely ornamental and surrounded by a gate. For the benefit of the people (and also of the animals), the fountain of the Mascherone was erected at the beginning of via Giulia.

Buildings on the square

Off the square, there are eight streets and alleys, of which the most important is

via di Monserrato Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

. The most important buildings that overlook, beyond

Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance List of palaces in Italy#Rome, palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and cur ...

, are the church and the convent of Santa Brigida, the palace of the Rooster of Roccagiovane, in front of Palazzo Farnese between Baullari and via della Corda, and Palazzo Mandosi Mignanelli on the right, in the corner with Vicolo dei Venti. (The latter name is not derived from "winds" in the meteorological sense, but from a family that had houses there). Other buildings are 19th-century reconstructions of older buildings.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1514 establishments in Italy Farnese Rome R. VII Regola

History

Buildings on the square

See also

References

External links