Via Giulia
Encyclopedia
Via Giulia is a street in the historic centre of Rome
, Italy
, mostly in rione Regola
, although its northern part belongs to rione Ponte
. It was one of the first important urban planning projects in Renaissance
Rome.
Via Giulia was designed by Pope Julius II
but the original plan was only partially carried out. This was the first attempt since Antiquity
to pierce a new thoroughfare through the heart of Rome and the first European example since Antiquity of urban renewal
. Via Giulia runs from the Ponte Sisto
to the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
, following the tight curve of the Tiber
. It became the most fashionable street for new construction for borghesi and for the Florentine community in the sixteenth century. Today its modest structures provide one of Rome's elite shopping streets, noted for its antique shops.
The Via Giulia runs for a full kilometer in a straight line, an innovative feature easily taken for granted today. Its story begins in 1508, as an aspect of Julius' wide-reaching program for the renovation of Rome and the founding of an absolute monarchy
in the Papal States
, which would assume its rightful place among the European powers. His financial reforms had been undertaken from the first year of his pontificate, and to free the Papacy from its dependence on the great Roman families, he turned to Tuscan bankers outside the circuits either of the Orsini or the Colonna, notably to Agostino Chigi
, recently of Siena
. A part of Julius' overall plan was the reorganization of the medieval city of Rome, whose unrealized assets were becoming apparent as the renewed city grew in economic importance, recovering from the sleepy backwater it had become during the fourteenth century.
The new street was intended as an artery connecting all the governmental institutions, which were crowded in the single section: the Palazzo della Cancelleria
, being completed at that very moment, the papal mint
and the projected Palazzo dei Tribunali.
The laying-out of the street was placed in the hands of Donato Bramante
, who was in charge of the works at the new Basilica of Saint Peter, taking shape on the other side of the river. Vasari
states, "The pope was determined to place in Strada Giulia, which was under Bramante's direction, all the offices and administrative seats of power of Rome in one place, for the convenience of those who had business to do there, having been until then constantly much inconvenienced.
At the same time the new artery linked the river port of the Ripa Grande with the new Via della Lungara, and by the Via Giulia to the Ponte Sisto, in order to bring merchandise securely and conveniently to the heart of the marketing and banking zone.
Work was halted on Bramante's majestic Palazzo dei Tribunali, which was to have assembled under one roof all the judicature of Rome. It remained half-built for a generation, to the regret of artists like Vasari. With this an essential element in Julius' urbanistic project
was lost.
The street developed as a line of modest houses with gardens behind them, built for private owners or confraternities
, sometimes on speculation, broken by more ambitious palazzi. This is the urban context of the "houses of Raphael", with their ground floor street-front shops.
The grand palazzi turned their backs to Via Giulia. In the 1540s Michelangelo
had a plan for the constricted gardens of Palazzo Farnese to be connected by a bridge to the Farnese villa in Trastevere
on the right bank, Villa Farnesina
. The elegant arch still spanning Via Giulia belongs to this other grand unrealized scheme.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, mostly in rione Regola
Regola (rione of Rome)
Regola is the VII rione of Rome. The name comes from Arenula, that was the name of the soft sand that the river Tiber left after the floods, and that built strands on the left bank...
, although its northern part belongs to rione Ponte
Ponte (rione of Rome)
Ponte is the fifth rione of Rome. Its name comes from Ponte Sant'Angelo, which connects Ponte with the rione of Borgo. This bridge was built by Emperor Hadrian in 134 AD to connect his mausoleum to the rest of the city...
. It was one of the first important urban planning projects in Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
Rome.
Via Giulia was designed by Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...
but the original plan was only partially carried out. This was the first attempt since Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
to pierce a new thoroughfare through the heart of Rome and the first European example since Antiquity of urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
. Via Giulia runs from the Ponte Sisto
Ponte Sisto
Ponte Sisto is a footbridge in Rome's historic centre, spanning the river Tiber. It connects Via del Pettinari in the Rione of Regola to Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere...
to the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, St John of the Florentines, is a church in the Ponte rione or district of Rome. Dedicated to St John the Baptist, the protector of Florence, the new church for the Florentine community in Rome was started in the 16th century and completed in early eighteenth and is the...
, following the tight curve of the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
. It became the most fashionable street for new construction for borghesi and for the Florentine community in the sixteenth century. Today its modest structures provide one of Rome's elite shopping streets, noted for its antique shops.
The Via Giulia runs for a full kilometer in a straight line, an innovative feature easily taken for granted today. Its story begins in 1508, as an aspect of Julius' wide-reaching program for the renovation of Rome and the founding of an absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
in the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, which would assume its rightful place among the European powers. His financial reforms had been undertaken from the first year of his pontificate, and to free the Papacy from its dependence on the great Roman families, he turned to Tuscan bankers outside the circuits either of the Orsini or the Colonna, notably to Agostino Chigi
Agostino Chigi
Agostino Andrea Chigi was an Italian banker and patron of the Renaissance.Born in Siena, he was the son of the prominent banker Mariano Chigi, a member of an ancient and illustrious house. He moved to Rome around 1487, collaborating with his father...
, recently of Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
. A part of Julius' overall plan was the reorganization of the medieval city of Rome, whose unrealized assets were becoming apparent as the renewed city grew in economic importance, recovering from the sleepy backwater it had become during the fourteenth century.
The new street was intended as an artery connecting all the governmental institutions, which were crowded in the single section: the Palazzo della Cancelleria
Palazzo della Cancelleria
The Palazzo della Cancelleria is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori, in the rione of Parione...
, being completed at that very moment, the papal mint
Papal mint
The Papal Mint is the pope's institute for the production of hard cash. Papal Mint also refers to the buildings in Avignon, Rome, and elsewhere that used to house the mint...
and the projected Palazzo dei Tribunali.
The laying-out of the street was placed in the hands of Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante was an Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St...
, who was in charge of the works at the new Basilica of Saint Peter, taking shape on the other side of the river. Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
states, "The pope was determined to place in Strada Giulia, which was under Bramante's direction, all the offices and administrative seats of power of Rome in one place, for the convenience of those who had business to do there, having been until then constantly much inconvenienced.
At the same time the new artery linked the river port of the Ripa Grande with the new Via della Lungara, and by the Via Giulia to the Ponte Sisto, in order to bring merchandise securely and conveniently to the heart of the marketing and banking zone.
Work was halted on Bramante's majestic Palazzo dei Tribunali, which was to have assembled under one roof all the judicature of Rome. It remained half-built for a generation, to the regret of artists like Vasari. With this an essential element in Julius' urbanistic project
Urbanism
Broadly, urbanism is a focus on cities and urban areas, their geography, economies, politics, social characteristics, as well as the effects on, and caused by, the built environment.-Philosophy:...
was lost.
The street developed as a line of modest houses with gardens behind them, built for private owners or confraternities
Sodality
In Christian theology, a sodality is a form of the "Universal Church" expressed in specialized, task-oriented form as opposed to the Christian church in its local, diocesan form . In English, the term sodality is most commonly used by groups in the Catholic Church, where they are also referred to...
, sometimes on speculation, broken by more ambitious palazzi. This is the urban context of the "houses of Raphael", with their ground floor street-front shops.
The grand palazzi turned their backs to Via Giulia. In the 1540s Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
had a plan for the constricted gardens of Palazzo Farnese to be connected by a bridge to the Farnese villa in Trastevere
Trastevere
Trastevere is rione XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber". The correct pronunciation is "tras-TEH-ve-ray", with the accent on the second syllable. Its logo is a golden head of a lion on a...
on the right bank, Villa Farnesina
Villa Farnesina
The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy.The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Between 1506–1510, the Sienese artist and pupil of Bramante,...
. The elegant arch still spanning Via Giulia belongs to this other grand unrealized scheme.