DK Travel : Rome : Architecture

Page
1
2
3
4
5

Knights of Malta Keyhole

St Peter’s Dome is perfectly framed through a gate keyhole in this garden (see Piazza of the Knights of Malta).
Mamertine Prison

This was Rome’s ancient central lockdown (built 7th–6th century BC). Among its celebrity inmates were Vercingetorix, a rebel Celtic chieftain, styled the last king of Gaul, who was brought to Rome in chains, and St Peter, who left an impression of his face where the guards reportedly slammed him against the stairwell wall. Downstairs is also the alleged column to which St Peter was chained.
Mithraeum under San Stefano Rotondo

Under this church lies a 2nd-century AD shrine to Mithraism, a popular religion among Rome’s soldiers and lower classes while Christianity was gaining with patricians (see Santo Stefano Rotondo).
Musei Capitolini Café

A bird’s-eye sweep over the archaeological park at Rome’s heart can be seen from here (see Musei Capitolini).
Museo Barracco

The museum’s basement dates from the 4th century AD: walls, flooring, column stumps, a bit of cornice and sculpted relief, a marble basin and a large double pestle for hand-grinding grains can be seen.
Nero’s Golden House

Like most of “underground Rome”, Nero’s fabulous and vast palace was not originally buried. But when Renaissance worthies such as Raphael chopped holes in the roof and lowered themselves into the sumptuously decorated rooms on ropes, they called the spaces “grottoes”, and named the intricate frescoed designs of foliage and fantastical creatures “grotesques” (see Nero’s Golden House (Domus Aurea)).
Palazzo Barberini

When Maffei Barberini became Pope Urban VIII in 1623, he decided to build a family palace on the (then) edge of town. Architect Carlo Maderno designed it as an outsize country villa with three floors of arcades. Bernini added the square staircase on the left; Borromini the spiral staircase on the right.
Palazzo Borghese

Called “the harpsichord” because of its unusual shape, this 17th-century palace was once the centre of fashionable entertainments for Rome’s papal high society. Its Mannerist courtyard, in particular, was the stage for lavish affairs. You can peek in to see the oversize statuary, columns supporting the double loggias, and the “Bath of Venus” fountain.
Palazzo della Cancelleria

One of the loveliest palaces from the Early Renaissance (late 1400s) – the purity of its façade and courtyard is unparalleled. Several ancient monuments were pillaged to provide the marble and the 44 portico columns inside.
Palazzo Farnese

Considered the Renaissance palace par excellence , reflecting the genius of both Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and Michelangelo. Home to one of Rome’s most unscrupulous families, it was commissioned in 1517 by Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III.