Rome Quiz #2

Palazzo Senatorio, 1605 CE Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill)

The Palazzo Senatorio sits in the Piazza del Campidoglio (Italian for Capitolium=the ancient Roman Capitoline Hill). This structure was built into the ancient Tabularium of Sulla and was designed (as were the two buildings flanking it and the entire piazza, including the geometric design on the pavement) by Michelangelo in the 1530s. The entire complex wasn't completed until 1605, however, and although the later designers who completed it kept true for the most part to Michelangelo's original design, they added some touches of their own. Hence, the Palazzo Senatorio is primarily in the Renaissance style (rectangular box with mostly flat façade) but also incorporates some Baroque elements (long vertical Corinthian pilasters rather than horizontally divided façade and slightly projecting wings of the façade). The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius that currently sits in the piazza is a modern reproduction of the original that now lies in the Capitoline Museum. The original was placed in the piazza as part of Michelangelo's re-design. In ancient times, the Capitoline Hill was the most important of Rome's seven hills as the original citadel of Rome (the arx) and as a sacred religious center, containing both the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus and the Temple of Juno. The Campidoglio/Capitoline Hill is significant both for its ancient associations and as an example of a Renaissance public space.

Seated Boxer, 1st century BCE Apollonios

The Seated boxer is a Hellenistic era Greek original in bronze that dates to the 1st century BCE. This very non-heroic depiction of a boxer bears all the hallmarks of the Hellenistic (323-30 CE) style, particularly in its realism and complex pose (meant to be seen from all sides). The boxer is clearly past his prime, with broken nose, scars around his eyes, cauliflowered ears, and knotted back muscles. He's slumped over as if recovering from another beating, looking up with a dazed expression as if to ask "What happened? How am I losing again?" Note also the thin leather thongs that serve as boxing "gloves"—not much protection either for the boxer's hands or his opponent's face. The realistic, emotional Hellenistic style would greatly influence ancient Roman sculptors as well as those of the later Baroque period of the 1600s, such as Bernini.

Trevi Fountain, 1762 CE

The Trevi Fountain was designed by Salvi, and like Bernini's Fountain the Four Rivers that inspired it, its waters come from the ancient Roman Aqua Virgo, which was restored and repaired by later Popes. The style is late Baroque and early Rococo, an even more elaborate and ornate style than the Baroque, which nonetheless contains classical Greco-Roman Ionic and Corinthian columns and pilasters as well as a Roman imperial triumphal arch (which was also the form of ancient Roman fountains) to go along with the undulating and swirling motifs of the rock formations and façade of the Palazzo Poli, which was redesigned to be integrated into the fountain's design and topped by the papal coat of arms. The theme of the composition is "the taming of the waters," featuring the god Oceanus in the central niche, riding on a chariot in the shape of a shell guided by sea god Tritons. On Oceanus' right is a personification of the Abundance of the water, which spills from her urn, while on his left is the Salubrity (Health) of the water, which is held in a cup and drunk by a snake. Above the goddesses are panels with relief sculptures that tell the story of the ancient Roman discovery during the time of Augustus of the spring that feeds the aqueduct, featuring the original builder Marcus Agrippa (above Abundance) and the young woman who found the spring (above Salubrity, and, hence, the Aqua Virgo). The fountain is hugely famous, and legend has it that if one throws a coin with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the fountain, one will return to Rome again some day.

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, c. 175 CE

The bronze Equestrian Statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which dates to c. 175 CE, is the only bronze equestrian statue of a pagan Roman emperor to survive antiquity. It survived only because it was wrongly believed to portray the Christian Emperor Constantine. However, it portrays Marcus Aurelius as a victorious military commander, probably in commemoration of his successful wars against the Germans. The statue is a little over life sized and is reminiscent of the Classical Greek style in its balance of realism (in the depiction of the forms of both human and animal as well as Marcus Aurelius' clothing and the saddle and bridle on the horse) and idealism (in the timeless perfection, serene expression of Marcus Aurelius, and impressive heroic effect of the work). This statue was very influential on later sculptors of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo, as it was on display first at the Church of St. John Lateran and then after 1538 on the Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill).

Piazza Colonna Column of Marcus Aurelius, c. 180 CE

The column of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180 CE) is modeled on that of Trajan (r. 98-117 CE) and lies in what is now the Piazza Colonna. The marble column dates to c. 180, is 130 ft. high (counting its base) and 12 ft. in diameter, and is decorated with relief sculpture in a narrative that spirals up the column shaft. The narrative concerns the military campaigns of Marcus Aurelius against the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians, Germanic tribes that had been encroaching on Roman territory along the Danube river. As with Trajan's column, the sculpture is realistic and narrates the campaign in realistic detail, including events, military equipment, and the brutality of war. Thus, it stands as an important source of historical information as well as a great work of art. Stylistically, the figures are sculpted in higher relief and less "classical" in their perfection than on Trajan's column, but there is also less detachment and more emotion and drama in the depiction of war. The bronze statue of St. Paul was added to the top of the column in 1589 where in all likelihood one of Marcus Aurelius had been in antiquity.

Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, 1536 CE

This building was designed by Peruzzi and built between 1532 and 1536. Despite the curvature of the façade (which was necessitate by its foundations on the ancient theater of Domitian), the structure bears the Renaissance predilection for solid, regular geometric shapes. However, this Palazzo also illustrates the beginning of a late Renaissance style called Mannerism (a new "manner" or way of design), which is consciously and even pretentiously more complex and unsettling (we would say "mannered" today). One example of the unsettling, unnatural, and illogical nature of Mannerist architecture is the "solid above the void," which seems a counterintuitive way of organizing a building. The ground story contains a void divided by Doric columns (which gives the palace its name) that then support a solid mass above, as if the building were upside down. It is thought by some that Mannerism grew out of a questioning of the Renaissance ideal of logic, reason, and perfection on account of the sack of Rome in 1527 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his Spanish army, which shattered the confidence of the High Renaissance. Mannerism itself came under fire, however, as a result of the Counter Reformation at the end of the 1500s, which sought a return to a simpler, spiritual, emotional religious sensibility rather than a skeptical, contrarian, and highly intellectualized one.

Colossal Head of Constantine, 312 CE

This colossal head of Constantine was part of a giant seated statue of him in the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine that was completed in 312 CE. The statue had Constantine holding an orb and cross, since he was the first Emperor to legalize and even favor Christianity. The head along with other surviving parts of the statue, including a hand, arm, and feet, can now be seen at the Capitoline Museum.

Painting from Villa of Livia, c. 20 BCE

This fantastic wall painting dating to c. 20 BCE comes from the country Villa of Livia, wife of Augustus, at Porta Prima, not far from Rome on the Via Flaminia. The painting is done in the so-called Third Style of Roman painting, which features both natural and architectural scenes done in a realistic style, as if portraying a window to the outside world. Most of the species of plants and birds in the painting can be identified as real ones, and there is a sense of three-dimensional perspective as well. Wealthy Romans typically had their houses adorned with such paintings, but it is a miracle that any have survived the centuries of weather and fading. Ancient Roman painting was much influenced by ancient Greek painting and then went on to influence painters of the Italian Renaissance when paintings like this (but from the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea) were first discovered.

Discus Thrower (Diskobolos) Roman copy (c. 130 CE) of a Greek original (c. 450 BCE) by Myron

This is the finest of several surviving Roman copies (including another damaged one in this museum and others in the Vatican and the British Museum) of the famous Discus Thrower statue from ancient Greece. The original was in bronze and sculpted by Myron c. 450 BCE at the height of the Classical period (480-323 BCE). The statue bears the hallmarks of the Classical period: full realism in the depiction of human anatomy and motion, but idealism in that the figure is a perfect human specimen, an athlete, and in that he is emotionless, with calm expression even in the midst of intense physical exertion. There is also a rational precision in the balance of the pose (you could draw a perfect circle around him with the hip at the center and the hand and foot on the perimeter). This Classical style would influence ancient Roman sculptors and those of the Renaissance, especially Michelangelo.

Hellenistic Prince, 100s BCE "Terme Ruler"

This over-life-sized bronze heroic statue of a Hellenistic era (323-30 BCE) Greek ruler or general dates to the 100s BCE. It is a Greek original and probably (though not certainly) depicts King Attalos II of Pergamon, one of the small kingdoms that grew out of the disintegration of the empire of Alexander the Great. Its realism, complex and fluid pose, and lack of imposing heroicism are hallmarks of the Hellenistic style, even when depicting a heroic subject such as a king. This style would be copied by and serve as inspiration for Roman sculptures during ancient times and in the much later Baroque period.

Painting from House of the Farnesina, c. 20 BCE

This painting is one of many preserved from the so-called House of the Farnesina, which was unearthed near the Renaissance Villa Farnesina near the Tiber River in the Trastevere region of Rome. The ancient house is believed to have been owned by Marcus Agrippa, Augustus' right-hand man, and the paintings date to c. 20 BCE. The paintings are in the Third Style, which depict natural as well as architectural scenes, including the exteriors of buildings (as if seen through a window) and false internal structural elements (like columns, beams, molding, and decorations). The paintings, like that pictured above, illustrate the sophistication of Roman painting, which developed from Greek painting to depict structures and figures realistically in a variety of settings that included a sense of three-dimensional perspective. Ancient Roman painting like this greatly influenced the artists of the Italian Renaissance.

Lucius Junius Brutus, c. 300 BCE

This portrait bust in the Capitoline Museum has long been identified as portraying Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic, who led the revolution that drove out the last of the Kings of Rome in 509 BCE and became one of the Republic's first two elected Consuls. His descendent, Marcus Junius Brutus, was inspired by Lucius' example to lead a group of conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in 44 BCE on the grounds that Caesar had become another King who had to be destroyed. The head of the statue dates to c. 300 BCE (and maybe as late as 100 BCE), while the torso dates to the Renaissance. Although traditionally identified as Lucius Junius Brutus, no one is really quite certain whom the bust portrays

Charioteers Mosaic, early 200s CE

This set of mosaics depicts charioteers from the four main chariot teams of the Roman circuses: the Greens, Reds, Whites, and Blues. Chariot races in the Roman circuses were the most popular forms of entertainment, judging from their large seating capacity (up to 250,000 at the Circus Maximus in Rome). Chariot teams were owned by private citizens, and the charioteers were often slaves owned by them. Though slaves, like gladiators, successful charioteers could become celebrities in Rome and earn their freedom. Mosaics were an art form invented in Greece, but the Romans greatly developed them into finely detailed pictures employing small colored pieces of stone or glass tiles known as tesserae set into a soft medium that would harden to create a permanent image. These date from the early 200s CE and were found in a villa of the Emperor Septimius Severus in Baccano.

Spinario, 1st century BCE (Boy with Thorn)

This statue dates to the 1st century BCE, and although it is uncertain whether it is a Greek or Roman original, it is definitely in the Greek Hellenistic style, with its complex pose and realism in both its depiction of the human form and in its everyday subject, a boy intently trying to pull a thorn out of his foot. The Hellenistic style greatly influenced ancient Roman sculptors and later Baroque sculptures, such as Bernini.

Augustus as Pontifex Maximus, after 12 BCE

Augustus became the Pontifex Maximus, the highest Roman priest, in 12 BCE, when he was 51 years old. Church and State were never separate in Roman history, but under Augustus, the Church and State were further tied to his own person and his family. Here he is depicted wearing a toga with the addition of a priestly shroud for his head as if ready to perform a sacrifice (he probably held a sacrificial cup in his right hand). Augustus was said to be handsome, with intense eyes and light wavy hair. Whereas the Romans excelled in realistic portrait sculpture, depictions of Augustus were an exception. Although he appears to have been portrayed realistically in his youth, after around age 35 (just beginning to show some wrinkles) he never seems to have aged, at least to judge by his portraits. Augustus clearly wanted a certain image of youth, vigor, and perhaps even divine immortality to be applied to his depictions in sculpture.

Calling of St. Matthew, 1600 CE Caravaggio

Caravaggio was a master of Baroque painting and one of the greatest painters in any style ever to have lived in the world, period. His style was inspired by the Catholic Counter Reformation of the late 1500s, which sought to keep Catholics from converting to Protestantism through, among other things, a simpler, more direct, emotional, dramatic, and spiritual art than had come to exist in the preceding centuries. Caravaggio's painting, The Calling of St. Matthew, which is in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi and dates to 1600, depicts a moment of heightened drama, in which Christ (accompanied by St. Peter) suddenly interrupts an otherwise routine occasion and calls out Matthew with a stunning gesture, pointing his finger directly at him. The drama and the emotional significance of the scene is emphasized by Caravaggio's use of light and shadow, with a beam of light entering from beyond the side of the frame, cutting through the shadows, highlighting Christ's pointing finger, and creating a leading line that draws the viewers attention from Christ to Matthew, the bearded man, who points to himself as if in disbelief, "who, me?" Also highlighted, however, are the other "average Joes" in the scene, whose faces are also illuminated. Why? For one thing, they continue the compositional line of light from Christ to Matthew. For another, the Counter Reformation wanted to remind the average Catholic that the religion was still very much alive and a present concern, that the miracles of Christ were not just some remote past event and didn't just involve the rich, famous, and powerful. Matthew and the people who witnessed his miraculous calling were average, ordinary guys just like the Catholics of today. We are all part of this great story and miracles can still happen to each and everyone of us. Caravaggio's style and skill would have a tremendous influence on artists, such as Rembrandt, over the next several centuries.

Commodus as Hercules, 192 CE

Commodus succeeded his father, the excellent Emperor Marcus Aurelius, as Emperor of Rome in 180 and reigned until 192 CE. Although there is no solid evidence that he murdered his father, the film Gladiator (2000) is right to depict Commodus as a terrible emperor who was more interested in gladiatorial contests than in governing Rome effectively. He often participated in gladiatorial contests and animal hunts in the arena and thought of himself as a new Hercules. Thus, he is depicted in this statue as Hercules, with his telltale lion-skin headdress, club, and golden apples of Hesperides. Commodus was assassinated by a professional athlete who strangled him in his bath (no, not by a guy named Maximus in single combat in the arena . . .). And after his assassination, things did not get any better in Rome—they got a lot worse.

Trajan's Market, 113 CE Market Hall

Constructed at the behest of the Emperor Trajan (r. 98-117 CE), Trajan's Market is an excellent example of what a good emperor (and government as a whole) was supposed to do for the people of Rome—in this case providing much needed infrastructure for private buyers and sellers to engage in economic exchanges more easily. The market complex stands in a key location between the public space of Trajan's Forum and the private residential area of the subura, the city of Rome's densely packed lower-class neighborhood. It also contains space for over 150 shops, most of which are situated along open air streets on several levels that follow the contours of the hill on which it sits, but some of which are situated in the large, enclosed Market Hall (pictured above), whose functional cross-vaulted concrete roof protects them from the elements while also letting in light through their open arches—a marvel of functional Roman engineering and architecture. Trajan's Market is a good illustration of how the daily lives of ancient Romans was in many ways not that much different from ours, as we have both outdoor and indoor shopping malls to facilitate our buying and selling of goods.

Trajan's Forum, 112 CE Trajan's Column

Like other individual fora in the Imperial Fora, the Forum of Trajan (r. 98-117 CE) contained a portico surrounding a large courtyard that enclosed a Temple of Trajan but also a large basilica, known as the Basilica Ulpia (after Trajan's family name, Uplius). The basilica was a huge space for lawcourts and administrative offices. In addition, the Forum contained Trajan's column, which stands at 115 ft. (including pedestal) and 12 ft. wide, and is decorated with a sculptural frieze 620 ft. long that spirals up the column and narrates the events of Trajan's campaigns against the Dacians (in modern-day Romania). The sculpting is in a realistic, Classical Greek style of low relief that is not only beautiful but also provides us with much information about the campaign and Roman military equipment and techniques. In its prime, the column was surmounted by a statue of Trajan, which is now lost. In 1587 a statue of St. Peter was added to the column both to claim Christian domination over the ancient monument and to protect it from plunderers.

Capitoline She Wolf, 1100s and 1400s CE

The Capitoline She Wolf is a bronze sculpture that depicts the female wolf that supposedly lost her own pups and suckled the infant twins Romulus and Remus when the basket they had been abandoned in floated to the shore of the Tiber River near the Tiber Island, where Rome would eventually be situated. For a long time scholars believed that the statue was identical with one mentioned by ancient Roman sources and dated it to around 500 BCE. However, modern scientific analysis of the metal suggests that the sculpture dates to around 1100 CE, which also corresponds to its one-piece casting, which was more common in the Middle Ages than in ancient Rome, in which bronze statues were cast in sections. The bronze infants have long been known to date to the late 1400s and were not originally associated with the She Wolf sculpture regardless of the latter's actual date.

Capitoline Venus Roman marble copy of c. 150 BCE of Greek bronze original c. 340 BCE

The Capitoline Venus is a Roman copy in marble from c. 150 CE of a Greek bronze original known as the Aphrodite of Knidos, which was sculpted by Praxiteles in c. 340 BCE. This statue is another example of how the Romans came to love Greek art, both plundered and copied it—there are at least 50 surviving Roman copies of this type—and thereby preserved and transmitted it to western Europe. The original Greek statue was infamous for being the first free-standing, life-sized sculpture of a nude female figure, appropriately enough of Aphrodite, the goddess of sexual love (Venus is the Roman equivalent). The pose of the statue draws attention to Aphrodite's feminine charms: she is depicted as if she has just emerged from a bath, and having been surprised by someone, she modestly tries to cover her groin and breasts. However, this modest gesture actually draws the viewer's attention to these parts of her body, as intended by Praxiteles. The original statue was placed in a sanctuary for Aphrodite on the Greek island of Knidos, and it is said that it caused such a sensation that one night a man snuck into the sanctuary, "embraced" it, and "left a stain on it."

Church of Santa Agnese in Agone, 1652 CE Borromini

The Church of Sant' Agnese in Agone is a Baroque masterpiece that was commissioned by Pope Innocent X on the Piazza Navona in 1652, replacing an earlier church on the site of Saint Agnes' martyrdom. The original architects, Girolamo Rainaldi and his son Carlo, are responsible for the basic plan of a concave façade and central dome flanked by two towers. However, Borromini replaced the Rainaldis in 1653 and added the steps whose convex curvature not only contrast with the concave façade but also forms an oval landing for the Church, oval forms being an innovation of the Baroque period. Borromini also designed the undulating forms of the lower façade that help to emphasize the dome and had ambitious designs for the rest, but after Innocent X's death and a lack of support from his heir, Borromini resigned from the project in 1657. Bernini was then brought in to finish the façade, and it was he who added the somewhat mundane triangular pediment above the central doorway. Before his resignation, however, Borromini was able to influence the look of the interior greatly by adding columns to the supporting piers for the pendentives (the supporting structures for the dome between the arches), greatly enhancing the sense of solidity to the structure while also creating more undulation and contrast in the shape of the interior, which was a Baroque favorite.

Dying Gaul Roman copy of original, c. 225 BCE

The Dying Gaul is a Roman copy of a Hellenistic Greek original dating to c. 225 BCE. It was probably commissioned by Attalos I, King of Pergamon, one of the successor kingdoms to the empire of Alexander the Great, after his defeat of Gallic invaders in Asia Minor. The statue bears many of the hallmarks of the Hellenistic style, including a complex pose, realism in the portrayal of the human form and emotions, and drama as the Gaul is on the point of death after having been mortally wounded in the torso. The Hellenistic style was very influential on ancient Roman sculptors as well at those of the Baroque period, such as Bernini.

Dying Niobid, c. 440 BCE

The Dying Niobid is a Greek original in marble that dates to c. 440 BCE, placing it within the Classical period of Greek art. According to Greek myth, the Niobids were the 14 children of Niobe, who claimed superiority to Leto, the mother of the gods Artemis and Apollo, on account of her greater number of children. Artemis and Apollo avenged this slight to their mother by shooting arrows at the Niobids and killing them. This statue of a dying Niobid illustrates the style of the Classical period, in which there is realism in the portrayal of the human form and a complex pose but also idealism in the perfection of the form and the emotional detachment of the subject, whose face is largely expressionless while she tries to pull an arrow out of a mortal wound in her back. It is likely that this statue was part of a pedimental group for a Temple of Apollo in Eretria in Greece that were plundered by the Roman general Sosias and used to decorate the Temple of Apollo next to Augustus' Theater of Marcellus in Rome. Classical Greek statues such as this would influence ancient Roman sculptors and later Renaissance ones like Michelangelo.

Forum of Augustus, 2 BCE Temple of Mars Ultor

The Forum of Augustus was Augustus' contribution to the expansion of the Roman Forum begun by Julius Caesar and known collectively as the Imperial Fora. The centerpiece of Augustus' forum was the Temple of Mars Ultor (the Avenger), which he vowed to the god before his and Marc Antony's victory over Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE, though the temple was not completed until 2 BCE. The temple was of typical Greco-Etruscan style, with Corinthian order columns crowned by a pediment that contained statues depicting Mars, Venus, Romulus, and the goddess Roma. Inside, the temple housed a cult statue of Mars and the captured legionary standards recovered from the Parthians by Augustus. Like the Forum of Julius Caesar, Augustus' Forum consisted of a temple and a large courtyard surrounded by two-storied porticoes (lower story open with Corinthian columns and upper story walled with Caryatid columns flanking shields with images), which served both practical and ceremonial (propaganda) purposes. In the case of Augustus' Forum, the porticoes housed administrative offices and lawcourts but also contained niches for statues that on one side (left) depicted the heroes of Rome, culminating in an exedra (half circle) with a statue of Romulus, and on the other (right) depicted the ancestors of Augustus, culminating in an exedra with a statue of Aeneas carrying his father Anchises and son Ascanius (Iulus) out of Troy. There was also an extra room off the right exedra that contained a colossal statue possibly of Julius Caesar or Augustus himself (though I think the former is more likely). In the courtyard of the Forum was an equestrian statue of Augustus with an inscription of Pater Patriae on its base, thereby connecting Augustus to Rome's great heroes and the god Mars himself.

Forum of Julius Caesar, 46 BCE Temple of Venus Genetrix

The Forum of Julius Caesar (Forum Iulium) was built by Caesar in 46 BCE while he was Dictator of Rome. It consisted of porticoes (covered colonnades) surrounding a courtyard that contained a Temple for Venus Genetrix. The forum served various purposes, one of which was to show off Caesar's power: it would be a material and visual reminder to the people of Rome of his power and wealth as well as his claimed descent from the goddess Venus through Aeneas' son Iulus (otherwise known as Ascanius). It also served the practical purpose of expanding the old Roman Forum, which was no longer large enough to serve all of Rome's growing administrative needs: the Forum Iulium provided added space for administrative offices and law courts and would be the first of many more additions to the forum by subsequent Roman Emperors collectively known as the Imperial Fora.

Fountain of the Four Rivers, 1651 CE Bernini

The Fountain of the Four Rivers was designed by Bernini, who won a competition arranged by Pope Innocent X in 1651. The fountain depicts personifications of the major rivers on the four continents where Catholicism and, therefore, papal authority had spread: the Nile in Africa, the Danube in Europe, the Ganges in Asia, and the Rio de la Plata in the Americas. The fountain is a Baroque style tour de force that integrates solid Travertine stone forms of swirling rock, plant, and human figures with cascading water into a dynamic, moving whole that brilliantly incorporates and supports the obelisk, which was necessarily the centerpiece of the design, which is filled with allegorical symbolism. The river theme represents the water of baptism, through which Catholicism and papal authority had spread worldwide, as well as the very water of the fountain, which was supplied by an extension of the ancient Aqua Virgo aqueduct carried out by Innocent X. The Nile's head is covered because its source was as yet unknown. The Danube touches the Pope's family coat of arms, since it is the closest of the major rivers to Rome. The Ganges carries an oar to symbolize its navigability, and the Rio de la Plata (the river of silver) sits on a pile of coins, indicating the newfound wealth of the Americas. The rivers are in awe of the obelisk, which represents papal authority and is topped by a dove, which is both the Pope's family symbol and a representation of the Holy Spirit in Christianity.

Pantheon, c. 126 CE

The Pantheon is an extremely well preserved ancient Roman temple for "all divinity." It was originally built in 27 BCE by Marcus Agrippa, Augustus' right-hand man, but in all likelihood, the only part of Agrippa's Pantheon that exists today is the traditional façade, since the rest had fallen into ruins by 126 CE, when the Emperor Hadrian, who was a Renaissance man of sorts who excelled in architecture among other things, redesigned it. Hadrian's redesign includes the massive cylindrical drum surmounted by a shallow dome. From the exterior, it is the traditional Greco-Roman façade that stands out; however, once one enters the interior, it is the drum and dome that inspires awe in the viewer, as it creates a tremendous enclosed open space that hardly seems structurally possible. But it is possible, thanks to Hadrian's design, which incorporates arches in the walls of the drum that give it the strength to support the dome, and the use of concrete for the dome, which is very strong yet lighter than solid stone, especially when coffered (hollowed out in sections) as it is here. The dome of the Pantheon is still one of the largest diameter free-standing domes in the world at 142 ft. (the same as its height, forming a sphere), which is all the more incredible since the dome is so shallow, which is harder to support than a steep one (like that of St. Peter's Basilica, which has a diameter of 136 ft.), though the Pantheon dome cheats a little with an open center, the Oculus, which is 30 ft. across. The Pantheon owes its excellent state of preservation to its conversion into a Christian church in 609 CE dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs.

Piazza Farnese Palazzo Farnese (c. 1515 CE) and Tub from Baths of Caracalla (c. 215 CE)

The Piazza Farnese contains the Palazzo Farnese and fountains in two large tubs that were once in the ancient Roman Baths of Caracalla. The Palazzo was designed by Sangallo the Younger for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (who later became Pope Paul III) in 1515 and is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Rome. Chief among them is the block-like appearance and relatively flat façade divided into horizontal zones with regular window shapes of rectangles and Roman arches, as well as Greek-style columns on either side of the windows topped by alternating triangular and curved pediments in the second zone. Michelangelo added some refinements, including the arched doorway and central window with balcony (for Papal addresses to audiences below) and the roof cornice (the decorative molding along the roof line), which unifies the horizontal zones into one greater whole. The Palazzo has served as the French Embassy since 1635.

Piazza Navona, c. 1650 CE

The Piazza Navona occupies the site of what was once the ancient stadium of Domitian and still retains its oval outline. Its name is a corruption of in agone, which was Greek for "in the place of competition." During the Renaissance the area served as a large open-air market that later moved to the Campo dei Fiori. The piazza was built up by Pope Innocent X (1644-1655) whose family villa, the Palazzo Pamphili, bordered it. He commissioned Bernini's "Fountain of the Four Rivers" in 1651 in the center with the Egyptian obelisk and the Church of Sant' Agnese in Agone, redesigned beginning in 1652 by Borromini and others on the site of the martyrdom of the early Christian Saint Agnes. At either end of the piazza are two other fountains by Della Porta, the Fountain of the Moor (1575), which originally depicted only the four Tritons and a dolphin, but to which Bernini added the Moor wrestling with the dolphin in 1653, and the Fountain of Neptune (1574), to which Neptune was added in 1878 by Della Bitta to balance the Moor at the other end. Today the piazza is a major public gathering place for special events and just for relaxing and people watching.