The Renaissance in Rome

Rome as we know it is largely a creation of the Renaissance, restructured and risen anew from a neglected medieval town. This book traces the extraordinary works of painting, sculpture and architecture commissioned by Rome's church and civic nobility as part of their rival bids for power and prestige. With the aid of 118 illustrations, most of them in colour, Loren Partridge charts the course of Rome's transformation into the most magnificent showpiece of the Catholic world.INTRODUCTION Patronage and Popes: Saints or Sinners? 9 ONE Urbanism: Rotting Cadavers and the New Jerusalem 19 Preparing for the Restoration 19 Map: Rome circa 1400 20 The First Projects: Nicholas V-Paul III 22 The Triumph of Emperor Charles V 26 Pius IV 32 The New Jerusalem of Sixtus V 32 TWO Churches: Harmony of the Spheres and Construction Chaos 43 The Renovation of St. Peter's by Nicholas V 43 S. Maria del Popolo and S. Pietro in Montorio 45 Bramante and Michelangelo: Designs for the New St. Peter's 50 Il GesA' 56 THREE Palaces: Magnificence and Mayhem 61 The Vatican Palace, the Palazzo Venezia, and the Palazzo della Cancelleria 61 The Cortile del Belvedere 68 The Palazzo Caprini and the Palazzo Branconio d'Aquila 69 The Palazzo Massimo delle Colonne 72 The Palazzo Farnese 73 FOUR Altarpieces: Spirit and Matter 79 Two Altarpieces of the Early Renaissance 80 Raphael: The Sistine Madonna and the Transfiguration 86 Sebastiano del Piombo and Parmigianino 92 Altarpieces in Rome after the Sack of 1527 96 Michelangelo's Pietas 101 FIVE Chapel Decoration: Space, Time, and Eternity 109 The Chapel of Nicholas V in the Vatican Palace 112 The Sistine Chapter: 1475-82 115 The Carafa Chapel, S. Maria sopra Minerva 118 The Sistine Chapel: 1508-20 120 The Borgherini Chapel, S. Pietro in Montorio 131 The Sistine Chapel: The Last Judgement 133 Lay Confraternities and their Oratorios 136 SIX Halls of State: Arts of Power 145 The Stanza D'Eliodoro 148 The Sala di Costantino 152 The Sala Paolina 159 The Sala Regia 162 The Sala dei Fasti Farnese 167 The Sala dei Capitani 170 CONCLUSION 1600 and Beyond 173