Abridged History of Rome - PART III - IX (original) (raw)

- Modern Rome (left to right: Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Pope Innocent III and Pope Sixtus IV)

#### IX - Grand Tour Rome

In this page: [Pope Clement XII](#Clement XII) [The Grand Tour](#Grand Tour) [Pope Benedict XIV](#Benedict XIV) The 1750 Jubilee [Pope Clement XIII](#Clement XIII) [Pope Clement XIV](#Clement XIV) Iconography

#### Pope Clement XII

The _conclave_which followed the death of [Pope Benedict XIII](Storia26.html#Benedict XIII)on February 21, 1730 was among the longest ones of the century; while in the XVIIth century the Catholic powers which tried to influence the outcome of the conclave were just Spain and France, in the XVIIIth century their number grew. Pressures on the cardinals increased and opposite vetoes delayed elections. In the 1730 _conclave_the Medici family spent a lot of effort (and money) to ensure the election of a Florentine pope, Cardinal Lorenzo Corsini who belonged to one of the wealthiest families of the Grand Duchy. The Medici hoped that the Pope would help them retain their power upon the death of Grand Duke Gian Gastone who was in poor health and did not have children. Cardinal Corsini chose to be called Pope Clement XII. Aged 78 at the time of his election and affected by eyesight problems he was soon bedridden and in 1733 he became almost totally blind: he relied on his nephew Cardinal Neri Corsini for the administration of the Papal State. The new pope had to deal with the adverse impact of the Polish Succession War, which was fought also in Italy; several armies, in particular that of Don Carlos, son of Philip V King of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese, crossed the Papal State with a large army: the great powers (Spain, France and Austria) eventually reached an agreement which entirely disregarded the historical rights of the Papacy: Parma, which was regarded as belonging to the Papal State, although ruled by the Farnese for centuries, was assigned to Austria as compensation for southern Italy and Sicily which became an independent kingdom assigned to Don Carlos (or to be precise Charles I of Parma, Charles VII of Naples and eventually Charles III of Spain). The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was assigned to Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, husband of Maria Theresa, daughter of the Austrian Emperor. Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the elder sister of the last grand duke, agreed to this decision on the condition that the works of art the Medici had gathered in Florence would not be removed. The new ruler and his descendants upheld their commitment and this explains why Florence, unlike Mantua or Parma, retained its art collections. Pope Clement XII was totally ignored by the great powers and had to accept their decisions without being given any say in the matter.

## Palazzo della Consulta - left portal: (left) military trophy by Filippo Della Valle; (right) an old Gorgon (see a page on laughing masks and other puzzling details in the palaces of Rome)

Pope Clement XII was a man of experience and of great personal wealth; in a matter of a few years he managed to restore the state budget by reintroducing state lotteries and by not using public revenue for his own benefit. Palazzo del Quirinale had become the usual residence of the popes, but it was located in a somewhat peripheral area; the Pope decided to relocate next to the palace Sacra Consulta, a congregation of cardinals in charge of the administration of the Papal State. Palazzo della Consulta was designed by Ferdinando Fuga, a young Florentine architect who played a major role in Rome for nearly twenty years. Palazzo della Consulta housed also two corps of selected papal guards and this explains why its side entrances were decorated with very elaborate military trophies. Fuga designed also the stables opposite Palazzo della Consulta and enlarged Palazzo del Quirinale by adding [Palazzina del Segretario della Cifra](Vasi192.htm#Manica Lunga). Fuga redesigned for Cardinal Neri Corsini the [family palace in Trastevere](Vasi72.htm#Palazzo Corsini); his early works had a Neo-Renaissance appearance and did not have the curved lines and elaborate decorations which were typical of the Roman Baroque architecture: in his religious buildings ([Chiesa dell'Orazione e Morte](Vasi73.htm#Chiesa dell'Orazione e della Morte), [Chiesa del Bambin Ges�](Vasi127.htm#Bambin Ges�) and the entrance to S. Cecilia) Fuga showed a greater adherence to the Roman tradition.

#### The Grand Tour

The XVIth and XVIIth centuries were both marked by a great influence of religion over political and social developments. The contrasts among the various Christian doctrines and between Christendom and the Muslim world were fierce; all parties however believed in the existence of God. In the early XVIIIth century this assumption began to be challenged by an �lite group of thinkers and by some members of the upper classes. In 1738 Pope Clement XII condemned freemasonry and those who supported similar views; notwithstanding the papal opposition many Catholic sovereigns availed themselves of advisors who advocated the supremacy of the State and were determined to reduce the role of the Church and in particular of the Jesuit Order in their countries. Pope Clement XII had a tolerant approach towards the other Christian beliefs; most likely during his pontificate the Protestants living in Rome were allowed to bury their dead in a cemetery near Porta S. Paolo. Members of this community were dealers in antiques or artists or were otherwise involved in trades associated with the growing numbers of foreigners who visited Rome to complete their education following the advice of Richard Lassels: Travelling brings a Man a world of particular profits. (..) It makes a Wiseman much the wiser by making him see the good and the bad in others. (..) It makes a Man think himself at home every where, and smile at unjust exile. (..) It makes him sit still in his old age with satisfaction; and travel over the World again in his Chair and Bed by discourse and thoughts. In fine, it's an excellent Commentary upon Histories; and no Man understands Livy and Caesar, Guicciardin and Monluc like him, who hath made exactly the Grand Tour of France, and the Giro of Italy. The Voyage of Italy, or a Compleat Journey through Italy - 1670

## View of the archaeological area of Herculaneum with Mount Vesuvius in the background

Charles de Brosses, President of the Bourgogne Parliament and fond of the works of Sallust, a Roman historian, travelled through Italy between 1739 and 1740. His itinerary can be regarded as typical of a gentleman's Italian Grand Tour: his journey started in Avignon, which he regarded as a foreign town; he then moved into Italy, spending some time in Genoa, Milan (with an excursion to Lago Maggiore), Venice, Bologna, Florence and Siena. He then reached Naples without stopping in Rome: he was attracted there by Herculaneum, a Roman town discovered in 1738 under a mixture of ashes and lava which buried it in 79 AD. He completed his archaeological tour by climbing Mount Vesuvius, the nearby volcano from which lava and ashes were erupted. He then returned to Rome where he spent several months: he paid his respects to the Pope and to the [King of England (the Old Pretender)](Vasi63.htm#Palazzo Muti); he met with several cardinals and visited the art collections of the great families. He was in Rome at the time of the death of Pope Clement XII in February 1740 and he wrote extensively about the following conclave, giving his opinion on the various candidates. The letters he sent to friends provide a very interesting insight into the Roman society of the time. To his father. Lyons, Oct. 25, 1739 - Sir Robert has written to Mr. Walpole, to desire he would go to Italy; which he has resolved to do; so that all the scheme of spending the winter in the south of France is laid aside, and we are to pass it in a much finer country. You may imagine I am not sorry to have this opportunity of seeing the place in the world that best deserves it: besides as the Pope (who is eighty-eight, and has been lately at the point of death) cannot probably last a great while, perhaps we may have the fortune to be present at the election of a new one, when Rome will be in all its glory. Friday next we certainly begin our journey. Thomas Gray - Letters from France and Italy in 1739-1741 Sir Horace Walpole and Thomas Gray were in Rome during the same period as President de Brosses: these are a few very short abstracts from the letters Walpole sent home (The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford - Volume I): (March 26, 1740): The English are numberless... And, then French and Germans I could fling into the bargain by dozens. (April 16, 1740): It appears to me as odd to write to you of [St. Peter's](Vasi41.htm#The Plate), as it would do to you to write of Westminster Abbey. Besides, as one looks at churches, etc. with a book of travels in one's hand, and sees every thing particularized there, it would appear transcribing, to write upon the same subjects. I am very glad that I see Rome while it yet exists: before a great number of years are elapsed, I question whether it will be worth seeing. Between the ignorance and poverty of the present Romans, every thing is neglected and falling to decay; the villas are entirely out of repair, and the palaces so ill kept, that half the pictures are spoiled by damp. (April 23, 1740): The conclave is far from enlivening us; ...Cardinal Delei, the object of the Corsini faction, is dying; the hot weather will probably despatch half a dozen more. (June 14, 1740): (from Naples) One hates writing descriptions that are to be found in every book of travels; but we have seen something to-day that I am sure you never read of, and perhaps never heard of. Have you ever heard of a subterraneous town? a whole Roman town, with all its edifices, remaining under ground? Don't fancy the inhabitants buried it there to save it from the Goths: they were buried with it themselves; which is a caution we are not told that they ever took. You remember in Titus's time there were several cities destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius, attended with an earthquake. Well, this was one of them, not very considerable, and then called Herculaneum. Above it has since been built Portici, about three miles from Naples, where the King has a villa. This under-ground city is perhaps one of the noblest curiosities that ever has been discovered. It was found out by chance, about a year and half ago. They began digging, they found statues; they dug, further, they found more. Since that they have made a very considerable progress, and find continually.

## [Palazzo Doria Pamphilj](Vasi44.htm#Palazzo Doria Pamphili): details of the fa�ade (left) and of the courtyard (right)

Pope Innocent X for the 1650 Jubilee extensively restored and modified S. Giovanni in Laterano, but he left unchanged the fa�ade. Pope Clement XII organized a competition to complete the modernization of the old basilica. The winner was a Florentine architect, not Ferdinando Fuga, but Alessandro Galilei whose classicising bent and Neo-Palladian style won him the admiration of the commission. However he had to accept placing gigantic statues at the top of the fa�ade to be consistent with the prevailing Roman practice (see a page on the Roman statues close to Heaven). Galilei also designed a more conventional fa�ade for [S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini](Vasi87.htm#S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini). While Galilei and Fuga introduced in Rome a more classical design by some of their works, other architects continued to follow Baroque patterns. Gabriele Valvassori was the Pamphilj family architect and he redesigned the fa�ade and the courtyard of their palace in Via del Corso; he also made some changes to Villa Pamphilj del Bel Respiro and to Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati. Nicola Michetti redesigned the fa�ade of [Palazzo Colonna](Vasi63.htm#Palazzo Colonna). Giuseppe Sardi designed S. Pasquale Bailonne and S. Maria Maddalena; Antoine Derizet SS. Nome di Maria; Carlo de Dominicis [SS. Celso e Giuliano](Vasi109.htm#SS. Celso e Giuliano). Pope Clement XII enlarged the collection of ancient statues in the Capitoline Museums which were for the first time opened to the public. He also promoted the restoration of [Arco di Costantino](Vasi33a.htm#Marco Aurelio) and paved many streets and piazzas of Rome with small square porphyry stones, which are known as sanpietrini. See a page on where one can find his coats of arms.

#### Pope Benedict XIV

President de Brosses sent home a letter with his comments on the conclave which followed the death of Pope Clement XII: according to him the two cardinal Albani, nephews of [Pope Clement XI](Storia26.html#Clement XI) and Cardinal Neri Corsini, nephew of the deceased pope were leading two parties which, although unable to ensure the election of their own candidate, managed to prevent that of the other party. The conclave lasted six months; two cardinals died and several others fell sick: eventually an agreement was reached on Cardinal Prospero Lambertini who was unanimously elected. The new pope is called Benedict XIV. being created cardinal by Benedict XIII. the last pope but one. His name is Lambertini, a noble Bolognese, and archbishop of that city. When I was first there, I remember to have seen him two or three times; he is a short, fat man, about sixty-five years of age, of a hearty, merry countenance, and likely to live some years. He bears a good character for generosity, affability, and other virtues; and, they say, wants neither knowledge nor capacity. (..) He is reported to have made a little speech to the cardinals in the Conclave, while they were undetermined about an election, as follows: "Most eminent lords, here are three Bolognese of different characters, but all equaUy proper for the popedom. If it be your pleasures -to pitch upon a saint, there is Cardinal Gotti; if upon a politician, there is Aldrovandi; if upon a booby, here am I." The Italian is much more expressive, and, indeed, not to be translated. (..) The applause which all he says and does meets with, is enough to encourage him really to deserve fame. They say he is an able and honest man; he is reckoned a wit too. The other day, when the senator of Rome came to wait upon him, at the first compliments he made him the pope pulled off his cap: his master of the ceremonies, who stood by his side, touched him softly, as to warn him that such a condescension was too great in him, and out of all manner of rule: upon which he turned to him, and said, "Oh! I cry you mercy, good master; it is true, I am but a novice of a pope; I have not yet so much as learned ill manners." Gray The Romans were happy about the outcome of the conclave because Cardinal Lambertini was known for his jovial character, his outspoken language and his moral behaviour. Pasquino for once did not criticize the new pope who chose to be called Benedict XIV.

| Ecco il papa che a Roma si conviene.Di fede ne possiede quanto basta,Manda avanti gli affari della castae sa pigliare il mondo come viene. | Here is the pope who suits Rome. His faith is just right,he looks after the business of his fellows,and he accepts the world as it is. | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

He never learnt to stop saying cazzo, a not very appropriate word for a pope, but his rectitude and moderation gained him the appreciation of Voltaire, a leading philosopher of the Enlightenment, who wrote:

Lambertinus hic est Romae decus et pater orbis, qui mundum scriptis docuit, virtutibus ornat. Lambertini is the pride of Rome and the father of mankind, he teaches the world by his writings, he embellishes it by his virtues.

Pope Benedict XIV had soon to face a difficult situation because a few months after his election a new war broke out. At the beginning it seemed a conflict limited to Austria and Prussia, but the intervention of France, Great Britain, Spain, Sweden and Russia led to a general European War. The issue at stake was related to the succession rights of Maria Theresa of Austria to some of her father's possessions. The Pope made every effort to keep the Church outside the conflict, but the intervention of King Charles VII of Naples brought the war to the gates of Rome; in August 1744 at Velletri, the Neapolitan army defeated an Austrian one: the war went on for months and the Roman Campagna was repeatedly pillaged by the two armies. On November 3, Charles placed his camp outside [Porta Pia](Vasi04.htm#The Plate) and the Pope could not avoid receiving him at Palazzo del Quirinale; the King's entrance was portrayed in 1747 in one of his first etchings by Giuseppe Vasi, a young Sicilian architect, who, because of the lack of commissions, decided to earn his living as an engraver.

## Fontana di Trevi: triton taming a winged sea horse by Pietro Bracci

Pope Clement XII in 1732 decided to move ahead with a plan to build a monumental fountain to replace the simple basin at the end of Acqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct restored by the popes. Both Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Fontana made proposals to the popes of their time. Pope Benedict XIII approved a project which placed a statue of the Virgin Mary between those of two women portraying the source of the aqueduct and Rome. Pope Clement XII thought that combining religious and pagan symbols was not appropriate and called for new ideas. Projects were submitted by sixteen architects: the winner was Nicola Salvi, notwithstanding the fact he did not have major previous works to his credit. The completion of Fontana di Trevi, as the Romans called the fountain, rather than Mostra dell'Acqua Vergine, required almost thirty years: Salvi had to coordinate the activity of several sculptors and he had to fight to ensure the statues complied with the original design of his project. While the architecture of the fountain, based on a gigantic triumphal arch, shows a classical structure, the rocks, the statues and the spouts are regarded as the swansong of Roman Baroque sculpture. The image used as background for this page shows the untamed winged sea horse.

#### The 1750 Jubilee

Pope Benedict XIV tried to reach a modus vivendi (an arrangement allowing conflicting views to coexist peacefully) with both the Catholic and the Protestant countries. He signed concordats (treaties defining the relations between the Roman Church and a secular government) with Sardinia, Naples, Spain and Portugal. He reached agreements with Austria on several open issues. He reduced the number of religious holidays from 36 to a more reasonable number, he issued simpler rules for mixed marriages, he invited Congregazione dell'Indice (the congregation in charge of allowing the printing of a book) to a more open approach and he rehabilitated Galileo. He acted very much as a spiritual leader but was criticized, in particular by the Jesuits, for his conciliatory approach. He belonged to a minor noble family from Bologna, but he did not appoint his relatives to important positions and there is not a Palazzo Lambertini in Rome. Horace Walpole wrote of him:"He restored the lustre of the Tiara/by those arts alone/by which He attained it,/his Virtues./Beloved by Papists/esteemed by Protestants:/a priest without insolence or interest;/a Prince without favourites,/a Pope without nepotism;/an Author without vanity;/in short a Man/whom neither Wit nor Power/could spoil". The Austrian Succession War ended in 1748 and already in 1754 a new war broke out which according to Sir Winston Churchill was the first world war as it was fought around the globe; it is known as the Seven Years' War: Pope Benedict XIV vainly called for an end to the conflict. Austria retained its overall hegemony over Italy: Empress Maria Theresa strengthened it in 1768 by marrying her daughter Maria Amalia to the Duke of Parma and her daughter Maria Carolina to Ferdinand the new King of Naples and in 1771 her son Ferdinand to Maria Beatrice d'Este, heiress of the Duchy of Modena.

## [S. Croce in Gerusalemme](Vasi47.htm#S. Croce in Gerusalemme): (left) vestibule; (right) baldachin

Pope Benedict XIV continued to rely on Ferdinando Fuga for some of the main projects he had in mind for the forthcoming 1750 Jubilee: the most important one was related to the new fa�ade of S. Maria Maggiore. Other works by Fuga were the gigantic apse of Triclinio Leoniano, [S. Apollinare](Vasi164.html#The Plate), a small the casino in the Quirinale gardens, an enlargement of Spedale di S. Spirito and the nearby cemetery. The Pope greatly modified S. Croce in Gerusalemme which was the last large church to be given a very Baroque appearance (although it shows that the Pope was not prepared to spend a fortune for embellishing the church): [SS. Pietro e Marcellino](Vasi50.htm#SS. Pietro e Marcellino), S. Isidoro in Thermis and Oratorio di S. Maria Annunziata were other churches built during his pontificate. Luigi Vanvitelli, son of Gaspar van Wittel, a painter known for his landscape views of Rome, began his career as an architect in the 1730s at Ancona (the Lazzaretto and other buildings). In Rome, during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XIV, he designed the austere fa�ade of Convento di S. Agostino and gave a new orientation to S. Maria degli Angeli, where he became familiar with a very large scale building. In 1751 he was asked by King Charles VII to build the Royal Palace of Caserta (also Fuga left Rome to work for the King). Pope Benedict XIV was very interested also in practical aspects of everyday life: the streets of Rome did not have an official name and also the borders of the rioni were not clearly marked: in 1743 these were fixed and the traditional names of the streets were recorded: in 1748 Giovan Battista Nolli engraved a map of Rome which gave a very detailed record of Rome at the time. The Pope tried to improve the cleanliness of the streets and the [warning inscriptions](Vasi165.htm#Warning Inscriptions) he placed in many parts of Rome show how hard he tried to modify the habits of the Romans. In order to protect Colosseo from vandalism he controlled the access to it and dedicated it to the Christian martyrs who died in the arena. He also took care to relocate a gunpowder factory to an isolated location near Porta S. Paolo.

#### Pope Clement XIII

The conclave which followed the death of Pope Benedict XIV in May 1758 saw the great powers all agree that the new pope should not restore the authority of the Jesuits, which many cardinals felt had been too much reduced during the last pontificate. France in particular vetoed many candidates who seemed too close to that order. Eventually the choice of the cardinals fell on the Venetian Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, who had spent the last 15 years as Bishop of Padua and had not been involved in politics. He chose to be called Pope Clement XIII. His inexperience in dealing with major issues led him to a confrontation with many European nations which resulted in the Jesuits being expelled from Portugal, France, Spain and Naples. Eventually, in 1768, even from Parma. The Pope, who had not reacted until that point in time, then threatened the Duke with excommunication; France and Naples supported the Duke and occupied the papal possessions inside their countries (Avignon and Benevento) and formally asked the Pope to dissolve the order. Even Austria, where the Jesuits played a great rolein supporting the emperors, was rather lukewarm in helping the Pope. Pope Clement XIII reintroduced nepotism by appointing cardinal one of his nephews and by giving important positions to his brother and other relatives.

## [Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta](Vasi129.htm#The Knights of Malta)

Pope Clement XIII had to deal with a famine which lasted two years (1763-64) and this explains why his coat of arms can be found on a warehouse for the storage of olive oil in Rome. In artistic matters he is mainly remembered for having asked Johann Joachim Winckelmann to place bronze fig leaves on the naked ancient statues of the papal collections. Winckelmann, whose works on Greek and Roman art had a major role in the development of Neoclassic aesthetics, was appointed curator of these collections. Apart from the completion of Villa Albani, where Cardinal Alessandro Albani gathered an impressive collection of antiquities with Winckelmann's assistance, very little was built during this period with the only exception of two works (Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta and S. Maria del Priorato) by Giovan Battista Piranesi, a Venetian engraver whose etchings were greatly appreciated throughout Europe. The leading painter of this period was Anton Raphael Mengs who was highly praised by Winckelmann and who was elected Principe dell'Accademia di S. Luca, the guild of the Roman artists in 1771.

## (left) British Museum: Trentham Laver; (right) Ashmolean Museum of Oxford: two lamp holders. These elaborate marbles were sold to British collectors by Giovan Battista Piranesi as elements of the decoration of Villa Adriana which he had reconstructed from original fragments. Their authenticity is almost nil

Piranesi is not only an ingenious architect and engraver, but also a learned antiquarian; though he is apt to run riot in his conjectures; and with regard to the arts of antient Rome, has broached some doctrines, which he will find it very difficult to maintain. Our young gentlemen who go to Rome will do well to be upon their guard against a set of sharpers, (some of them of our own country,) who deal in pictures and antiques, and very often impose upon the uninformed stranger, by selling him trash, as the productions of the most celebrated artists. The English are more than any other foreigners exposed to this imposition. They are supposed to have more money to throw away; and therefore a greater number of snares are laid for them. Tobias Smollett - Travels through France and Italy - 1766

## (left) Museo Nazionale Romano a Palazzo Altemps: statue of a maenad (1st century BC - pavonazzetto marble); (right) British Museum: drawing depicting a statue of Achilles or Mars

The drawing was attached to a 1775 letter by Thomas Jenkins, one of the most active English dealers of antiquities in Rome to Charles Townley, a wealthy country gentleman: I will not conceal from you, an interesting event that has lately happend to me, last year I had a statue from Naples without a head, with the name of the artist on the trunk. I purchased a head of Lysimachus from Cavaceppi thinking it might suit it, and had the joining made, but the head proved too large. A few weeks since a wonderful head of an Achilles came from the same quarter, which proves absolutely its own, and luckily although the neck of the statue had been touched to join with the Lysimachus, it was so little, that it only wants a little stucco on one part. The right arm which had been restored, must be done anew, as it does not suit the animated expression of the head. In a letter of July 1778 he wrote: A statue which I found on the Via Preneste being a Juno Aegophaya will when restored be a respectable monument. This statue, with an ancient but not pertinent head and a modern circular base, was not sold abroad and it was acquired in 1997 by the Italian State. The fawn held under the left arm, identifies the figure as a maenad. Charles Townley left his collection of antiquities to the British Museum; today some of the items he bought are regarded as having been excessively restored. See two statues from Ostia, two busts from Villa Adriana and a wellhead from Capri.

## Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica a Palazzo Corsini: Charles-Louis Cl�risseau (1721-1820): View of the Pantheon with [Arco di Giano](Vasi55.htm#Arch of Janus) and Piramide di Caio Cestio in the background

Pompeo Batoni is the best Italian painter now at Rome. His taste and genius led him to history painting, and his reputation was originally acquired in that line; but by far the greater part of his fortune, whatever that may be, has flowed through a different channel. His chief employment, for many years past, has been painting the portraits of the young English, and other strangers of fortune, who visit Rome. (..) Gracious heaven! why should every periwig-pated fellow, without countenance or character, insist on seeing his chubby cheeks on canvas? John Moore - A View of Society and Manners in Italy - 1781 In the depressed economic and artistic environment which characterized Rome in the second half of the XVIIIth century, painters mainly worked for Grand Tour travellers to whom they sold portraits which showed them on a background of Roman ruins or while admiring some ancient statues. In some instances they accompanied travellers in their journeys to sketch the monuments they saw. Charles-Louis Cl�risseau acquired a reputation for his views of ancient monuments, including those of Pola and Spalato which he visited with James and Robert Adams. Grand Tour travellers used to meet at Piazza di Spagna. Walpole made reference in his letters to the first travel guides. Georges Seroux d'Agincourt, a French archaeologist who settled in Rome during the last part of the XVIIIth century was often asked by Grand Tour travellers about itineraries to see the city: he used to say: I have an itinerary lasting four hours for those who cannot stay longer: it is particularly suited to English gentlemen, some of whom are proud to say they have seen Rome in this period of time. I have another itinerary in one day for those who are not in such a hurry; a third one lasting one week and a fourth one a fortnight and also itineraries for one month, one year and three years; I have also prepared an itinerary lasting 35 years and this is for my usage.

## Detail of a 1743 painting by Bernardo Bellotto at the National Gallery of Victoria. It portrays four gentlemen visiting Tempio di Castore e Polluce. One of them is pointing his stick towards the temple to show his friend something; another one is reading from a book

John Cam Hobhouse in Dissertations on the Ruins of Rome - 1818 noted: Not a few persons of liberal education are in the exercise of a lucrative profession, having for object the instruction and conduct of travellers amidst the wrecks of the old town and the museums of the new. In 1775 Dr. Moore passed some months in Italy, as medical attendant and travelling companion to the 8th Duke of Hamilton, and he indicated that the attendance to the ceremonies of the Papal Court had become another objective of Grand Tour Travellers, even to those which a Protestant should have disliked.

###### Kissing the Pope's Toe

I trust, that it will not be looked on as a mortal sin in Protestants to have kissed the Pope's toe. If it should, some of your friends are in a deplorable way, as you shall hear. It is usual for strangers to be presented to his Holiness, before they leave Rome. The D- of H, Mr. K, and myself, have all been at the Vatican together, upon that important business. (..) We went under the auspices of a certain ecclesiastic, who usually attends the English on such occasions. He very naturally concluded, that it would be most agreeable to us to have the circumstance of kissing the slipper dispensed with. Having had some conversation, therefore, with his Holiness, in his own apartment, while we remained in another room, previous to our introduction; he afterwards returned, and informed us, that the Pontiff, indulgent to the prejudices of the British nation, did not insist on that part of the ceremonial; and therefore a very low bow, on our being presented, was all that would be required of us. A bow! cried the D - of H - ; I should not have given myself any trouble about the matter, had I suspected that all was to end in a bow. I look on kissing the toe as the only amusing circumstance of the whole; if that is to be omitted, I will not be introduced at all. For if the most ludicrous part is left out, who would wait for the rest of a farce? This was a thunderstroke to our negociator, who expected thanks, at least, for the honourable terms he had obtained; but who, on the contrary, found himself in the same disagreeable predicament with other negociators, who have met with abuse and reproach from their countrymen, on account of treaties for which they expected universal applause. The D - of H - knew nothing of the treaty which our introducer had just concluded; otherwise he would certainly have prevented the negociation. As I perceived, however, that our ambassador was mortified with the thoughts that all his labour should prove abortive, I said, that, although he had prevailed with his Holiness to wave that part of the ceremonial, which his Grace thought so entertaining, yet it would unquestionably be still more agreeable to him that the whole should be performed to its utmost extent: this new arrangement, therefore, needed not be an obstruction to our being presented. The countenance of our Conductor brightened up at this proposal. He immediately ushered us into the presence of the Supreme Pontiff. We all bowed to the ground; the supplest of the company had the happiness to touch the sacred slipper with their lips, and the least agile were within a few inches of that honour. As this was more than had been bargained for, his Holiness seemed agreeably surprised; raised the D - with a smiling countenance, and conversed with him in an obliging manner, asking the common questions, How long he had been in Italy? Whether he found Rome agreeable? When he intended to set out for Naples? - He said something of the same kind to each of the company; and, after about a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes, we took our leave. Next day, his Holiness sent his compliments to the D - , with a present of two medals, one of gold, and the other of silver on both of which the head of of the Pontiff is very accurately engraved.

The practice was discontinued in the 1960s, but in 2002 an entire delegation from Benin headed by President Mathieu K�r�kou bowed and knelt just to kiss the pontiff's hand and feet, under the embarrassed and shocked gaze of Pope John Paul II and his staff.

#### Pope Clement XIV

Pope Clement XIII announced that he would make a decision on the fate of the Jesuit order at the end of a special concistoro (a meeting with the cardinals) which was to take place on February 3, 1769, but the stress was such that he died of a heart attack the day before. The conclave which followed his death was all about the Jesuit issue. In March Austrian Emperor Joseph II came to Rome accompanied by his brother Leopold who was the Grand Duke of Tuscany; the two spent some time visiting Rome and its environs, but the purpose of their journey was to influence the outcome of the conclave: they met with the cardinals and told them that their mother Maria Theresa would not adversely react if they decided to disband the Jesuit order. The cardinals eventually elected Cardinal Giovanni Vincenzo Ganganelli who had held important positions in the Franciscan order and who (according to his detractors) committed himself to disbanding the Jesuits in order to be elected. He chose to be called Pope Clement XIV. He dissolved the Jesuit order in 1773 after having issued a series of decrees which laid the ground for the final decision. The leader of the Jesuits was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo, where he died two years later.

## SS. Apostoli: monument to Pope Clement XIV by Antonio Canova: Temperance (left) and Meekness (right)

If there had been opinion polls in the XVIIIth century, Pope Clement XIV would have scored very badly; but regardless of his personal merits it was the role of the Church which was challenged by the European upper classes. Baroque art was viewed as being strictly associated with what seemed just a relic of the past and in a matter of few years Baroque architecture and sculpture were regarded with disdain if not revulsion. The main contribution of Pope Clement XIV to art history, besides a few fountains, e.g. at Genzano, and the enlargement and modernization of the Vatican collections, lies in the monument designed by Antonio Canova to celebrate him. It was commissioned by a friend of the Pope in 1781 and Canova completed it in the following year; it was immediately regarded as a masterpiece and the translation into marble of Neoclassic aesthetics. Bernini's wind no longer blew over the clothes of the composed figures designed by Canova (see a page on Baroque and Neoclassical monuments to the popes).

#### Iconography

The following links show works of art portraying characters and events mentioned in this page; they open in another window: Pope Benedict XIV and Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga by Pierre Subleyras (1699-1749) - Museo di Roma. Ancient Rome by Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1755) - Staatsgalerie - Stuttgart. Portrait of John Crewe by Pompeo Batoni (1760) - Private Collection. Portraits of Pope Clement XIII (1760) and his nephew Abbondio Rezzonico, Senator of Rome (1766) by Pompeo Batoni - Galleria di Palazzo Barberini. Portrait of John Staples by Pompeo Batoni (1773) - Museo di Roma - Rome. Portrait of Sir William Hamilton by Pompeo Batoni - El Prado - Madrid. Emperor Joseph II and his brother Leopold by Pompeo Batoni (1769) - Kunsthistorisches Museum - Vienna.

Next page: Part III: Modern Rome X - Drama at the Quirinale