HISTORY AND CURIOSITY

The writer’s corner, Claudio Colaiacomo” Discover curiosities and secrets of ; The stories below concern places very close to Palazzo Olivia:

1. Piazza della Chiesa Nuova (The writing on the Terrina)

2. Piazza della Cancelleria (The underground lake beneath the Palace of the Chancellery) 3. Via del Governo Vecchio (Pasquin) 4. (The cemetery of the drowned dead)

Based on ebook “Keep calm e passeggia per Roma”, Claudio Colaiacomo, Edizioni Newton-Compton, 2015 - www.newtoncompton.com

1. The writing on the Terrina The fountain in the square overlooking the Chiesa Nuova has a rather unusual history. Its nickname is the Terrina and it was designed and sculpted by Giacomo della Porta in the XVI century to adorn the center of Piazza Campo de 'Fiori. At that time it was quite different; it did not have the cover we see today and the basin was decorated with two bronze dolphins. The funny cover was an expedient designed as a solution to the misuse the fountain was subjected to, when it was used as a dustbin for market waste. Perhaps offended initially by the abuse received from the people and then by its unrewarding cover, the fountain moved in 1889 to make way for the statue of Giordano Bruno. It was only in 1921 that it appeared in its current day location, inside an attractive rectangular basin. On the surface of the cover one can just about make out a mysterious inscription dated to 1622 that reads” ama dio e non fallire fa del bene e lassa dire” "Love God, fail not, do good and abide not by what others say". The meaning is unclear but it is pleasing to note the common language of the people which can be seen in the use of the vernacular word "lassa". It's easy to let your imagination

run wild and imagine a commoner intent on engraving that sentence in the middle of a no longer existant Campo De 'Fiori.

2. The underground lake beneath the Palace of the Chancellery It was 1938 when, during some maintenance work on the Palace of the Chancellery a short distance from Campo de ' Fiori, the well-preserved remains of two tombs were uncovered. The tomb of Vibius Pansa and that of Aulus Hirtius, both of them consuls and military officials of Julius Caesar, who died in July, 43 BC two days apart, probably murdered for reasons of political rivalry. The discovery was of particular historical value due to the importance of the two men. Aulus Hirtius, for example, wrote part of the Gallic Wars. What makes the discovery even more evocative and mysterious was the fact that the tombs lay under a layer of clear water. What may have appeared as nothing more than a trivial infiltration was actually a piece of ancient Rome brought to light along with the two graves. It was Euripus, an ancient stream that ran through the Campus Martius well before the founding of Rome. It is a true flowing monument. The Romans had channeled it to drain the naturally swampy area, at the time, into a waterway around which rose gardens, decorations, bridges and tombs were erected. The water flowed into the Tiber near the Dei Fiorentini Church. After the construction of the river embankments in the late nineteenth century, the outlet was closed and the water began to accumulate in the soil. Under the Palace of the Chancellery it reached a level that required the maintenance work to be carried out that surprisingly brought to light both the Euripus and the two tombs at the same time.

3. Pasquin Cardinal Carafa had purchased a palace near , in the point where the current day Palazzo Braschi now stands. It was 1501 and during the restoration work, the Cardinal decided to pave the small square that naturally formed between Via di Santa Maria dell'anima and Via del Governo Vecchio. The subsoil brought to light a rather shabby marble piece but one of great value, according to . Nowadays it stands on an elegant pedestal in a corner of the square and is one of the most famous statues in Rome; the Pasquin. The sculpture had been so worn over time and had so many missing pieces, that it was impossible to understand what it represented. One clue came from the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, where the same sculpture was perfectly preserved. This is how we discovered that it represents a scene from the Iliad; Menelaus holding the lifeless

body of Patroclus. You can see how that torso is slightly rotated, intent on bearing the weight of Menelaus' corpse, with the eyes fixed on the horizon. The statue of Pasquin was probably a decoration in Domitian's stadium, which during the Roman period stood where Piazza Navona now stands. It has been in the same place for as far back as can be remembered and has probably only been moved a few meters. Right from the outset, the Romans changed the name of the Greek hero giving it the nickname of Pasquin. Some claim it came from that of a barber or a innkeeper who had his shop in the square. The most credible story behind the origin of the name, tells how Pasquin was a grammar teacher at the nearby La Sapienza University. On April 25, St. Mark's day, a procession wound its way through the narrow streets from Piazza San Lorenzo in Damaso as far as the statue, adorned for the occasion with drapes and laurels. It was a literary competition among students, who, on reaching the statue, hung their writings on it. From that day Pasquin never stopped talking, transforming himself from a man of letters into a man of the people. The classic writings soon gave way to bitter satire, often in Roman dialect, aimed at the bourgeoisie, princes, cardinals and popes. Pope Benedict XIII even issued a decree which ordered the death penalty for anyone caught attaching the so-called pasquinades to the statue. A small group of papal guards appeared on the scene to guard the troublesome chatterbox statue. Pasquin continued to be the spokesperson for the outbursts of the people down through the ages like five other statues, which were also given a voice like him. They are the so-called Congress of the Witty: in Piazza San Marco, in the courtyard of the Capitoline Museums, the in Piazza Vidoni, the Porter in the small Via Lata and the Baboon in the street of the same name, via . Even today, there are those who continue to leave irreverent poems and writings against the powers that be.

4. The cemetery of the drowned dead

In Via Giulia behind , near number 262, we can find the unusual Orazine e Morte Church from the name of the fraternity that from the mid-sixteenth century has its headquarters here. If you are not already churchgoers, this place will not help to stimulate the religious calling that perhaps continues to peter out. You will be welcomed by skulls, winged skeletons and hourglasses as a reminder that time is running out and that sooner or later, this will be the fate that awaits us all. As if to make fun, on one of these skeletons, at the side of the entrance portal is written a macabre "Hodiemihicrastibi" which means "Today it's my turn, tomorrow it will be yours". Take heart, come and be prepared for a little adventure. Look for the sacristan, or if you're lucky, ask the nun intent on rattling off the rosary, a small offering and she will direct you to the crypt. ...CONTINUE