La Mostra    1600

The apsidal area of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1600

This was the look of the apsidal area of Santa Maria Maggiore before seventeenth century works: you can see the late thirteenth century apse and the sistine age works (1585-1590) or the dome of the Holy Sacrament or Crib chapel and the Esquiline obelisk from the Mausoleum of Augustus. The view by Giovanni Maggi is included in a volume published on the occasion of the Holy year 1600, which describes the "deliciae divinae" (the churches) and "humanae" of Rome.

Giovanni Maggi, Ecclesia S. Mariae Maioris in Esquilino colle, tratta da: Dominicus Custos, Deliciae urbis Romae divinae et humanae anno sacro Jubilaei MDC, Augsburg 1600

Camillo Fanucci's description of charity work in Rome for the benefit of pilgrims in the Jubilees of 1575 and 1600

In the notice to readers introducing his “Trattato di tutte l’opere pie dell’alma città di Roma”, Camillo Fanucci writes: “If, during the Holy Year of fifteen seventy five, I had been amazed at the greate charity of all kinds that was meted out in Rome to those who came to Rome to participate in the Jubilee most holy, in this year of sixteen hundred I was astonished, amazed & practically beside myself, having seen the great & indeed immense works of charity & piety undertaken by the city’s confraternities...”

Camillo Fanucci, Trattato di tutte l'opere pie dell'alma città di Roma... nel quale si descivono tutti gli Spedali, Confraternite & altri luoghi pii..., Roma 1602

Caravaggio, the Calling of Saint Matthew for the Contarelli Chapel

On 23 July 1599, Michelangelo Merisi signed a contract for his first major public commission at the Contarelli chapel at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The commission was made in the run-up to the Jubilee of 1600, for which Caravaggio painted two of the three canvases in the Chapel today: the Vocation and Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.

Il Caravaggio e le sue grandi opere da San Luigi dei Francesi, text by Gian Alberto Dell'Acqua with an addendum by Mia Cinotti, Milano 1971

Caravaggio, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew for the Contarelli Chapel

On 23 July 1599, Michelangelo Merisi signed a contract for his first major public commission at the Contarelli chapel at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The commission was made in the run-up to the Jubilee of 1600, for which Caravaggio painted two of the three canvases in the Chapel today: the Vocation and Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.

Il Caravaggio e le sue grandi opere da San Luigi dei Francesi, text by Gian Alberto Dell'Acqua with an addendum by Mia Cinotti, Milano 1971

Saint Lewis of the French

The church of Saint Lewis of the French contains, in the Cappella Contarelli, the two paintings by Caravaggio for the Jubilee of 1600: the Vocation and the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.

S. Louis des François, in: François Jacques Deseine, Rome moderne, première ville de l'Europe, avec toutes ses magnificences et ses délices..., vol. II, Leiden 1713

Clement VIII visits the Seven churches during the Jubilee of 1600

Guido Bentivoglio, Memorie del cardinale Bentivoglio con le quali descrive la sua vita e non solo le cose a lui successe nel corso di essa, mà insieme le più notabili ancora occorse nella città di Roma..., Venezia 1668

"Le cose meravigliose dell’alma città di Roma" for the Jubilee of 1600

Le cose meravigliose dell’alma città di Roma, dove si tratta delle chiese, stationi, & reliquie de’ corpi santi, che vi sono. Con la guida romana, che insegna facilmente à forastieri di ritrovare le più notabil cose di Roma. Con le poste d’Italia. I nomi de' sommi pontefici, imperatori, & altri prencipi christiani. Et di nuovo corretto, & ampliato con le cose notabili fatte da papa Sisto quinto, & da papa Clemente ottavo..., Roma 1600

The Seven churches of Rome with their relics, stations and indulgences

Reprinted in 1660 ca. by Giovanni Giacomo de’ Rossi from plates by Giacomo Lauro and Antonio Tempesta, this publication first came out for the Jubilee of 1600. It was republished as a pilgrims’ guide in 1609, 1621, 1630 and 1636. De Rossi’s reprint was the first to feature the Basilica of St Peter’s with Bernini’s colonnade. The lower right-hand corner of the reproduced map shows the “nine churches circuit”, an extended version of the seven churches traditionally included on the tour: the Church of San Paolo alle tre fontane and the Church of the Annunziatella, both of which Filippo Neri sometimes included owing to their proximity to Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

Le sette chiese di Roma con le loro principali reliquie stationi et indul.tie, Roma 1660

Holy Year 1600. Clemens VIII (1592-1605), half silver piastre (obverse)

Collocazione Mt. Pont. ClemensVIII 5-A

Holy Year 1600. Clemens VIII (1592-1605), half silver piastre (reverse)

Collocazione Mt. Pont. ClemensVIII 5-A

History of Lateran basilica and palace written by Cesare Rasponi in XVII century

Cesare Rasponi, De Basilica et patriarchio lateranensi libri quattuor..., Roma 1656

The Itinerary of Italy by Franz Schott

The Itinerary of Italy by jurist Franz Schott was published in Latin in Antwerp on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1600, as a guide for pilgrims who would go to Italy for the Holy year. It's the first guide to accompany travellers to Italy combining information about routes and distances typical of postal guides and historical and artistic notions. The work achieved a great success, was translated in Italian, French and English and provided with a rich apparatus of maps and charts.

Franz Schott, Itinerarii Italiae rerumq. romanarum libri tres..., Antwerpen 1600

"I tesori nascosti dell'alma città di Roma", by Ottavio Panciroli, published for the Jubilee of 1600

To commemorate the 1600 Jubilee, theologian Ottavio Panciroli published a work that, as he states in his “letter to readers”, was explicitly intended to counter “Cose meravigliose”, a recently-published work revised and expanded by Augustinian friar Santi Solinori. The work features a brief treatise on the Jubilee, its origins and ceremonies, as well as a chapter on the catacombs, one on the titles, deaconships and bishoprics of cardinals, and one on the stations. In terms of the breadth and credibility of its treatment, the work’s most innovative and important feature was its focus on the churches of Rome; indeed, it was greatly drawn upon by his successors. Panciroli set out to provide a comprehensive overview of the churches of Rome, alphabetically describing 313 of them, compared with the 141 in “Cose meravigliose”.

Ottavio Panciroli, I tesori nascosti dell'alma città di Roma raccolti, e posti in luce per opera d'Ottavio Panciroli teologo da Reggio, Roma 1600

View of St. Peter's (about 1600)

An etching made about 1686 by Jacob Enderlin according to Giovanni Maggi's engraving, printed in the work by Domenico Custos, Deliciae Urbis Romae, published in Augsburg in 1600.

Jacob Enderlin, Ecclesia S. Petri, 1686 ca

The "Descriptio urbis Romae novissima" by Giovanni Maggi

In 1600, a map of the city was produced for Jubilee pilgrims, framed as a polyptych in eight vignettes depicting the Holy Door opening ceremony at St Peter’s and the city’s seven most important churches. This map, made by Roman engraver Giovanni Maggi, was a great commercial success. It was reprinted a number of times; this version is from 1672. Its small format and the inclusion of brief historical and descriptive notes made it useful to pilgrims as a guide.

Giovanni Maggi, Descriptio urbis Romae novissima a. D. MDCLXXII, Roma 1672

The works in the Lateran for the Extraordinary Holy year of 1933-1934

Lavori e restauri nel Laterano glorioso, in: L'osservatore romano, a. LXXIV, n. 34, 11 February 1934

Guide of Rome for the Holy Year 1925

Mariano Borgatti, Borgo e S. Pietro nel 1300, nel 1600 e nel 1925, con illustrazioni del ten. col. Enrico Pollini, Roma 1925

Clemens VIII (1592-1605), bronze medal issued for the Holy Year 1600 (reverse)

Mazio 162 (fig. Medaglie Mazio 19-162 A)