La Mostra Piazza del Popolo
The changes made by Gregory XIII, Sixtus V and Alexander VII to Piazza del Popolo
The view by Giovanni Battista Falda shows Piazza del Popolo after sixteenth-seventeenth century works commissioned by Gregory XIII, Sixtus V and Alexander VII. Actually you can see the fountain by Giacomo della Porta, got placed in the middle of the square in 1573, prior to 1575 Jubilee, by pope Gregory XIII; the Egyptian obelisk from Circus Maximus, which got erected in 1589 by Sixtus V; the interior façade of Porta del Popolo, restored by Gian Lorenzo Bernini on behalf of Alexander VII, who also entrusted him with a mandate to work on the basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, erected in XI century by Pascal II and rebuilt by pope Sixtus IV for the Jubilee of 1475.
Giovanni Battista Falda, Piazza del Popolo abbellita da n.s. papa Alessandro VII, in: Id., Il nuovo teatro delle fabriche et edificii in prospettiva di Roma moderna..., vol. I, Roma 1665
The changes made by Alexander VII to Piazza del Popolo
The view by Giovani Battista Falda shows Alexander VII's "buildings" for the twin churches of Piazza del Popolo, even before their real accomplishment. The building of Santa Maria in Montesanto actually began in 1662, but it stopped when the Pontiff died in 1667, to start again in 1673 under the supervision of Bernini in collaboration with Carlo Fontana. The works for the twin church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, on the contrary, began only in 1675, ten years after the edition of Falda's engraving which represents therefore a projection of Alexander VII's project.
Giovanni Battista Falda, Altra veduta della Piazza del Popolo entrandosi nella città, in: Id., Il nuovo teatro delle fabriche et edificii in prospettiva di Roma moderna..., vol. I, Roma 1665
View of Piazza del Popolo in the 18th century
Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Piazza del Popolo, in: Id., Vedute principali e più interessanti di Roma, Roma 1799
The transformation of Piazza del Popolo in the19th century
The Piazza took on its modern-day form in the 1800s. In 1793, architect Giuseppe Valadier presented a project to Pope Pius VI for two cavalry barracks to be built along the sides of the square. When the French arrived in Rome, they chose a design for a “public villa and promenade” commissioned from French architect Louis Martin Berthault. But when the Pope returned, it was Valadier who put this plan into practice: the piazza became the square we know today, Giacomo Della Porta’s fountain was removed and replaced by a new design; two almost identical fountains were built at the centre of the curved walls around the ellipsoid piazza, and wide linking ramps were built, decorated with trees and carriage roads to provide access to the Pincio terrace.
Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Progetto del sig. Giuseppe Valadier architetto presentato a papa Pio VI nel 1794 per decorare la Piazza del Popolo con due caserme per cavalleria ed infanteri, in: Id., Vedute principali e più interessanti di Roma, Roma 1799
The transformation of Piazza del Popolo in the19th century
The Piazza took on its modern-day form in the 1800s. In 1793, architect Giuseppe Valadier presented a project to Pope Pius VI for two cavalry barracks to be built along the sides of the square. When the French arrived in Rome, they chose a design for a “public villa and promenade” commissioned from French architect Louis Martin Berthault. But when the Pope returned, it was Valadier who put this plan into practice: the piazza became the square we know today, Giacomo Della Porta’s fountain was removed and replaced by a new design; two almost identical fountains were built at the centre of the curved walls around the ellipsoid piazza, and wide linking ramps were built, decorated with trees and carriage roads to provide access to the Pincio terrace.
Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Pianta della Piazza del Popolo e delle caserme secondo il progetto del sig. Giuseppe Valadier, in: Id., Vedute principali e più interessanti di Roma, Roma 1799
The transformation of Piazza del Popolo in the19th century
The Piazza took on its modern-day form in the 1800s. In 1793, architect Giuseppe Valadier presented a project to Pope Pius VI for two cavalry barracks to be built along the sides of the square. When the French arrived in Rome, they chose a design for a “public villa and promenade” commissioned from French architect Louis Martin Berthault. But when the Pope returned, it was Valadier who put this plan into practice: the piazza became the square we know today, Giacomo Della Porta’s fountain was removed and replaced by a new design; two almost identical fountains were built at the centre of the curved walls around the ellipsoid piazza, and wide linking ramps were built, decorated with trees and carriage roads to provide access to the Pincio terrace.
Giuseppe Valadier (inv.), Luigi Maria Valadier (draw.), Giovanni Battista Cipriani (inc.), Pianta topografica della Piazza del Popolo in Roma con nuova publica passeggiata sul Monte Pincio, in: Giuseppe Antonio Guattani, Memorie enciclopediche sulle antichità e belle arti di Roma per il 1816, Roma 1817