Power and Propaganda in Roman Art and Architecture

• PHOTOS

Throughout history various institutions, whether it be the government or the church, have used art and architecture to promote and further their interests.  Our three hour walk, in the company of an art historian, architect, or historian, will cover a wide range of time periods and a large swath of the city, connecting the historical use of art and architecture as propaganda in the city of Rome.

We commence this walk atop the Capitoline Hill, the religious apex of ancient Rome, just steps from the temple of Jupiter - symbol of the empire. With the Roman Forum behind us, we begin with what some have considered a "perfect piazza" , Michelangelo's Campidoglio. Here sculptural surfaces and geometric elegance bespeak an utopic vision in which the Roman world of the Renaissance and today's city government (the mayor's office occupies one of these buildings) unfold to the horizon. Indeed, from this hilltop venue, we are able to see most of the domes, columns, and bell-towers (campanili

Throughout history various institutions, whether it be the government or the church, have used art and architecture to promote and further their interests.  Our three hour walk, in the company of an art historian, architect, or historian, will cover a wide range of time periods and a large swath of the city, connecting the historical use of art and architecture as propaganda in the city of Rome.

We commence this walk atop the Capitoline Hill, the religious apex of ancient Rome, just steps from the temple of Jupiter - symbol of the empire. With the Roman Forum behind us, we begin with what some have considered a "perfect piazza" , Michelangelo's Campidoglio. Here sculptural surfaces and geometric elegance bespeak an utopic vision in which the Roman world of the Renaissance and today's city government (the mayor's office occupies one of these buildings) unfold to the horizon. Indeed, from this hilltop venue, we are able to see most of the domes, columns, and bell-towers (campanili) of the city as Marcus Aurelius atop his horse strides behind us.

From this perch, we may also visit the facade-less church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, built in 1517. A striking opposite of the Campidoglio, the church remains a place of pilgrimage for Romans and visitors alike. Known for its golden grandeur, the main altar of Ara Coeli lures the faithful, especially during the winter holidays, to see the jewel-bedecked image of Christ. Down its steep cascade of steps, a distance often covered by pilgrims on their knees, we walk in the shadow of the Monument to the Risorgimento (also known as the monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle II, Il Vittoriano, the "Wedding Cake," and the "Typewriter"), Rome's most controversial and most visible building. In Piazza Venezia, at the intersection of the Fascist-era via dei Fori Imperiali and the 1895-1911 Vittoriano the confluence of authoritarian politics and propaganda is again experienced firsthand. A short distance away, we visit Il Gesu', the center of the Jesuit Order, and gilded masterpiece of the Baroque period. It was next door to this stately sanctuary that Saint Ignatius worked in his study. A quick turn into a dense labrynth of medieval streets soon finds us at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, in whose austere piazza we find the delights of Bernini and "il Pulcino della Minerva", Minerva's Chicken. Behind the neutral, 13th century facade of Rome's only Gothic church, the regimented chapels of this sanctuary hide the remains of Saint Catherine of Siena and a first century CE temple of the Roman Goddess Minerva. Nearby, the Pantheon looms large (as does a coveted espresso from Tazza d'Oro) while we turn toward the Piazza San Ignazio and its attendant Chiesa di San Ignazio. The play of light on the 17th century trompe l'oeil false-perspectives created by the artist Andrea Pozzo (who also painted the interior of Il Gesu') will enrapture us. Science and engineering, vision and power, are all summed up in this space.

Departing San Ignazio's visual wonders, we are once again at the center of a spectacle. Stepping into Raguzzini's mannerist piazza, we are reminded that Rome's public spaces are also theaters, stages for the play of evolving aesthetics and shifting ideologies. These spaces will linger in memory not merely as snapshots but as an ever-evolving text of arresting proportions.