Roma. Progetti e documenti sulle mura gianicolensi (secc. XVI-XIX)

Designs and Documents on Rome’s Gianicolo Walls (16th-19th cent.)The Gianicolo walls were built during the time of Pope Urbano VIII an Pope Innocent X. These walls represent, in Rome’s urban history, a variation in the size of the urban ideogram in relation to a new Plan, and constituted the boundary of a baroque addition, with was the last and final enlargement work done on the fortifications before Italy became united. The history of the walls is treated in distinct periods of construction, repair and reconstruction, and their urban and architectural values, as well as the meaning that these values have taken on with the passing of time, are interpreted. These walls, which were the protagonists of a program based on political and administrative choices’, were delineated by detailed reference to documents in the existing archives. The first Gianicolo Wall was built by Camillo Orsini during the years 1556 and 1557. Other fortifications were subsequently proposed but never built. The impending war with Castro in 1642 prompted Pope Urbano VIII to engage Cardinal Maculano da Fiorenzuola to design what is now the present wall. This was only part of a more vast construction project which never materialized – that involved the entire urban area. During the 1849 Roman Republic, the Gianicolo walls were very prominent in the defense of the city and were badly damaged. The well-done restoration work by the architect Luigi Poletti can still be plainly seen today.