Welcome to the Monsters' House!

The Roman historical centre houses a strange place called "Palazzetto Zuccari" (in Italian "palazzetto" means "small building"), settled near piazza Trinità dei Monti, at the crossroads of via Sistina and via Gregoriana.
The building, also known as the "Monsters' House", owes its name to the main door and the two side windows, which represent a huge opened mouth.
The project was realized, in 1592, by the Italian painter Federico Zuccari, who was the property owner. Morover, he decorated the ground floor with amazing frescoes, such as "Hercules between the vice and the virtue".
Zuccari wanted to use the building as an Art Academy, but he died in 1609 and his heirs sold the house to the Toscanella family, which built two extra levels.
In XVIII century, Maria Casimira, Queen of Poland, lived in this house and changed the structure, adding a porch and a theatre. Thanks to the Queen, the Palazzetto Zuccari became a fervid cultural centre and housed famous personalities such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann e Louis David.
After being a religious institute, in 1904 the building was bought by Enrichetta Hertz, a German antique collector, who changed the house look.
In 1913 the woman died, bequeathing her paintings collection to Italy and the house (with a incredible library) to Germany, which transformed the building into an official Library, known as Biblioteca Hertziana.
Since 1963, the Library has managed by Max Planck Institut für Kulturgesichte.
Today, after a restoration directed by Juan Navarro Baldeweg, the Library architecture looks very modern, but the inner frescoes and the façade are original.
 


Main door



Side window

 

Façade

 



"Hercules between the vice and the virtue" (fresco)



 

The Arch of Janus between lights and images

The Arch of Janus, settled near Circus Maximus and the church of San Giorgio in Velabro, houses an unique art show. We are talking about “Populus”, a visual installation about some of the most important ancient Roman masterpieces.
According to the Renaissance tradition, the arch was built in the 4th century AD to celebrate Janus; this is a false belief, because the monument was one of the entrances to the Forum Boarium.
Indeed, Janus was regarded as the watchman of every place with an entrance and an exit (such as the doors); therefore the Latin word “Ianus” was also used to indicate a “door”, or a “covered walkway”.
In the Middle Ages, the powerful family of Frangipane converted the arch into a fortress, which was destroyed in 1830. The top was also torn down because it was erroneously believed to not belong to the Roman construction.
Today the arch, covered with white marble and supported by four pillars, is unadorned. Thanks to some studies on the monument, we know that it was originally adorned with friezes and four sculptures on the top: the Goddess Roma, Juno, Minerva and Cerere.
Today is the last day to admire the visual installation, do not miss the chance!
Exhibition hours: from 6pm to 12pm

"Populus"
 

"Populus"

"Populus"

 

"Populus"

Arch of Janus

A touch of Art Nouveau in Rome

Walking through the streets near Trevi Fountain, you can find an unexpected example of Art Nouveau in Rome.
It is Galleria Sciarra (in English: Sciarra Gallery), settled in via Minghetti and commissioned by the noble Maffeo Sciarra to the architect Giulio De Angelis.
He projected, between 1885 and 1888, a structure on two levels supported by columns and endowed by a dome, which is made up of iron and glass.
The inner walls were realized by Giuseppe Cellini, who decided to celebrate “the woman” and her virtues using Art Noveau motifs and classical feature.
The upper decorations represent Pre-Raphaelite ideal women, but they are portrayed as reassuring brides and mothers; the lower order shows personifications of female virtues, such as "Loyalty, "Patience". The personifications are described through scenes of everyday life, like the garden care or the conversation.
Today Galleria Sciarra is a pedestrian gallery, but in the end of  XIX century it housed the headquarter of the literary magazine “Cronaca Bizantina”, directed by the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and closely related to the Decadent aesthetic ideals.  

Galleria Sciarra paintings

Details paintings



Dome



Gallery View



Entrance