The influence of Sixtus V’s urban plan on the Baroque movement in Rome

The influence of Sixtus V’s urban plan on the Baroque movement in Rome Aïda Filali-Ansary

Institute for Architecture history - SS 2018

Introduction After the Sack of Rome in 1527, and the first session of the Council of Trent in 1545, Rome entered a slow phase of transition between the Renaissance and the Baroque. In that period, the city hadn’t entirely recovered from the pillage, and had a much lower intellectual and artistic productivity in comparison to the Renaissance’s apogee. Under the pontificate of Pie IV (1559-1565), the Reform of the Church is strongly applied, and the arts are considered as a pure mean to re-establish the Catholic Church’s authority. Indeed, the last session of the Council of Trent, in 1563, claimed that the imagery was a mean of education for the believers and had to increase their faith.

Under Sixtus V (1585-1590), the use of the arts as a mean to preserve the power and influence of the Catholic Church reached its apogee. But numerous authors agree to say that the arts and architecture under this pope were mediocre: “The greatest building built for the pope by Fontana, the Lateran Palace, is nothing more than a powerless rework, dry and monotonous of the Farnese Palace”1. However, he was an ambitious pope that brought the greatest changes in the Rome of transition at the end of the XVIth century.

One of his main projects will even be decisive for the initiation of the Baroque movement. This project is his new urban plan for Rome.

With long perspectives, piazze and obelisks as powerful landmarks, Sixtus V planned the city with an urban organisation that inspired the urban planning of the cities during the XVIIth century. How did Sixtus V’s urban plan influence the Baroque movement in Rome?

In order to have a better understanding of Sixtus V’s urban plan influence on the Baroque movement, I will first explain how the Counter Reform initiated an important effervescence and change in the arts of the XVth century. I will then expose the architectural and historical arguments that brought me to the conclusion that the urban plan of Sixtus V is the main relevant work that influenced the Baroque movement in urbanism.

I. The Council of Trent’s influence on the arts and the role of Sixtus V In the context of the Council of Trent, the works of the Sixtus V followed the Catholic Reform’s principles.

During the second half of the XVIth century, the Catholic Church was applying such an influence on the arts and architecture that I found relevant to dedicate the first part to this particular context.

First of all, the Counter reform was initiated in response to the Protestant Reform, which began in 1517, with the publication of the “Ninety-five Theses” by Martin Luther, who criticized the sale of indulgences and other derives of the Catholic Church. During the Counter Reform, the 25 sessions of the Council of Trent were led in order to attest the power, influence and material wealth benefited by the Catholic Church and provide intellectual challenge to the Protestants.

In 1563, definitive rules concerning the arts were defined during the last session of the Council of Trent.

The Clergy supervised these strict instructions. The artists had to apply clarity, simplicity, and intelligibility.

Besides, the Church also cared for the realism of the interpretation of the religious texts. The representations of religious scenes had to be exactly corresponding to the texts, or to be even beyond their meaning. The represented situations also had to stimulate the piety of the faithful. However, the adoration of the images was prohibited. Most of the artists managed to follow easily the rule of clarity. The difficulty was concerning the stimulation of the piety. A paradox revealed itself in the combination of these strict instructions of the Reform with the need to be aesthetically powerful and provoke awe. As a result, most of the artists in the second half of the XVIth century were anti-classical and anti-naturalists. However, in the 1570’ and the 1580’, the stabilization of the Catholic Church began, which led to a better adaptation of the arts to the Counter Reform instructions2.

When the pontificate of Sixtus V began, a turning point in the arts for the development of the Baroque movement occured.

In 1534, at 13 years old, Felice Peretti became a monk in a Franciscan monastery. He evolves in the Church’s hierarchy until 1570, when he became the Cardinal of the Collegio croato di San Girolano. Then, (my translation of “Le plus grand bâtiment construit pour le pape par Fontana, le palais du Latran, n’est qu’une reprise dénuée de puissance, sèche et monotone, du palais Farnèse.”) Rudolf Wittkower, “Rome : de Sixte Quint à Paul V”, Art et Architecture en Italie 1600-1750, L’âge du Baroque, (HANZAN editions, collection H2A, 1991), 27.

2 According to Rudolf Wittkower, “Rome : de Sixte Quint à Paul V”, Art et Architecture en Italie 1600-1750, L’âge du Baroque, (HANZAN editions, collection H2A, 1991) 1

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from 1572 he works at the Congregation of the Index, until 1585, the year of his nomination as pope Sixtus V (Fig.1). During the Counter Reform, Sixtus V mainly contributed to the renewal of the Church’s organisation. His contributions were the increase of cardinals from 24 to 70 in 1586, the built of 15 permanent congregations in 1588, and the centralization of the criminal justice in 15893. Besides his works of improvement of the Church’s organization, the pope had a great ambition for the city. He wanted to make Rome the most modern and beautiful city of Christianity.

Fig. 1. Painting representing the pope Sixtus V

In order to restore the Christian magnificence and the Catholic Church’s authority, he began with the removal of every pagan monument and symbolism in Rome. Thus, the humanists of that period considered him as a pope with low intellectual interests. In the introduction of the study Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, Guiseppe Scavizzi correctly stated that “[…] his destruction of the Septizonium Severi and the Patriarchium Laternence – the latter replaced by him with a mediocre architecture – is the example commonly given”4.

Although Sixtus V brought a vast renewal in the architecture and the urbanism of Rome, his works were criticised for their lack of originality, and their monotony. However, the authors Corinne Mandel and Yvan Loskoutoff claimed in their studies5 that a much higher interpretation of Sixtus V’s works was possible. They both offer a very detailed and fascinating analysis of the abundant symbolism present in every monument raised or renovated by this pope. Rather than considering them as pure propaganda, Guiseppe Scavizzi wrote that “[Sixtus V] was the first pope to translate the principles of Trent into the Domain of the arts”6.

As a matter of fact, the ornamentations, designed in every monument built under his pontificate, give an abundant and systematic representation of the pope’s works and how Rome was mediocre before his interventions. Thus, the Sixtus V’s style can be qualified as a heraldic style7. The main figures included in this heraldic style are a lion, a pear, a star and hills. These symbols have been subjected to an infinite number of interpretations, but in general, the lion is said to represent the pope himself and his power, the Biography according to Yvan Loskoutoff, “La chapelle de Sainte-Marie-Majeure”, Un art de la Réforme catholique, La symbolique du pape Sixte-Quint et des Peretti-Montalto (1566-1655), (Honoré Champion editor, paris, 2011) 4 Giuseppe Scavizzi, Corinne Mandel, “Introduction”, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994), p.5 5 Refers to the books from Yvan Loskoutoff, Un art de la Réforme catholique, La symbolique du pape Sixte-Quint et des PerettiMontalto (1566-1655), (Honoré Champion editor, paris, 2011), and from Corinne Mandel, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994) 6 Giuseppe Scavizzi, Corinne Mandel, “Introduction”, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994), p.6 7 Interpretations according to Yvan Loskoutoff, “La chapelle de Sainte-Marie-Majeure”, Un art de la Réforme catholique, La symbolique du pape Sixte-Quint et des Peretti-Montalto (1566-1655), (Honoré Champion editor, paris, 2011), and to Corinne Mandel, “Golden Age and the good works of Sixtus V: classical and Christian typology in art of a roman catholic reform Pope”, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994) 3

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pear the softness of the justice he applies, and the hills and the star the zeal of the spirit8. The lion is a ferocious animal, but as he holds the pear he becomes the representation of the wisdom of Sixtus V using his power for the greater good of the faithful (Fig.2). One can only ascertain that these ornamentations are not used as a pure decoration, as the pope considers the arts as a powerful political mean to restore the faith in the Catholic Church, and stress the importance of his role.

We can add that the interest for polychromy and the abundance of heraldic elements under Sixtus V also influenced the Baroque movement by leading to an increasing taste for the accumulation of the details rather than the meaning of the sculptures.

Pears

Lion

Star

Hills

Fig. 2. Coat of arms of Pope Sixtus V decorating the vault of the staircase next to the Sistine Chapel.

II. The transformation of Rome The abundance of the heraldic elements and references to the Golden Age in the ornamentations as well as in the urban plan of Sixtus V brought Corrine Mandel to the conclusion that “never before had Golden Age symbolism been used in such an all-encompassing manner to cover every aspect of the arts, including architecture and urban design, not even under Augustus, the first secular archetype of a Golden Age on earth”9.

To understand the scope of the changes the pope brought, it is important to note that before his interventions, Rome was still considered as a medieval city10. Among several historical and political reasons (the Sack of Rome, the Counter-Reform), the fast demographic growth, and the increasing number of Pilgrims visiting Interpretations according to Yvan Loskoutoff, “La chapelle de Sainte-Marie-Majeure”, Un art de la Réforme catholique, La symbolique du pape Sixte-Quint et des Peretti-Montalto (1566-1655), (Honoré Champion editor, paris, 2011), and to Corinne Mandel, “Golden Age and the good works of Sixtus V: classical and Christian typology in art of a roman catholic reform Pope”, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994) 9 Corinne Mandel, “Golden Age and the good works of Sixtus V: classical and Christian typology in art of a roman catholic reform Pope”, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994), p.89-90 10 According to Giorgio Simoncini, “Introduzione”, "Roma restaurata" Rinnovamento urbano al tempo di sisto V, (Leo S. Olschki editor, collection L’ambiente storico, studi di storia urbana e del territorio, 1990) 8

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Rome developped an urgent need for the city to step out of its decay and degradations. The city had to be extended and to assume its role as a new mega city.

This urgent need of renewal didn’t come only from the nostalgia of the Ancient Greatness of the Eternal City, but also from the desire to give Rome a clear and powerful Christian identity. Indeed, as I developed it in the first part of my article, the changes in Rome were strongly linked with the changes in the Catholic Church, which based its renewal on the principle of magnificence as a mean to affirm the devotion to God, and counteract the unique reliance of faith in the Protestantism. The Protestantism aimed to simplify the religious life of the faithful. By having a more intimate relationship with their religion, they also encouraged a simplification of the architecture of their churches, and their living spaces in general. We could also deduct that, by applying magnificence and absolutism in the new urban plan for Rome, Sixtus V developed a strategy at a bigger scale to counteract the protestant principles.

Fig. 3. The ideal plan for Rome

By encouraging the rebirth of the city, Sixtus V showed his ambitious will to reaffirm Rome’s centrality in the Christendom. First, he contributed to the modification of the city’s fiscal system to recover enough wealth to materialise his projects. He pushed the economical growth of the papal state, through incentives to markets, agriculture and handcrafts11. Then, with the help of his architect, Domenico Fontana, he designed a new urban plan for the city, renovated monuments, like the Lateran Palace, built new ones, like the Sistine According to Giorgio Simoncini, “Introduzione”, «Roma restaurata» Rinnovamento urbano al tempo di sisto V, (Leo S. Olschki editor, collection L’ambiente storico, studi di storia urbana e del territorio, 1990) 11

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Chapel of S. Maria Maggiore Church and the new Vatican Library, and completed S. Peter Church’s cupola.

This urban plan is based on several new arteries connecting the 7 main churches of Rome. The aim of this plan was to build a radio-concentric city of which the centre would be S. Maria Maggiore Church, Sixtus V’s favorite12. The seven main churches are S. Maria Maggiore, S. Pietro Vatican, S. Giovanni Laterano, S. Paolo fuori le mura, S. Lorenzo fuori le mura, S. Croce in Gerusalemme and S. Sebastiano fueri le mura13.

For example, we can see on figure 4 that the Strada Felice, and the via Panisperna, which are both starting from S. Maria Maggiore Chruch, spread to reach S. Maria del Popolo, S. Croce in Gerusalemme and the obelisk in Lateran, in front of S. Giovanni in Laterano. Piazze were generated at the junction of the major streets, as well as monuments and obelisks. We can see on the map that for example the crossing of Quattro Fontane was generated at the junction of the Strada Felice and the Strada Pia. Used as new strong landmarks of Rome, the obelisks were raised every year of the pope’s pontificate to show the progress his works and stress his idea of order. In 1586 the first obelisk was raised in the piazza S. Pietro, in 1587 one in the piazza dell’Esquilino, in 1588 one in Lateran and in 1589 in the piazza del Popolo. At the base of these obelisks figured inscriptions related to the history and the Christian mythology of the site, hiding the previous pagan references14.

Obelisk in Lateran

S. Maria Maggiore Strada Pia Crossing of Quattro Fontane

Fig. 4. Schema of Sixtus V’s urban plan According to Wildfried Hansmann, “Stadt- und Wohnarchitektur”, Baukunst des Barock : From, Funktion, Sinngehalt, (Dumont editions, Köln, 1978) 13 Rosamie Moore, “Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller”, November 2015, romeartlover.it 14 Informations and dates about the obelisks according to Corinne Mandel, “Golden Age and the good works of Sixtus V: classical and Christian typology in art of a roman catholic reform Pope”, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994) 12

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The principal innovation in Sixtus V’s plan is in the political motivations that were used as a base for its centralized shape. Most of the cities during the XVIth century were either following a simple chessboard grid (Fig.5), or having an organic type of organisation (Fig.6). Even though the centralized organisation was not new (it already existed in the Renaissance), the absolutism of the power and the magnificence of the Christianism principles as bases for the urban conceptualisation was very modern15. By bringing more importance to the 7 main Churches of Rome, Sixtus V brought the possibility of a new reflexion on the urban spaces, and on the role of the piazze. He made possible to build the new baroque urban shapes of St Peter’s piazza for example. Thus, this plan can be considered as the prototype for the future Baroque urbanism. According to the author Wildfried Hansmann, in his book Baukunst des Barock16, one of the best example for the Baroque urbanism is Versailles, with its radio-concentric plan based on 3 mains streets spreading from the castle. The structure an aim of this plan was very certainly inspired from Sixtus V’s plan, but was realized in a more practical and less symbolical manner.

Fig. 5. My diagram of the chessboard gird.

Fig. 6. My diagram of the organic grid.

Fig. 7. Versailles Plan According to Wildfried Hansmann, “Stadt- und Wohnarchitektur”, Baukunst des Barock : From, Funktion, Sinngehalt, (Dumont editions, Köln, 1978) 16 Ibid 15

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Conclusion Through one of the biggest historical changes of Rome, Sixtus V contributed to the achievement of a new visage for the Eternal City. The Council of Trent provoked an important effervescence in the arts, used as a powerful mean to show the Catholic Church’s magnificence and provide theological material to challenge the Protestantism. One of the consequences of this artistic effervescence is the development of a taste for the accumulation of details that we find in the Baroque movement. The Baroque movement is indeed about surprising and inspiring awe through trompe l’oeil, complex details and geometrical shapes.

The greatest innovation brought by Sixtus V was in the conceptualisation of the urban plan of Rome. Based on the Golden Age symbolism and the magnificence of the Christianism, the plan completely changed the role of the piazza and increased their importance. It was the foundation for the following interventions which made Rome the capital of the Baroque movement, notably thanks to Bernini’s and Borromini’s works. The perspectives growing to infinity reflect the will to build an absolutist power, radiating and spreading beyond the physical borders of the city.

We can conclude that, for the first time in the history of urbanism, a city was designed as a space to travel through, displaying its mighty power to the spectators, and assuming its role as a mega city.

References Books Rudolf Wittkower, Art et Architecture en Italie 1600-1750, L’âge du Baroque, (HANZAN editions, collection H2A, 1991) Giorgio Simoncini, "Roma restaurata" Rinnovamento urbano al tempo di sisto V, (Leo S. Olschki editor, collection L’ambiente storico, studi di storia urbana e del territorio, 1990) Corinne Mandel, Sixtus V and the Lateran Palace, (Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato editions, Rome, 1994) Henri A. Millon, The Triumph of the Baroque, Architecture in Europe 1600-1750, (Bompiani editions, 1999) Yvan Loskoutoff, Un art de la Réforme catholique, La symbolique du pape Sixte-Quint et des Peretti-Montalto (1566-1655), (Honoré Champion editor, paris, 2011) Wildfried Hansmann, Baukunst des Barock : From, Funktion, Sinngehalt, (DuMont editions, Köln, 1978) Pierre Lavedan, Existe-t-il un urbansme Baroque?, (Centro di studi per la storia dell’architettura editions, Rome, 1959) Article Rosamie Moore, “Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller”, romeartlover.it, November 2015.

Web-sites Architecture : styles et courants - larousse.fr - accessed on 15th August 2018 L’analyse des espaces publics. Les places - La place baroque et néo-classique - unt.unice.fr - accessed on 13th August 2018 Illustrations Fig.1 : Artist unknown. Source : papalartifacts.com. p.2 Fig.2 : Artist unknown, end of the XVIth centrury. Source : wikipedia.org. p.3 Fig.3 : Gian Francesco Bordini. Source : i.pinimg.com. p.4 Fig.4 : Giedon. Source : elgeniomaligno.eu. p.5 Fig.7 : Mr l’abbé Delagrive 1746. Source : wikipedia.org. p.6