The Arsenal of Civitavecchia is a now destroyed naval arsenal which was commissioned by Pope Alexander VII to house the fleet of the Papal Navy. [1] It was built between 1660 and 1663 and designed by the famed baroque architect and sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini. It was located on the site of the ancient Roman port of Centum Cellae in Civitavecchia close to Rome itself. The structure was mistakenly destroyed in 1944 in an Allied bombing raid during World War II, along with most of the surrounding port area. [2] [3]
The Arsenal is depicted in the 1668 painting "The Bernini Arsenal at Civitavecchia" by Viviano Codazzi and Fillipo Lauri which it has been suggested may have been commissioned by a member of Pope Alexander VII's family, the House of Chigi (or the Pope himself) to celebrate the arsenal's completion. In the painting, the front facade of the arsenal's building bears the Pope's seal. [4]
Gian LorenzoBernini was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his age, credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture.
Pope Alexander VII, born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667.
Pope Innocent X, born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655.
Saint Peter's Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Both square and basilica are named after Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus whom Catholics consider the first Pope.
Civitavecchia is a city and major sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea 60 kilometres west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a comune (municipality) of Rome, Lazio.
The Chigi Chapel or Chapel of the Madonna of Loreto is the second chapel on the left-hand side of the nave in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. It is the only religious building of Raphael which has been preserved in its near original form. The chapel is a treasure trove of Italian Renaissance and Baroque art and is ranked among the most important monuments in the basilica.
The Parish Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo is a titular church and a minor basilica in Rome run by the Augustinian order. It stands on the north side of Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The church is hemmed in between the Pincian Hill and Porta del Popolo, one of the gates in the Aurelian Wall as well as the starting point of Via Flaminia, the most important route from the north. Its location made the basilica the first church for the majority of travellers entering the city. The church contains works by several famous artists, such as Raphael, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Caravaggio, Alessandro Algardi, Pinturicchio, Andrea Bregno, Guillaume de Marcillat and Donato Bramante.
Ariccia is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Central Italy, 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of Rome. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio (Latium) region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs. One of the Castelli Romani towns, Ariccia is located in the regional park known as the "Parco Regionale dei Castelli Romani".
Viviano Codazzi was an Italian architectural painter who was active during the Baroque period. He is known for his architectural paintings, capricci, compositions with ruins, and some vedute. He worked in Naples and Rome. He is known in older sources as Viviano Codagora or il Codagora.
Santa Maria della Pace is a Catholic church in Rome, Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte. It is part of a conventual structure that includes the Chiostro del Bramante formerly home to Canons Regular of the Lateran and later the Order of Preachers. The monastery is now used for secular purposes while the church I has become one of Romes national churches, devoted to the people of Chile.
Events from the year 1668 in art.
Flavio Chigi was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and Duke of Ariccia. He was Cardinal-Nephew to Pope Alexander VII and became a powerful political force inside the Roman Catholic Church during the latter half of the 17th century.
The Tomb of Pope Alexander VII is a sculptural monument designed and partially executed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is located in the south transept of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. The piece was commissioned by Pope Alexander VII himself. However, construction of the monument did not start until 1671 and was completed in 1678, eleven years after the Pope's death. At the age of 81, this would be Bernini's last major sculptural commission before his death in 1680.
Elephant and Obelisk is a statue of an elephant carrying an obelisk, designed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was unveiled in 1667 in the Piazza della Minerva in Rome, adjacent to the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where it stands today.
Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen are two sculptures by the Italian artist Gianlorenzo Bernini. They sit in the Chigi Chapel of Siena Cathedral. The statues were commissioned as part of the chapel by the then–pope Alexander VII.
Port of Civitavecchia, also known as "Port of Rome", or Civitavecchia Port of Rome, is the seaport of Civitavecchia, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy. It is an important hub for the maritime transport in Italy, for goods and passengers. The Rome Cruise Terminal is part of the port. Part of the "Motorways of the Sea", it is linked to several Mediterranean ports and represents one of the main links between the Italian mainland and Sardinia.
Niccolò Codazzi was an Italian painter of architectural paintings, capricci and vedute. He also created decorative elements in frescos as a painter of 'quadratura'. A son of the prominent architectural painter Viviano Codazzi, he trained with his father and was active in Rome, Paris and Genoa.
Daniel and the Lion is a sculpture created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini c. 1655–57. Standing in a niche in the Chigi Chapel in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, it shows the Prophet Daniel in the lions' den. It forms a part of a larger composition with the sculpture of Habakkuk and the Angel diagonally opposite.
Habakkuk and the Angel is a sculpture created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini c. 1656–61. Standing in a niche in the Chigi Chapel in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, it shows the Prophet Habakkuk with the angel of God. It forms a part of a larger composition with the sculpture of Daniel and the Lion diagonally opposite.
Santa Maria Assunta is a Roman Catholic parish church designed in 1661–1665 by Gianlorenzo Bernini; and located in the center of the town of Ariccia, Italy, where it stands across a piazza from the Palazzo Chigi Ariccia, once belonging to the family of Pope Alexander VII, Bernini's patrons in the construction of this church.