Tempietto Days – not 1 but 2 days
First day out in Rome, the task of finding our first building to study and of course find was at hand. My task was to find the small but highly important Tempietto by Bramante. Not knowing where to go and essentially going in the blind, I was off to find the building. The building is set within a church inner courtyard and thus its almost hidden from the exterior. Additionally, as I was to soon find out, the San Pietro in Montorio (the church the Tempietto is set in) is perched up on what seems like a mountain in the midst of rome. Fortunately for me I got lost for about 2 hours in Piramide, a Metropolitana (Romes subway system) train station. Eventually I ventured around the station to find that there was a bus station that would eventually lead me to a tram stop to then a tourist pavilion who finally pointed myself in the right direction. Well off to some pictures of Santa Maria in Trastevere which I passed on the way to the Tempietto and I also found other things on the way.
To start first – Person Picture of the Day goes to……… Caio Moretti in the morning of the first day out onto Rome.
Caio Excited to go on his first venture out into the world of Roma.
So after tracking like crazy I finally made it to Santa Maria in Trastevere and it was magnificent, on the SECOND DAY! The first day going to both locations, it felt like it was wedding season and everyone booked all the churches Roma had to offer. Never the less the second day which was also the very next day I also got to witness the interior of the Santa Maria in Trastevere. Although contained within the cluster of smaller homes all tightly packed into each other, the inside was splendid. Check it out for yourself below!
Santa Maria in Trastevere - A major stop along the way to Tempietto
Santa Maria in Trastevere Interior
Although the ceiling is flat on the main concourse and vaulting happens on the side aisle of the church, the flat ceiling seems to have many different layers of art and overlapping pieces. It was quite magnificent and just in awe. Next came the a series of very steep and brutal sets of stairs, inclined hills/roads, and more stairs. Eventually I got to the Tempietto and another wedding was happening there on both the first and the second day. I returned the second day because the people at the tourist center (remember that place on my losing track over to the Tempietto) told me it would be open the very next day. WRONG!!!! it was closed not only that day but also for the next several days. It was a huge let down and I was getting so desperate to the point I bribed the owners of the Tempietto – the Spanish Academy next door – To let me in. Needless to say that did NOT work because the guy did not feel like losing his job. I think it would have been a valiant and noble dead to let an architecture student into the Tempietto. If only things were seen from my perspective. 🙂
San Pietro in Montorio - the church that encases the Tempietto.
The Tempietto
Needless to say the experience of actually seeing the building was great. Hopefully I will get another chance to get into the building and get a more accurate description of what is going on in there. I also walked around and discovered another monument, the Fonte Aqua Paula. I grabbed a beer (un birra Peroni grande (or medio for people who want a little less, nonesense)) and sat next to the Fonte Aqua Paula. Also, because of the mountain of a hike up to the Tempietto, an astonishing view of Rome was dead ahead of me. It was beautiful and my only wish is to be able to point out all of the domes and prominent buildings pushing up from the sea of 4-5 story stone buildings.
Fonte Acqua Paola - The misting from the waterfall was very pleasant
Mapping the Journey to the Tempietto
Ciao i Arrivaderci
Adam Lasota 