DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71133#0501
CHAPTER XVII.
From the Piazza di Spagna to Porta Salaria and
the Cemetery of Priscilla.
348.—PIAZZA DI SPAGNA—CHURCH OF ST. GEORGE.
The Piazza di Spagna, the centre of the English quarter in
Rome, lies at the foot of the Pincio, and takes its name from
the palace of the Spanish Ambassador. Opposite this palace
is a large column on which stands a beautiful bronze statue of
our Lady, erected by Pius IX to commemorate the definition of
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. On the
octagonal base are four figures of Moses, David, Isaias, and
Ezechiel.
The strange boat-shaped fountain (Barcaccia} at the foot
of the broad steps,1 was designed by Bernini, and is said to be
a memorial of a great flood occasioned by an overflow of the
Tiber. The view of the Trinith dei Monti from the foot of the
steps is very picturesque, the foreground being usually bright
with colour from the masses of flowers displayed for sale.
Opposite the steps is the Via dd Condotti2 with its numerous
shops of jewelry, mosaics, antiquities, and photographs.
On the far side of the Hotel di Londra is the Via S. Sebas-
tiano, where a small church dedicated to St. George and the
English Martyrs was opened in 1886. It belongs to the Poor
Servants of the Mother of God, a well-known community of
English nuns. At one of the side-altars is a replica of the
famous fresco of our Lady and Child which was found in the
Catacombs of St. Priscilla, and is said to be the most ancient
picture of our Lady hitherto discovered.3 The copy is honoured
in this church under the title of Regina Prof hetarum, and a
special feast of Our Lady Queen of Prophets, has been
1 The cost of this noble stair, constructed in the seventeenth century,
was defrayed by a legacy of Etienne Gueffier, formerly Secretary of the
French Embassy at Rome.
2 So called because the aqueducts of Acqua Vergine pass under it.
3 See No. 357.
AA
From the Piazza di Spagna to Porta Salaria and
the Cemetery of Priscilla.
348.—PIAZZA DI SPAGNA—CHURCH OF ST. GEORGE.
The Piazza di Spagna, the centre of the English quarter in
Rome, lies at the foot of the Pincio, and takes its name from
the palace of the Spanish Ambassador. Opposite this palace
is a large column on which stands a beautiful bronze statue of
our Lady, erected by Pius IX to commemorate the definition of
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. On the
octagonal base are four figures of Moses, David, Isaias, and
Ezechiel.
The strange boat-shaped fountain (Barcaccia} at the foot
of the broad steps,1 was designed by Bernini, and is said to be
a memorial of a great flood occasioned by an overflow of the
Tiber. The view of the Trinith dei Monti from the foot of the
steps is very picturesque, the foreground being usually bright
with colour from the masses of flowers displayed for sale.
Opposite the steps is the Via dd Condotti2 with its numerous
shops of jewelry, mosaics, antiquities, and photographs.
On the far side of the Hotel di Londra is the Via S. Sebas-
tiano, where a small church dedicated to St. George and the
English Martyrs was opened in 1886. It belongs to the Poor
Servants of the Mother of God, a well-known community of
English nuns. At one of the side-altars is a replica of the
famous fresco of our Lady and Child which was found in the
Catacombs of St. Priscilla, and is said to be the most ancient
picture of our Lady hitherto discovered.3 The copy is honoured
in this church under the title of Regina Prof hetarum, and a
special feast of Our Lady Queen of Prophets, has been
1 The cost of this noble stair, constructed in the seventeenth century,
was defrayed by a legacy of Etienne Gueffier, formerly Secretary of the
French Embassy at Rome.
2 So called because the aqueducts of Acqua Vergine pass under it.
3 See No. 357.
AA