CARAVAGGIO ITINERARY IN ROME
written by Sergio Caggìa with Paul Gwynne for © Nerone the Insider's Guide to Rome

 

It is possible to make a Caravaggio itinerary around Rome visiting the painter's haunts and seeing some of his works in their original position, all for free! This itinerary will take you from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Saint Agostino (near Piazza Navona). Then I suggest a place for a light and inexpensive lunch. Having fed the soul, it may be necessary to nourish the stomac too!    On Sunday evening 28 May 1606 the artist Michelangelo da Merisi (Caravaggio) was strolling past the Palazzo di Firenze in the Via della Scrofa with some friends when he saw a certain Ranuccio Tomasoni from Terni who owned the painter 10 scudi from a wager on a tennis match. There were angry words, a fight broke out, swords were drawn. Caravaggio was wounded in the head, but his opponent was killed. Caravaggio hid for a few days to convalese, befroe escaping into the countryside. He was never to return to Rome. I wouldsuggest starting at the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, for the Cerasi Chapel. Although the chapel is at the moment under restoration it is still possible to see the two masterpieces painted by Caravaggio c.1600 for the side walls of the chapel. (Incidentally the altarpiece depicting the Assumption of the Virgin is contemporaneous and painted by Caravaggio's friend Annibale Caracci from Bologna. but note the difference in style!)   Caravaggio's masterpieces show scenes from the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, the martyrdom of the former and the conversion to Christianity of the lattdr. Note the drammatic foreshortening of the main protagonists in each painting, and the restricted palette confined to browns, green, red and white. You can then walk down the Corso verring to the right towards the Pantheon and the Via della Scrofa. When Caravaggio first arrived in Rome he was employed by Cardinal del Monte to paint a series of exotic portraits of young boys with bowls of fruit and musicians. (Some of these early can paintings can also be found in Rome in the Galleria Doria Pamphili and the the Galleria Borghese.)    Caravaggio lived as part of the Cardinal's household in the huge palace which stretches between the Corso Rinascimento and the Via della Dogana Vecchia (nowadays the Palazzo Madama, the seat of the Italian Senate). His second major ecclesiastical commission was to paint an altarpiece and the side walls of the Contarelli Chapel in the near-by church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The chapel to the left of the high altar is dedicated to Saint Matthew. Although the first altarpiece was refused by the cannons (only to be eagerly snapped up by an admirer), his second attempt and the canvasses placed on the the side walls won Caravaggio universal praise.    The three paintings show the Calling of Saint Matthew, the saint' martyrdom and above the altar writng his gospel. Just around the corner from San Luigi dei Francesi is the church of San Agostino (Piazza S. Agostino). Here can be found Caravaggio's last Roman painting, the Madonna of Loretto. The Madonna stands in a doorway recieving pilgrims who have come to adore the Christ child in her arms. It was after he had complted this commission for the Augustinian monks that Caravaggio became embroiled in a fightalong the via della Scrofa and had to flee Rome.    Having spent the morning inexploring Caravaggio's neigbourhood why dont you take a well-earned break at the Australian pub Ned Kelly's? A word of advice. The work that can be seen on this itinerary are still in their original position. They have been painted according to the church's light and the 'point of view' of the faithful at prayer on their knees. For these reasons it is advisable to look at Caravaggio's works by kneeling in the dim light of the churches. While the dark corners of the painting desappear, Caravaggio's characters slowly re-emerge from the shadows as your eyes become accustomed to the half-light and you see the painting as the artist intended was seen.