038.

Piazza di Colonna Trajana

So many elements are included in this view, most of which were demolished in the 19th and early 20th centuries, that it is worth identifying them in sequence from left to right. At the left edge of the print we see the entrance to the convent of S. Eufemia (3), adjoined by a lower building, the monastery of S. Spirito (NN 114; see Plate 142 for the churches associated with these buildings). Looming in the distance above the latter is the Torre di Paolo III (1534-49) on the Capitoline hill, see Plate 65. The short street at the left led from this piazza to Piazza Macel de' Corvi (Plate 37A; NN 112). Standing on a pedestal in a square pit is the column of the emperor Trajan (1) (99-117 AD), surmounted by the statue of St. Peter placed there at the command of Sixtus V (1585-90). In the distance, spanning the long street at the left is one arch (5) of the elevated passageway connecting the Palazzetto Venezia with the base of the above-mentioned tower of Paul III. The palazzetto itself, clearly visible to the right of the arch, was in turn attached to Palazzo Venezia, Plate 65. The church of S. Maria di Loreto (2) was begun by Sangallo in the early 16th century but completed toward the end of that century by Del Duca, as indicated by the contrast in style between the planar facade and the more articulated dome. In the lower left corner of the print Vasi shows the steps of the church of SS. Nome di Maria (4), the other church facing onto this piazza. Today the only survivors of all the structures visible in this view are the column of Trajan and the church of S. Maria di Loreto.