130.

Convento dei PP. Minori Reformati

In the early years of the 17th century, Pope Paul V Borghese (1605-1621) extended a new street from Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere to the church of S. Francesco a Ripa (1) Ripa refering to the nearby river Port of Ripa Grande, Plate 97. At that time the 13th century church, Franciscan headquarters in Rome, was located in an area of open fields as indicated in the 1551 Bufalini map. The new street of Via di S. Francesco a Ripa quickly became an extension axis of Trastevere, lined with houses as this print shows. At the end of the street we see S. Francesco, rebuilt in 1681 by the architect Mattia de Rossi. On the left stands S. Pasquale dei Riformati Spagnoli (2) reconstructed by Sardi in 1744. The church makes an odd angle with Via di S. Francesco a Ripa because it was built on the same site as the church it replaced whose orientation was determined by the flanking street. At the left edge of the print Vasi depicts what he calls the Fontana secca (3) "dry fountain" which here looks anything but dry. The sculpted dragons on its upper level suggest that it dates from the time of Paul V, the same Pope who built the new street. The fountain was demolished in 1890.