 The coat of arms ofPope Urban VIII along the Janiculum walls | |
   Janiculum walls Shown within Rome | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Location | Rome |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°53′7.865″N12°27′43.416″E / 41.88551806°N 12.46206000°E /41.88551806; 12.46206000 |
TheJaniculum walls (Italian:Mura gianicolensi) are a stretch of defensive walls erected in 1643 byPope Urban VIII as a completion of theLeonine wall (defending theVatican Hill) and for a better protection of the area ofRome rising on the right bank of theTiber.
The need for a fortification, preventing access to Rome through its south-west side, derived from a conflict between two noble Roman families, theBarberini (the house of the Pontiff) and theFarnese, due to economic interests and to the policy of expansion of the former against the latter. Thecasus belli, cleverly arranged by Urban VIII himself, was the failure to pay to Barberinis the economic rents of theDuchy of Castro andRonciglione (now in the province ofViterbo), governed byOdoardo I Farnese, the Duke ofParma and Piacenza and supported byVenice, theFrance ofRichelieu and theGrand Duchy of Tuscany.
In the summer of 1641 the Pope himself, leading an army of 15,000 men withartilleries, marched against the Duchy, occupying its territory and the town ofCastro: in effect, the economic interests concealed political matters, as well as a kind offeud between rival families, and Urban was waiting for nothing but a pretext to set off the spark.
The "War of Castro", because of the involved powers, could however pose a threat also to theHoly See, the Barberini House and its properties in Rome. The town, though adequately protected, was nevertheless perilously exposed on the side ofJaniculum (what's more, too close to theVatican): on this side, the former wall erected by EmperorAurelian was no more in condition to guarantee an effective protection.
The work was commissioned to Marcantonio De Rossi, a quite unknown architect, whose appointment was probably thanks to his friendship with the powerfulOlimpia Maidalchini. The surveys began in 1641, the building at the end of the following year and in 1643 the work was completed.
The new wall, rising on the west side of Janiculum, had serious consequences on the former defensive structures; in particular, the whole stretch of theAurelian walls on that side of the river was demolished, as it rose within the new perimeter. For the same reason, thebastion of the Leonine wall, built byAntonio da Sangallo the Younger close toPorta Santo Spirito, as well as the Porta itself, were by now almost useless;Porta Settimiana became useless as well, while Porta Portuensis, closed 453 m (1,486.2 ft) off the new wall, was demolished together with the Aurelian stretch and replaced with the newPorta Portese northward. The only structure that maintained its function wasPorta San Pancrazio, where the new wall almost coincided to the ancient Aurelian structure.[1]
Finally, in the new wall only a gate was built from scratch. Completed in 1644,Porta Portese shows the coat of arms ofPope Innocent X, the successor of Urban VIII, who had died in the meanwhile. From here, with a backward lengthening of the former street, starts theVia Portuensis, that until then sprouted fromPorta Portuensis, just south.
Despite the fears of Urban, the wall had to face no serious threat for two centuries, until in 1849 it became one of the main scenes of the fights between theFrench army of the GeneralCharles Oudinot (helping the Pope, who had lost control over the city) and the militias of the2nd Roman Republic.
The first tangle, on April 29, 1849, took place at the crossing between ancient and newVia Aurelia; the next day the French troops advanced towardsPorta Angelica andPorta Cavalleggeri but, along the whole way up toPorta San Pancrazio, the defenders, sheltered behind the walls, seriously impeded the Frenchmen: the bayonet fitting and then the standoff of the troops led byGiuseppe Garibaldi in the area of the Basilica ofSan Pancrazio forced the assailants to beat a retreat.
The second fight, in the same area ofVilla Pamphilj andPorta San Pancrazio, began during the night between 2 and 3 June. After a battle lasted the whole day, with continuous turn-arounds and a very high death toll on both sides, the Frenchmen gained the upper hand, but the walls held up and the defenders didn't cede.
However, the walls of Urban had been built to resist the 17th-century artillery and, two centuries after, the firepower was quite different: indeed, after making eight breaches in the walls to the left of Porta San Pancrazio and destroying the Porta itself, during the night between 21 and 22 June the Frenchmen overlooked the walls. The desperate standoff in the whole area kept them stuck until 30 June, when the armistice was signed. On 3 July they entered Rome.
The signs of the later reconstruction of the wall are still visible, especially in the stretch that flanks Viale delle Mura Gianicolensi, before the crossing with Via Fratelli Bonnet (but also beyond):Pope Pius IX, as soon as he had strengthened his own position, quickly reconstructed the stretch of wall that had been damaged, as shown by some plates.
The same area on the left of Porta San Pancrazio was the scene of another fight, on September 20, 1870, between the troops of GeneralNino Bixio and the Papal defenders; but theBersaglierientered Porta Pia at the same time, and the Papal troops gave up before the artilleries could destroy the wall again.
The area ofPorta Portese, just a few meters from the presentPonte Sublicio, is the lowest of the whole layout: the rise to theJaniculum hill begins soon beyond, partly due to the raising of the ground level. Between the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, the whole area became the centre of various settlements relevant to river transports: just within the gate rose thePort of Ripa Grande, that was the main dock of theTiber, in front of the ancientEmporium, while just outside, in 1714,Pope Clement XI built the new “Papal Arsenal”, used for the maintenance of the river commercial fleet of the Pope; the Arsenal operated until the end of the 19th century, when the building of themuraglioni (embankments) of the Tiber interrupted any activity related to the river. The only surviving memory of the Port are two ramps descending to the river.
After a short stretch north-westward, the wall makes a right angle southwest and goes on in a non-linear way flanking Viale delle Mura Portuensi up to Largo Bernardino da Feltre, just where probably it crossed the ancient Aurelian layout. Three coats of arm of Urban VIII are visible along this stretch, where the wall is not particularly high due to the raising of the ground level: they were placed in 1644, when the Pope had already died.
Obviously nothing is left of the bastion that rose where Viale Trastevere - opened during the kingdom ofUmberto I - now runs; the wall is again visible, though quite degraded, along the rise of Viale Aurelio Saffi, on the right. In correspondence to the first curve on the left there is a tunnel dug under the wall, used as anair-raid shelter duringwar period.
The wall goes on climbing and, in correspondence to the last, narrow curve of Viale Saffi, a blind arch is visible, probably used as a tunnel to pass on the other side. After a further, short stretch southward, the wall suddenly turns right, always flanking the street, that now changes its name into Viale delle Mura Gianicolensi.
At the corner there is a quite battered plate, in memory of the works of restoration:
Next to the plate, a plaque
remembers the events of 1849. Furthermore, the entire stretch of wall from here up toPorta San Pancrazio is a sequence of signs, more or less visible, of restorations (patchings, traces of subsidences and collapses), that evidently lasted at least until 1861, according to the just mentioned plate ofPope Pius IX.
All along this first stretch, up to the crossing with Via Fratelli Bonnet, the inner side of the wall encircles the area ofVilla Sciarra and is only partially visible since, in some places, it is covered by an embankment giving a modern example of the ancientagger, probably similar to the one next to theServian Wall. About halfway, there is an openpostern, serving as a secondary access to Villa Sciarra. Passing through this access gives an idea of the outstanding thickness of the base of the wall.
The stretch, starting soon after the two modern arches on Via Fratelli Bonnet allowing the viability, is the one most damaged by the military events of 1848, commemorated by two plates newly restored, placed just where a sizeable breach was opened. The first plate was placed by the Pope soon after the first restorations and is combined with the three coats of arms of theOdescalchi and Mastai-Ferretti families and of the Municipality of Rome:
The second plate, that is almost a spite with a totally opposite style, dates back to the period immediately following the fall of thetemporal power:
The highest point of the wall is dominated byPorta San Pancrazio, rebuilt in 1854 by the architectVirginio Vespignani (a plate remembers his intervention) in a 19th-century style having nothing to do with the style the gate had before the events of 1849 nor even with the original style of theAurelian wall. Presently the gate rises isolated in order to ease viability.
The following downhill stretch shows completely different characteristics, as regards both history (it has suffered no damages from bombings and assaults) and landscape (the quite steep slope didn't allow a building growth in the close vicinity). Viale delle Mura Aurelie follows the wall in a quite winding way, according to the profile of the walls and bastions.
After bypassing the first bastion, the wall shows atravertine aedicula, in a quite elevated position, containing a statue ofSt. Andrew. According to the plate, this is the place where the head of the Saint, held withinSt. Peter's Basilica since the 15th century, was discovered after being abandoned by the thief that had purloined it:[3]
The wall of Urban VIII ends about 1 km beyond, joining the bastion erected byPope Pius V in 1568 in the area of the present Palazzo diPropaganda Fide, just before Largo di Porta Cavalleggeri. All along this last stretch - not particularly interesting anyway - 12 coats of arms of Urban VIII and 3 of Pius IX are scattered; in the section corresponding to the square that houses themonument to Giuseppe Garibaldi there is a walled-in and quite recessedpostern; a plate in remembrance of the restoration works carried up in 1849 in the area ofPorta San Pancrazio and two further plates in remembrance of as many further restorations by Pius IX; the first one, dated 1857, is not easily readable:
The second one, dated 1870, is probably the last artifact of this kind dating back to the age of thetemporal power:
Media related toMura gianicolensi at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Castra Praetoria | Landmarks of Rome Janiculum walls | Succeeded by Servian Wall |