Pope Innocent X was a controversial and widely disliked figure during the length of his papacy from 1644 to 1655. Despite his lack of popular support, his building campaign serves as one of the best representation of mid-seventeenth century architecture in a location that is now an iconic part of Rome—Rome’s unofficial “living room” (The Heart). Palazzo Pamphilj—one of the architectural landmarks of Piazza Navona—developed through a long and arduous process that reflects the growing status and identity of the Pamphilj family as they struggled for power and prestige. Although it now serves as the Brazilian Embassy, the Palazzo—as well as the adjoining Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone—has a much richer and more intriguing history than the façade may suggest. These two monumental structures exemplify both the story of the Pamphilj family’s rise to prominence, as well as the scandal surrounding their position in Rome. The rivalry and conflict surrounding the construction of these two projects also affected the unique architectural composition that developed, which in turn shaped the resulting structures that are evident today.
Constructing the Palazzo of the Pamphilj
The Pamphilj family has had a presence in Piazza Navona since 1470 (Leone 3). After coming to Rome from Gubbio, it became essential to establish a respectable casa in order to assert the family’s influence in Rome. Although in Gubbio the Pamphilj family had been part of the aristocratic class, in Rome their former noble status meant nothing (Leone 6). This shift sparked an ambition in the Pamphilj family to increase their status and achieve social mobility—an ambition reflected in their aims to develop a distinguished palace for themselves in a prominent area of Rome (Leone-Palazzo 1). By the time Giovanni Battista Pamphilj was elected Pope, and became Innocent X in 1644, their former Palazzo was deemed unsatisfactory, even though the palace had recently been renovated after Giovanni Battista received the Cardinal’s hat, and had just been completed in 1638. It was nonetheless deemed inadequate considering Innocent X’s new elevated status and the rise of the Pamphilj family to power (Leone 10).
Innocent X commissioned Girolamo Rainaldi and his son Carlo to renovate the Pamphilj’s Palazzo, and construction began almost immediately after Giovanni Battista was elected pope in the fall of 1644. At that time, the Pamphilj’s properties extended right up Palazzo Mellini—which would later become the site of the Church of Sant’Agnese (Leone 52). Although the Rainaldis were given the original commission to build the Palazzo, Borromini was also brought in as a consult in order to review the design concepts. This was thought to be because the Rainaldi design was fairly conservative, and the Pope wanted to explore more adventurous options. However, while Borromini suggested some alternate ideas for Rainaldi’s façade, none of them were ever used. His ideas for the sala grande and the grand gallery were, however, incorporated into the Palazzo design (Magnuson). But the façade—with its pilaster strips, blind arcades, and old-fashioned windows—is completely the design of the Rainaldis (Magnuson). Construction of the Palazzo was finished in 1650, but the gallery had yet to be decorated. The frescoes for the vault were painted by Pietro da Cortona, who portrayed the life of Aeneas—the founder of Rome—in the frescoes, as the Pamphilj family claimed to be descended from him. Frescoes for the Piano Nobile were added by artists such as Pier Francesco Mola and Giacinto Gimignani (Sotheby 53). While the Palazzo Pamphilj was completed in 1650, the Church of Sant’ Agnese, a significant addition to Piazza Navona, had not yet been constructed.
Contructing the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone
The Church of Sant’Agnese proved to be an important project to Innocent X, as it had a long history in Rome. Saint Agnese was a local martyr, who held a special place in the memories of Romans. Martyred in the year 304, when she was only about thirteen, she was killed after refusing to marry the local prefect’s son. After her hair miraculously grew to cover her when the Prefect tried to order to have her raped in a brothel, and after a fire wouldn’t ignite when he tried to have her burned at the stake, she was finally killed after he struck her in the head with a sword (The Heart). Previously, a small church that had been dedicated to the memory of Saint Agnese stood in the place where she was martyred, but Innocent X decided he wanted to build a grander church neighboring Palazzo Pamphilj to commemorate Saint Agnese. He planned to establish the building as the exclusive Pamphilj family church and to have an elaborate grave built for himself there. It was also the last of the Pope’s projects in his campaign to renovate Piazza Navona. Innocent therefore felt pressure to finish the larger renovation of Piazza Navona so that it would reflect positively on his pontificate. (Magnuson).
Plans to build Sant’Agnese were drawn in 1651, and the family architect Girolamo Rainaldi was given the commission for the church in 1652. However, by this time Girolamo Rainaldi was quite old, and although he officially stayed on as the head architect, his son Carlo was really in charge of the design (Magnuson). Carlo Rainaldi, upon realizing that the steps of the church extended too far into the piazza, designed the concave façade with the two towers. Carlo Rainaldi continued to make progress on the Church, however, construction was slow, which angered the Pope. Because he was deeply invested in the project he would often show up at the building site in order to encourage the workers to get their work done faster, or to yell at them if they weren’t doing something the way he wanted it done. Finally, in 1653, after reconciling with his sister-in-law Olimpia Maidalchini and allowing her to return to Palazzo Pamphilj, the Rainaldis were fired. This was not thought to be coincidence, as Donna Olimpia was known to have a lot of influence over the Pope (Magnuson).
Francesco Borromini then became the architect of Sant’Agnese. Unfortunately, his relation to the project was to become one of the saddest stories of his career (Blunt). Borromini ordered a complete demolition of Carlo Rainaldi’s design, in order to start from scratch. However, he did not have complete freedom, as the Pope still had a fairly conservative style, and Rainaldi stayed on as the official family architect (Magnuson). Despite these limitations, Borromini managed to develop a much bolder design than Rainaldi had. He added four columns to the ends of the four main piers, making them wider and bolder. He also changed the pendentives so that they ended broadly instead of in points, like most churches of the time. Overall, he incorporated more innovative aspects into the design, such as the inclusion of a large bay window over the main entrance, and a grander, oval flight of stairs that extended farther into the piazza (Blunt). By 1655, much progress had been made on the church. However, Innocent X grew ill and eventually died, and for awhile construction of the church came to a stop. Although the project was picked up again under Alexander VI, Borromini either started come into conflict with some of the others working on the project, or he lost interest in the church, and was eventually forced to resign in 1657 (Magnuson). Carlo Rainaldi was then brought back in, and went about making changes to Borromini’s design in order to make it more conservative. Some of these changes include turning the sixteen column layout back to eight and altering the crowning structure of the towers (Blunt).
After Camillo Pamphilj died in 1666, his wife Olympia took charge of the project, and decided to hire Bernini to contribute some additional concepts to the design of the church. He introduced several changes to the interior and exterior including replacing Borromini’s bolder pediments with the straight, enclosed ones seen today and enlarging the area under the pendentives in the interior of the structure. He also commissioned the then unknown artist Giovanni Battista Gaulli to do the frescoes (Blunt). Eventually, young Camillo Pamphilj took over the project from his mother and decided to reinstate Carlo Rainaldi and hire a group of sculptors to decorate the interior. He also hired Ciro Ferri to paint the fresco on the dome (Blunt).
After a long and difficult process, the Church of S. Agnese was finally completed. Although the structure standing in Piazza Navona today serves as a beautiful example of the baroque architecture of Borromini, when it was first completed, not everyone approved of the structure. With its mixture of artistic concepts and unique structure, one critic went so far as to simply call it a “melancholy background to the fountain of the four rivers” (Blunt). Whether or not one considers the church to be a beautiful tribute to a dearly beloved Roman saint, or an example of an architectural disaster, it serves as an example of the struggle of the Pamphilj to renovate Piazza Navona as well as improve their own image.
Like many prominent Roman families of the time, the story of the Pamphilj’s drive to establish their prominence and power in Rome is a dramatic one. Their desire to leave behind a legacy is reflected in their building campaign in Piazza Navona. Palazzo Pamphilj and the Church of Sant’Agnese serve as a clear example of this desire of Innocent X, as well as the rest of the Pamphilj family. Today, because of Giovanni Battista Pamphilj’s building campaign, Piazza Navona is viewed as being an essential part of Rome. In this sense, Innocent X succeeded in his goal to permanently leaving behind the fingerprints of his family in a prominent part of the city.
Works Cited
Blunt, Anthony. Borromini. Great Britain: Harvard University Press, 1979. 156-160. Print.
The Heart of Rome." National Geographic n. pag. Web. 7 Jul 2010.
Leone, Stephanie C. "Cardinal Pamphilj Builds a Palace: Self-Representation and Familial Ambition in Seventeenth-Century Rome." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 63.4 (2004): n. pag. Web. 6 Jul 2010.
Leone, Stephanie C. The Palazzo Pamphilj in Piazza Navona: Constructing Identity in Early Modern Rome. Harvey Miller Publishers, 2008. http://books.google.it/books?id=FoLqAAAAMAAJ&q=Stephanie+C.+Leone+pamphilj&dq=Stephanie+C.+Leone+pamphilj&hl=it&ei=4jQ7TP_6OYfdsAae-8zvBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA
Magnuson, Torgil. Rome in the Age of Bernini: Volume II—From the Election of Innocent X to the Death of Innocent XI. N.J., USA: Humanities Press, 1986. Print.
Majanlahti, Anthony, “The Pamphili,” selection from ch. 7 in The Families Who Made Rome. London, 2005.
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