How a Small Monument in a Courtyard in Italy Changed the World - Part II

I have been accused of being long-winded. Yes, it’s true. My daughter read my last art post on Bramante’s Tempietto and made the suggestion that I edit my pieces down to the who, what, when, and why. It never occurred to a troglodyte like myself that Steemers are reading these posts on smartphones. Of course, she was right. So, I'll make this simply an addendum to the Tempietto post.

Dictionary.com has this as the definition of the word Renaissance: "Pertaining to the group of architectural styles existing in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries as adaptations of ancient Roman architectural details or compositional forms to contemporary uses, characterized at first by the free and inventive use of isolated details, later by the more imitative use of whole orders and compositional arrangements, with great attention to the formulation of compositional rules after the precepts of Vitruvius and the precedents of existing ruins, and at all periods by an emphasis on symmetry, exact mathematical relationships between parts, and a general effect of simplicity and repose.”

That’s a pretty good definition. And from part I of this article we know who was responsible for those “adaptions of ancient architectural details – after the precepts of Vitruvius and the precedents of existing ruins;” it was the Bramante’s, Palladio’s, and Serlio’s of the 16th century. The importance of Palladio and Serlio’s illustrated treatises on architecture cannot be overstated. It was their efforts that set the "rules" in stone, thus profoundly influencing architects centuries later.

Last time we went from the Tempietto, forward. This time let’s start at the Tempietto and work backwards, following the architectural DNA to the ancient structures that inspired Bramante to design and build the Tempietto. Being that he and his peers lived and breathed everything Roman, the aesthetic of the ancients informing everything they created, where then, did Bramante find the inspiration to design and build a round structure incorporating a peristyle of columns? I can tell you this much, he didn’t have to go very far.

A personal anecdote is in order. On one of my trips to Rome I went to see the Boca della Verita, known to millions of people through a wonderful scene in the 1953 film “Roman Holiday.” In the film, Gregory Peck puts his hand slowly into the mouth (boca in Italian) of an ancient Roman mask carved from stone, while telling a young Audrey Hepburn the legend that if a person given to lying puts their hand into the sculptures mouth it will be bitten off, hence the name boca della verita or, mouth of truth. Watch the clip below, it’s very entertaining, and short. But after you enjoy the chemistry between Peck and Hepburn go back to the very beginning and hit pause as soon as the clip starts, I mean immediately, and look behind the characters. In the background you will see a 2nd century BC Roman temple, AND THAT is the purpose of having Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in this article.

Did you see it, that round structure with a roof supported by a ring of columns? That’s the Temple of Hercules Victor. It is located in Rome, in the Forum Boarium. Bramante lived and worked in Rome. You see where this is going, right? Oh, and that Boca della Verita thing from the movie…nobody knows for sure but it is quite possible that it was originally a drain cover on the Temple of Hercules Victor next door. The temple had an opening at the center of the roof called an oculus, meaning it could get very wet inside. The carved marble disc most likely served as a manhole cover, Roman style. Along came the middle-ages when some energetic peasant must have dragged it across the street and leaned it against the wall of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. It’s been there ever since; long enough for my wife and I to be confronted by a line of tourists waiting to put their hand inside it. I don’t do lines very well, and the last way I wanted to spend our time in Rome was waiting on one. We headed for the Ara Pacis instead. That’s my anecdote.

Below is a picture I took of the Temple of Hercules Victor, the structure behind Peck and Hepburn in the film clip. And just below it you can see the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli. The similarity between Bramante's Tempietto and these 1st and 2nd century BC temples is unmistakable. Sixteenth century Romanphile's had easy access to both of these ancient Roman buildings, Tivoli being a mere 20 miles or so from the eternal city.

Temple of Hercules Victor - author's photo
above is the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli
Credit: By LPLT GFDL Link

Below is a drawing that Serlio (you remember him, he published the treatise on architecture) did of the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli. And just below that is a drawing he did of the Tempietto. You see the similarity? The one is of an ancient Roman temple built in the 1st century BC, and the other is an illustration of a monument built in 1502, 1600 years later.

Temple of Vesta by Serlio - public domain

Bramante's Tempietto by Serlio - public domain

So there you have it. For his Tempietto Bramante borrowed design elements from the Temples of Hercules and Vesta.
His hybridization of ancient and "modern" was then immortalized in the treatises on architecture by not one, but two of his admirers, Serlio and Palladio. Their books would then set off a movement in architecture lasting from the 16th to the 20th century, culminating in the photo below. That's right, you can draw a straight line from two, round, colonnaded, temples in Italy, over 2000 years old, through a 16th century monument in Rome, to the Dome sitting on top of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

public domain

If you ever find yourself in Rome again, or for your first time, check out the Temple of Hercules in the Forum Boarium. It's right across the street from the Boca della Verita. Then walk along the Tiber River, crossing over the Ponte Fabricio ca. 62 BC, to Tiber Island. From there walk up Janiculum hill to San Pietro in Montorio for a peak at the Tempietto. If you're a real fanatic for architecture trivia like me, jump on a tour bus for Tivoli, it's not far. There, you can see Hadrians Villa and the Temple of Vesta. And while you're at it, barring lines of tourists, go into the courtyard of Santa Maria in Cosmedin across the street from the Temple of Hercules, and put your hand inside the Boca della Verita seen below. Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn did.

Boca della Verita' - author's photo
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"How a Small Monument in a Courtyard in Italy Changed the World" - Parts I and II
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If you missed it you can read Part I here: https://steemit.com/art/@dissfordents/how-a-small-monument-in-a-courtyard-in-italy-changed-the-world