Housing the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker: The Cultural Significance of Residential Façade Porticoes in Medieval Rome

Abstract

It is not well known that residential façade porticoes were once an essential part of Rome's medieval urban landscape. The distinct architectural feature immediately conjures images of Italian cities such as Bologna and Padua, where many of these buildings have been preserved to the present day. From the eleventh to the fifteenth century, porticoes were part of the daily life of merchants in the center of Rome as they were in countless others throughout Europe.[2] They served as a privileged place of mercantile activity and, as such, were a preferred building type of the era. They framed the socio-political values of the period ascribed to the concept of work at all levels of society, from the civic to the domestic realm.[3] They served as the threshold where public and private spheres interacted. [4] The existing remnants of medieval façade porticoes identified in this study owe their longevity to the penchant for frugality employed in Rome's building industry. As a result of centuries of thriftiness, many of Rome's medieval residential façade porticoes continue to exist today, albeit immured, serving as the foundation for buildings that have been enlarged or constructed in later periods. Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed that medieval porticoes have secretly resided for centuries behind the façade of famous buildings such as Palazzo Farnese and Palazzo Alberteschi, to name a few. Both are situated less than a mile apart on the western side of the street, along the present-day Piazza Farnese, and Via Capo di Ferro.[5] The thoroughfare also includes the medieval cluster of thirteenth-century houses referred to as the Case di S. Paolo (Via di S. Paolo alla Regola and Via di Santa Maria in Monticelli) documented in this study. Saint Bridget of Sweden's home (Via di Monserrato), where the saint is known to have lived from 1354-1373, was also located on this street and was noted as having a portico.[6] The house was situated at the present location of the Casa di Santa Brigida on the corner of Piazza Farnese but was rebuilt over the following centuries. Together these buildings paint a picture of a lively commercial street in the heart of Rome, where porticoes were a recurring architectural feature from the Ponte S. Angelo to Tiber Island. Anna Modigliani's studies of Rome's markets, shops, and commercial spaces from the late Middle Ages to the modern era provide further evidence that this area was home to many merchants and artisans.[7] These members of Rome's working class are noted in archival sources as often renting or owning two-storied buildings with shops on the ground floor fronted by a portico with living spaces above (casa-bottega / house-shop). They once served as retail space for a broad spectrum of commercial activities. They were occupied by cobblers, spice merchants, butchers, barbers, bakers, textile vendors, and apothecaries, to name a few.