again we start in piazza venezia, to discover the heart of renaissance and baroque rome. we shall visit the jesuit church of the 'gesù, begun in 1568 by vignola and completed in 1575 by giacomo della porta. a few minutes away, along corso vittorio emanuele, is largo di torre argentina, with die excavations of 4 temples from the republican age. a little further on is the magnificent church of s. andrea della valle (1591-1665), whose dome is second in size only to s. peter's. then comes palazzo massimo alle colonne, peruzzi's masterpiece (1532-36, with its strange curved facade, and palazzo della piccola farnesina (1523) in which there is the museo barracco; opposite is the 18th c. palazzo braschi (museo di roma), and palazzo della cancelleria, a masterpiece of early roman renaissance architecture, with its superb courtyard by bramante. which brings us to the picturesque animated marketplace of campo de' fiori. behind it is the harmonious piazza farnese and arguably the most beautiful renaissance palace in italy, palazzo farnese, on which antonio da sangallo the younger, michelangelo, giacomo della porta and the carracci brothers worked. nearby is palazzo spada (1540) where we can visit galleria spada and borromini's architectural illusion, ?the gallery?, which is only a few meters in length, but appears to be a long grandiose gallery. now we come to via giulia, named after pope julius ii who had it built in the early 16th c., lined with noble places, churches (visit the tiny s. eligio degli orefici, designed by raphael, and the renaissance church of s. giovanni dei fiorentini) and some fine antique shops. we are now back on corso vittorio emanuele standing before borromini's oratory of s. filippo neri (1637-50) and the adjacent ?chiesa nuova? (1575-1605). behind the church we stroll along the narrow streets, including the beautiful via dei coronari, to the church of s. maria della pace (cloister by bramante, frescoes by raphael and peruzzi) and finally the most theatrical square of baroque rome, piazza navona, where the aristocracy rubbed shoulders with the populace at the games and celebrations that used to be held here, on the site of the roman domitian's stadium. in the centre is bernini's huge fountain of the rivers and on the west side, borromini's masterpiece, the church of s. agnese in agone. near piazza navona are several other interesting churches: s. maria dell'anima (16th c.) which belongs to the german catholics; s. agostino (15th c.) with raphael's ?prophet isaiah? and caravaggio's wonderful ?madonna dei pellegrini?; the french national church of s. luigi dei francesi (16th c.) with three more superb works by caravaggio (the stories of s. matthew). crossing piazza s. eustachio, past fine renaissance and baroque buildings overshadowed by borromini's highly original dome on the ancient 'sapienza? university building, we come face to face with the world's most perfectly preserved roman monument - the pantheon - built by agrippa in 27 bc, rebuilt under hadrian, and finally consecrated for christian worship in the year 609. nearby is the only gothic church in rome, s. maria sopra minerva; in front of the church is the egyptian obelisk on the back of a marble elephant designed by bernini (1667).
