PONZIO, Flaminio

Pope Paul V ordered the extension of the Roman water supply to Trastevere and commissioned the court architect Flaminio Ponzio to design a fountainhead. The idea of a fountain within a building which opens onto the street like a stage set is particularly interesting. It expressed Paul’s preference for decorating streets and squares with fountains on a large scale.

Pendant to the Cappella Sistina in the right transept of Santa Maria Maggiore, built by Domenico Fontana, the Cappella Paolina is on the opposite side of the church. It was founded by Pope Paul V three months after his election in 1605. Its structure was substantially complete by 1611, and the altar was finished two years later. The architect was Flaminio Ponzio, and the scheme that he adopted derived directly from the earlier chapel.

In the Cappella Paolina the lateral walls are again filled with tombs, on the right that of Clement VIII and on the left that of Paul V. Architecturally Ponzio’s tombs are faithful reproductions of Fontana’s, but the decoration is much richer, the reliefs are carved in greater depth, and are designed with stronger visual emphasis.

The following main elements of the sculptural decoration are on the tomb of Clement VIII.

In the centre: the statue of the Pope by Silla LONGHI.

In the upper register: Conclusion of Peace between France and Spain by Ippolito BUZZI (left relief); Coronation of Pope Clement VIII by Pietro BERNINI (central relief); Canonisation of St Raymond and St Hyacinth by Giovanni Antonio PARACCA (right relief); Caryatides by Pietro BERNINI.

In the lower register: Surrender of Ferrara by Ambrogio BONVICINO (left relief); Gian Francesco Aldobrandini Leading the Papal Troops against the Turks by Camillo MARIANI (right relief).

Pendant to the Cappella Sistina in the right transept of Santa Maria Maggiore, built by Domenico Fontana, the Cappella Paolina is on the opposite side of the church. It was founded by Pope Paul V three months after his election in 1605. Its structure was substantially complete by 1611, and the altar was finished two years later. The architect was Flaminio Ponzio, and the scheme that he adopted derived directly from the earlier chapel.

In the Cappella Paolina the lateral walls are again filled with tombs, on the right that of Clement VIII and on the left that of Paul V. Architecturally Ponzio’s tombs are faithful reproductions of Fontana’s, but the decoration is much richer, the reliefs are carved in greater depth, and are designed with stronger visual emphasis.

The following main elements of the sculptural decoration are on the tomb of Clement VIII.

In the centre: the statue of the Pope by Silla LONGHI.

In the upper register: Conclusion of Peace between France and Spain by Ippolito BUZZI (left relief); Coronation of Pope Clement VIII by Pietro BERNINI (central relief); Canonisation of St Raymond and St Hyacinth by Giovanni Antonio PARACCA (right relief); Caryatides by Pietro BERNINI.

In the lower register: Surrender of Ferrara by Ambrogio BONVICINO (left relief); Gian Francesco Aldobrandini Leading the Papal Troops against the Turks by Camillo MARIANI (right relief).

The Cappella Paolina in Santa Maria Maggiore was founded by Pope Paul V three months after his election in 1605. Its structure was substantially complete by 1611, and the altar was finished two years later. The architect was Flaminio Ponzio. The lateral walls are filled with tombs, on the right that of Clement VIII and on the left that of Paul V. In the centre of the tomb is the standing figure of the Pope sculpted by Silla Longhi.

At the end of the left aisle of the Santa Maria Maggiore, right across from the Sistine Chapel, is the Pauline Chapel, which seems a twin to the other even though it was inaugurated about 25 years later. Built by Flaminio Ponzio for Paul V (1605-1621) of the Borghese family, it too is on a Greek cross plan, covered by a dome and faced with extravagant marble decorations. It holds on the altar an ancient and precious icon to which the Roman people have been devoted for numerous centuries, invoked by the name of Salus populi romani (Salvation of the Roman people).

To the sides, funerary monuments to Clement VIII and Paul V, designed by Flaminio Ponzio, were realized in imitation of the two monuments in the Sistine Chapel.

Numerous artists, such as for example the Cavalier d’Arpino, author of the lunette above the altar and the pendentives of the dome, and Guido Reni, who painted the vaults, contributed to the embellishment of the chapel, which in opulence and splendour was meant to exceed every other decoration of the basilica’s interior.