Raphael’s Share in the City Planning of Rome
Hubertus Günther
Universität Zürich
The paper will deal with urban planning under the two Medici Popes Leo X and Clement VII: i.e. the construction of Piazza del Popolo with the bivium of via Ripetta and Corso, the regulation of the region north of the planned Medici residence in Palazzo Lante-Medici, and above all the grandiose redesign of the region before ponte Sant’Angelo in view of the new construction of the Florentine national church San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, which is unique in the Renaissance and in several respects prefigures the eighteenth century. The activities began around 1517/18, were quickly interrupted by the premature deaths of both Raphael and Leo X and continued vigorously by Clement VII right at the beginning of his pontificate. Raphael, as the head of the fabbrica di San Pietro, was responsible for the planning.
