City of Rome - Since 476
Subsequent to 476 AD, after the overthrow of the Western Empire and the defeat and surrender of Odoacer, Rome came under the rule of the Ostrogoths. The city suffered severely in the wars between the Goths and Byzantines, in the course of which it was taken six times. The depredations of the Byzantine emperors as well as of the Christian authorities, who made use of the materials and ornaments of the ancient edifices in the erection of their churches, were the cause of the destruction of many ornaments of the imperial city; but more destructive still were the feuds that afterward (especially in the 10th century and later) raged in Rome between the leading families.
In 1084 a part of the Campus Martius and most of the city in the south were devastated by the army of Normans, Greeks and Saracens which Robert Guiscard led to the relief of Gregory VII, then besieged by Henry IV of Germany in the Castle of Sant'Angelo. In the 14th century the work of destruction and depopulation was hastened by the struggles which resulted from the attempt of Rienzi to found a republic, and was continued during the period of confusion that ensued after the commencement of the great schism in 1378. A terrible pestilence which raged in the city in 1348 is said to have reduced the number of inhabitants to less than 20,000.
A temporary check was given to the confusion that prevailed in Rome toward the end of the 14th century by Boniface IX, but order was not permanently re-established till Martin V took up his residence in the city after the schism had been virtually terminated by the Council of Constance. Martin's successor, Eugenius IV (1431-47), is usually named as the Pope under whom the work of restoration in Rome began. In this he was followed by Nicholas V (1447-55), who began the building of the Vatican, Pius II (AEneas Sylvius, 1458-64), Paul II (1464-71), who, however, quarried in the Colosseum for the erection of the Palazzo di Venezia, as did also Paul III (1534-50), when building the Palazzo Farnese.
But the most important period in the architectural history of Modern Rome was the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, when the labors of Bramante, the two Sangalli, Peruzzi and Michelangelo were pursued under the patronage of Sixtus IV, Alexander VI, Julius II and Leo X, and when the works of the great architects were adorned in the interior by artists as great or greater, such as Raphael and Michelangelo himself.
In 1527 the city was sacked by an imperial army under the Constable of Bourbon. From this date onward the city began to extend more and more over all parts of the Campus Martius. Much was done in the 16th century, especially by Paul III, Pius IV, Gregory XIII and Sixtus V, for the embellishment and enlargement of the town, the improvement of the streets and the restoration of the fortifications. Many remains of antiquity were then rescued from destruction, although many more were sacrificed, particularly under Sixtus, for the sake of modern structures. In the 18th centurv Benedict XIV, Clement XIV (founder of the Museo PioClementino) and Pius VI deserve special mention for their efforts to nreserve and beautify Rome.
In 1798 Rome was occupied by the French and deprived of many of its art treasures. At the same time a republic was erected in Rome, but this only lasted for a short time, and after a series of disturbances and changes the Pope was again reinstated in his dominions in 1799. From 1809 to 1814 Rome was once more under French rule, the States of the Church having in the former year been annexed to the Napoleonic Empire. The shortlived Roman republic of 1848-49 was followed by the restoration of the papal rule in 1850. On 20 Sept. 1870 the Italian troops, after effecting a breach in the Porta Pia, in the northeast of the city, marched in alone; the Via di Porta Pia (henceforth called Via Venti Settembre). Since then Rome has been in the possession of Italy, and since the 1st of July of the following year the capital of the kingdom.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
