Today we are in Piazzale di Porta Pia, that is at the intersection of four streets: over Italy, by September 20, Avenue Hospital and Nomentana, once again in search of curiosities and legends.
This is an important hub from the point of view of urban and street, and clearly the whole area is usually quite busy.
The street name, “September 20”, commemorates the famous September 20, 1870, when the artillery of the Kingdom of Italy opened a breach in the walls near the door, the so-called “Breach of Porta Pia,” which allowed the Bersaglieri and then the other infantry units to enter the city, thus decreeing the end of the Papal States. But we will speak again in the future.
Rather, today I want to talk about a nice story, due to the author of the port, which is none other than Michelangelo Buonarroti. Porta Pia was in fact his last architectural work, almost complete at his death (in 1564). That’s what it is.
In 1561, Pope Pius IV, in conjunction with the urban development of the area, the great Tuscan artist commissioned the design of a gateway to the city from the current Nomentana. Although Pius IV (which took its name from the door) was of the house of Medici, it was rumored that do not descend to directly, but rather to a side branch, and that was more properly the heir to a noble but far less famous family of barbers Milan.
It is said that Michelangelo, perhaps, was bothered by this “proud” of the pope of belonging to the famous Medici family, and this boast, for those who like him was very close to that house, it sounded almost like an outrage. Even more so in view of humble origins “barber”!
Vasari says that when Michelangelo took the pope plans for the door, showed three different patterns, all three with extravagant decorations. The cunning of Michelangelo made him probably predict that the criteria that would guide the choice of the best project would be economic. In fact, it was so the pope chose between three possible realizations of the least expensive, obviously without dwelling too much on decorations depicted in the drawings.
And what a joke created our famous artist? Well … look at the door coming from Via XX Settembre. For those who do not know, architectural ornaments may seem harmless, but it is difficult not to see the stylized basins for shaving, soap and towels with fringe: the symbols to be associated with poor Pius IV, who became that way forever, by the hand of Michelangelo .. . the “pope barber”!