Complesso Monumentale di San Michele a Ripa Grande
The Complesso Monumentale di San Michele a Ripa Grande is a building complex in the Trastevere district of the Italian capital Rome . The building, one of the largest in Rome, is located on the right bank of the Tiber between the Ponte Palatino in the north and Ponte Sublicio in the south at the former inland port of Ripa Grande . The Complesso monumentale was built in several sections between 1686 and 1834, mainly in the Baroque style for social purposes. It served as an orphanage , poor house , workhouse and prison . Today it serves as the second headquarters of the Italian Ministry of Culture .
history
Monsignor Tommaso Odescalchi , a nephew of Pope Innocent XI. , commissioned the architect Mattia de Rossi in 1679 with the construction of an orphanage with an attached weaving and picture knitting workshop . This first building was expanded in 1693 to include a house for the handicapped and in 1709 to accommodate the poor elderly. The extensions until 1735 included a prison, a school, a women's prison and a customs barracks . The extensions were planned, among others, by the famous architects Carlo Fontana and Ferdinando Fuga . In 1790 accommodation for “old maids” (Zitelle) was added. Work on a church did not end until 1834.
In later years the complex served only as a prison and barracks. After the Second World War, the complex fell into disrepair; a large part was taken over by squatters . The Italian government acquired the building in 1969 and had it gradually renovated from 1973 onwards.
description
The building was erected from the end of the 17th century on a plot of land belonging to the Odescalchi family, which at that time was on the outskirts of Trastevere, a district in which mainly disadvantaged groups lived at the time. The location was also shaped by the inland port at that time. The building complex covers an area of almost 27,000 square meters, is over 330 meters long, around 80 meters wide and up to 25 meters high. Despite the uniform building front on the banks of the Tiber, the interior is divided into six wings with two larger inner courtyards, that of the "young" and that of the "old", as well as a number of smaller courtyards, according to the historical development. The further subdivision was based on the group of people housed (also separated by sex) and the production areas. There were shops on the ground floor along the banks of the Tiber . In the building complex is the church of San Salvatore degli invalidi e San Michele and a chapel that was built on the site of the old church of Santa Maria del Buon Viaggio . The latter was also accessible to travelers from the port.
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 5.6 " N , 12 ° 28 ′ 30.1" E