The Ospizio di San Michele a Ripa Grande (Hospice of St Michael) or Ospizio Apostolico di San Michele in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

is represented today by a series of buildings in the south end of the Rione Trastevere, facing the

Tiber River The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

and extending from the bank of

Ponte Sublicio Ponte Sublicio, also known as Ponte Aventino or Ponte Marmoreo, is a bridge linking Piazza dell'Emporio to Piazza di Porta Portese in Rome (Italy), in the Rioni Ripa, Trastevere and Testaccio and in the ''Quartiere'' Portuense. The most ancie ...

for nearly 500 meters. It stands across the river from the Rione Ripa and the area known as the

Porto di Ripetta The Porto di Ripetta was a port in the city of Rome. It was situated on the banks of the River Tiber and was designed and built in 1704 by the Italian Baroque architect Alessandro Specchi. Located in front of the church of San Girolamo degli Sch ...

, once in the Aventine neighborhood of Rome. The ''Porto di Ripa Grande'' was the river port that served those coming up from the Mediterranean port of Ostia. This area was once a main port of Rome. While large seafaring ships could not forge easily up the Tiber river to Rome; smaller boats frequently brought supplies from the coast to the city and offloaded at the Porta.

History

The buildings of the ''Ospizio di San Michele'' were built during the 17th and 18th centuries and served a number of purposes including an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

, a hospice for abandoned elderly, and jails for minors and women. In 1679, a nephew of the new Pope Innocent XI (reigned 1676 -1689), Monsignor Carlo Tommaso Odescalchi commissioned architect

Mattia de Rossi Mattia de Rossi (14 January 1637 – 2 August 1695) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome and surrounding towns. Biography Born in Rome to a family of architects and artisans, he rose to prominence under the mentors ...

to design, and within five years had built an hospice to house and train orphan children to manufacture of woven carpets and

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

. To this building were added in 1693, the ''Ospizio dei Poveri Inabilito'' (disabled poor), and in 1709, Pope Clement XI commissioned the architect

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634 or 1638–1714) was an Italian architect originating from today's Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture. Biography There seems to be no proof tha ...

to extend the complex even further and transferred the elderly residents here from the ''Ospedale dei Mendicanti'', located where the

Via Giulia Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiw ...

reached the

Ponte Sisto Ponte Sisto is a bridge in Rome's historic centre, spanning the river Tiber. It connects Via dei Pettinari in the Rione of Regola to Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere. History The construction of the current bridge occurred between 1473 and 1479, an ...

. Later additions to the building were the prison for minors and an art school. In 1735, Pope Clement XII commissioned architect

Ferdinando Fuga Ferdinando Fuga (11 November 1699 – 7 February 1782) was an Italian architect who was born in Florence, and is known for his work in Rome and Naples. Much of his early work was in Rome, notably, the Palazzo della Consulta (1732–7) at the Qui ...

to design a woman’s prison and a barracks for customs officers. The Chiesa Grande, also known as the ''San Salvatore degli Invalidi'', follows a design (1706) of Carlo Fontana, but construction was completed only in 1834 by Luigi Poletti. It has been reconsecrated. The church has an

aedicula In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, ...

with a statue of the Saviour by Adamo Tadolini. The smaller ancient church of ''Santa Maria del Buon Viaggio'', on the south east end of the complex, was dedicated to sailors, who were embarking from here to travel down the Tiber. Initially the church incorporated part of the walls of the city, then was incorporated by the complex. It remains closed.

Decline and remodeling

The complex was most active as a charitable institution in the early 19th century. The factory manufacturing tapestries, the Arazzeria Albani, existed for centuries until 1910. After the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, the property was confiscated and given to the city of Rome. The buildings fell in great decay. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, it was used for barracks by both German and Allied armies. In 1969, the complex was bought by the state, and offices of the Ministero dei Beni Culturali were housed there. The complex now houses the Ministry of Cultural Assets and the Environment, which uses the large rooms once belonging to the Tapestry factory for restoration of artworks.Roman hostels guide to Rome
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michele a Ripa, San Buildings and structures in Rome Baroque architecture in Rome Orphanages in Italy Churches of Rome (rione Trastevere) Rome R. XIII Trastevere