Project Description
Secret Baroque
Rome and Lazio, the Baroque nobody sees. Six wonders of the 17th century told through a docu-web series: places both well-known and hidden, including spaces normally closed to the public.
01The Baroque nobody sees
Rome and Lazio hold hundreds of minor Baroque churches, noble chapels and historic palaces that escape traditional tourist routes: a heritage of extraordinary artistic quality, virtually invisible to the wider public and rarely documented systematically.
Secret Baroque was born as a Third Mission project of Sapienza University of Rome — Department of Excellence SARAS (History, Anthropology, Religions, Art, Performing Arts). Conceived and directed by Prof. Alessia Ceccarelli and produced by director Lorenzo Zeppa with Associazione Renovatio, the docu-web series is intended for the widest possible distribution across all media, to promote awareness of the wonders of 17th-century Rome.
Each location is presented by experts, scholars and curators who explore its formation and development, while drone footage reveals unusual and particularly striking views — from frescoes to architecture, including the most restricted-access spaces.
02The docu-web series
The trailer · six-episode docu-web series · Renovatio YouTube channel
03Six wonders of the 17th century
The Village of Poli. In Lazio, the Conti family village and its palace: a fragment of the Baroque off the beaten path.
The Casino dell’Aurora. The Pallavicini jewel and its famous fresco: a place normally closed to the public.
The Biblioteca Lancisiana. The 18th-century medical library of the Monumental Complex, among monumental shelving and rare volumes.
Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza. Philosophy and medicine at the ancient Roman university, beneath Borromini’s spiral lantern.
The Galleria Spada. The famous painting collection and Borromini’s Perspective: the most famous illusion of Roman Baroque.
The Galleria della Meridiana. A place of science and art within Palazzo Spada, among antique globes and instruments of knowledge.
04The gallery
Scroll sideways
05In the Salone di Pompeo
On May 8, 2024, the Galleria Spada, in collaboration with the Council of State, presented Secret Baroque in the Salone di Pompeo of Palazzo Spada. The presentation was opened by Adriana Capriotti, director of the Galleria Spada, by representatives of the Council of State, and by Prof. Gaetano Lettieri of Sapienza University of Rome.
Speakers included the project’s creator Alessia Ceccarelli and director Lorenzo Zeppa, together with Profs. Elisabetta Corsi and Giacomo Montanari, authors of the texts on the Galleria della Meridiana and the Galleria Spada.