The Theater of Marvels: Reorganizing the Campus Lateranensis through Sistine Curial Ceremony

Pope Sixtus V's urban transformation of the Campus Lateranensis, documented through curial ceremonies and architectural interventions, reveals a strategic effort to centralize papal authority. The study highlights the relocation of an ancient obelisk from the Circus Maximus to the Lateran Basilica, symbolizing papal dominance over Rome's ecclesiastical governance. Demolitions, including the Torre degli Annibaldi and surrounding structures, cleared space for the grand Palazzo Apostolico, designed to accommodate curial functions and reinforce papal presence. The research draws on primary sources like Paolo Alaleone de Branca's diary and Fontana's accounts, analyzing urban planning, ceremonial rituals, and architectural innovations that reshaped the Lateran landscape, mirroring earlier models such as the Palazzo Farnese.

(Ed.). (2026). 3 The Theater of Marvels: Reorganizing the Campus Lateranensis through Sistine Curial Ceremony. Rome Unveiled, 135–260. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111586434-006