Via della Conciliazione

Via della Conciliazione is a street in Rome, which connects Piazza Pia to Piazza Papa Pio XII, in front of Piazza San Pietro.

SHORT HISTORY

Following the official reconciliation between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See on February 11, 1929, the fascist government decided to built a wide road to link the capital of Italy to the Vatican State.

Via della Conciliazione was designed by the architects Marcello Piacentini and Attilio Spaccarelli, and built starting in 1936 with the demolition of the so-called Spina di Borgo – the backbone of the historical Borgo district.

The street was completed on the occasion of the 1950 Jubilee, with the installation of two rows of obelisk-shaped lamp holders.

The intervention caused the loss of a large part of the urban fabric of the Borgo district, with the demolition of important buildings like Palazzo dei Convertendi, Palazzo Jacopo da Brescia, Palazzo del Governatore, Palazzo Alicorni, Palazzo Rusticucci-Accoramboni and the Church of San Giacomo in Scossacavalli.

The palaces of the Convertendi, Jacopo da Brescia, Alicorni and Rusticucci were rebuilt, using in the reconstruction elements of the demolished buildings.

The ancient Church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus underwent radical transformations and was incorporated into new buildings, while the Oratory of Santa Maria Annunziata in Borgo was rebuilt on Lungotevere Vaticano.

Palazzo Torlonia and the Church of Santa Maria in Transpontina, as well as a 19th-century block, were the only historical buildings in the area which remained untouched during the works for the construction of Via della Conciliazione.

The Maderno Fountain, located in Piazza Scossacavalli, was placed in front of the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, and the Fountain of the Dolphins (Fontana dei Delfini) was moved to the Vatican Gardens.

HOW TO GET THERE

The closest Metro station is Ottaviano, located about 1 kilometer away, on the Metro Line A. The closest bus stop is Traspontina/Conciliazione, located near the intersection with Via della Traspontina, on the bus Lines 23, 40 and 982.