ABSTRACT
The opening credits of British filmmaker Peter Greenaway’s 1987 film The Belly of an Architect linger meaningfully over the twin churches in Piazza del Popolo, the city of Rome’s historic vestibule (Figure 32.1). Ignoring other buildings on the piazza, the camera circles round to a large raised belvedere looking down to the space that Giuseppe Valadier completed in 1822. We see briefly the Chigi crest on the Porta Del Popolo, a gate in the Aurelian Wall that rings and defines the historic city. In 1475, Pope Sixtus IV built this gate on the site of the ancient Roman gate, Porta Flaminia, the culmination of the arterial Via Flaminia, bringing visitors from the north. The unfolding scene is the first visual impression of the great city. We see the Egyptian obelisk of Ramses II from Heliopolis that has centred the piazza since 1589, a pointer to the unseen, but more significant, pilgrimage church of Santa Maria del Popolo behind us by the gate; then, framed symmetrically, Santa Maria di Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, and the camera stops. This still segment lasts about a minute, a long time in a film. A lengthy sequence lets us note numerous statues and human figures that populate the architecture. Greenaway establishes a visual emphasis on the dome as an analogy for the ‘Belly’ of the title, while introducing the leitmotif of representation. The formal framing opens the film as though the curtains have been parted. As viewers, or tourists, we have arrived. We have begun our exploration of the great landmarks of Rome, their imagined significance for visitors, and their living presence for those who inhabit the city. The film’s narrative captures the human impact in how politics and ethics relate. Piazza del Popolo (<italic>The Belly of an Architect</italic>, Peter Greenaway, 1987). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315171104/5d55c05a-134b-4c8a-9211-0e85ea50e7f1/content/fig32_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
