ABSTRACT
In 1666, the French Academy in Rome was founded as an extension of the Royal Academy in Paris, with the goal of providing French students with the same, if not better, education than the students of Accademia di San Luca received. Since the early fifteenth century, Spain had enjoyed long tradition of sending artists and architects to Italy, though not in any structured way, and certainly not under system of royal pensions. The combination of Roman grandeur with the influx of noted artists, scholars, and travellers from Italy and elsewhere in Europe created a fertile environment for young Spaniards to be immersed in the study of ancient and modern works of art. The many Spanish architects and artists that visited the city in first half of the eighteenth century were not simply concerned with absorbing Roman precedent. On the contrary, they left behind a discernible trace of architectural and artistic works that confirmed the city's reputation as the metropoli dell'universe.
