Capital of the Papal States and seat of the Vatican.
- Mozart Relevance
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The Mozarts were in Rome from 11 April-8 May 1770 and 26 June-10 July 1770. While there, Mozart performed at the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricam (11 April and 2 May), visited St Peter's, the Sistine Chapel and the Villa Medici, performed at the palaces of Prince Chigi (20 April) and Princess Doria (3 May), and was made a Knight of the Golden Spur by Pope Clement XIV (5 July).
On 27 June 1770, Leopold Mozart wrote to his wife:
- Tomorrow and the day after, we`ll be seeing the Fireworks, the girandola etc. and all manner of similar sights, followed by the handing over of the Neapolitan tribute.
Joseph Write, The Annual Girandola at the Castel Sant’Angelo Rome, 1776 (Birmingham Museums Trust)
On 28-29 June, the church in Rome celebrated the vigil of the Feast of SS Peter and Paul, including the illumination of St Peter’s and the ‘Girandola’, a display of fireworks. 28 June also marked the so-called Festa della Chinea, celebrated for the first time on 28 June 1265 when Pope Clement IV invested Carlo I d’Angiò with the title King of Sicily, and the Gran Contestabile of the Kingdom of Naples offered the Pope, as a sign of fealty, a white mare, on the saddle of which was a pot of silver, an annual tribute from the Kingdom of Naples.
- Date (Mozart)
- 1770
- Location (Mozart)
- Rome
- Bibliographic Reference
- Basso 2006, 437-447
Pages referencing Rome:
Souvenirs purchased or acquired by the Mozarts that are lost