La ‘calata dei lombardi’. Roma 1514

Journeys and stays of Milanese artists and architects in Rome, especially between 1513 and 1514, can be considered both an historiographical topos – because believed to be one of the reasons of introducing new architectural ideas and forms – and phenomena still promising for the research. Indeed, there is a cliché in the studies about Lombard art of the beginning of 16th century that gives much importance to the 1514, a year correspondent to the death of Donato Bramante, like all that happens after in Milan should be a consequence of the visits of Lombard artists in Rome and so depending on Roman architectural novelties. This research does not want to resize these believings, but to provide new documentary evidences useful to discuss again the presence, the role and the importance of Lombard architectores in Rome during the first decades of the 16th century. This is not a new topic, since it has been investigated by scholars, starting from the fundamental studies by Antonino Bertolotti. The topic has been detached under the point of view of archival research, but less discussed in relation to the consequences of the phenomenon, except for the assumption that Lombard masters where undoubtfully crucial for their technical and practical capabilities in the building process. Moreover, recently historians of economics introduced the hypothesis that Lombard masters had a significant role also inside the housing investments, even impacting in some areas of the city.