Cyprian Kamil Norwid was a man of letters, an artist of exceptional talent, a traveller, and emigrant. Rome was one of the many places where he stayed, but the artist is said to have never left the city, in fact. Let us embark on a tour through Norwid’s Rome led by Fr. Waldemar Turek, a classical philologist and patrologist, a long-time resident of the Eternal City.

Norwid’s Rome, photo credit: Fr. Waldemar Turek

Norwid (1821-1883), poet, writer, philosopher, graphic artist, and painter, is considered the „last Romantic” and the „fourth national bard”. His works convey universal messages yet are closely tied to Polish culture. He assumed emigrant status in 1847 in Brussels. He also lived in Germany, Italy, the United States, and France.

Norwid probably visited Rome for the first time in the spring of 1844, and for the second time in January 1845. In addition, he stayed longer in the city he loved in the years 1847-1849. It is estimated that altogether he spent about two and a half years in the Eternal City. He lived between Piazza Barberini, Via Sistina and Piazza di Spagna, in the artists’ and intellectuals’ quarter.

I decided to go to the area around Piazza di Spagna with Agata Rola-Bruni, a resident of Warsaw’s Praga district, who for many years has been describing Rome’s Polonica and trying, to the best of her ability, to save from oblivion what remains of our better or lesser-known compatriots in the city on the Tiber.

THE CHURCH OF ST. CLAUDIUS

We meet Agata in front of the Church of St. Claudius, in the heart of Rome, near the Square of St. Sylvester and the convent described by the writer Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. In 1836, the church was handed over for temporary use to the newly established Congregation of the Resurrectionist Fathers, who wanted to provide pastoral care for their Polish compatriots. When, during the Partitions of Poland, the tsarist authorities placed the church of St. Stanislaus on Botteghe Oscure under their supervision, many Poles came here to pray. One of them was Adam Mickiewicz himself, who lived in the nearby Via del Pozzetto.

Also praying here was Mother Józefa Karska, co-founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is buried in this shrine under the altar of Our Lady of Good Counsel. An urn with her ashes was transported to Poland, to Szymanów, on 26 May 2000.

Not only did Cyprian Norwid use to come to this church, but also received the sacrament of confirmation here on 27 March 1845, assuming the name Kamil. However, we search in vain in this church for any memorabilia or plaques related to the presence and activities of Poles residing in Rome at that time. We learn that between 1956 and 1958, the entire church was renovated and most of the commemorative plaques were removed. They were replaced by a single plaque installed around 1960; bearing a number of names of people buried there, the plaque was placed in the sacristy. There are quite a few Polish names on the plaque, including that of Maria Józefa Karska.

ANTICO CAFFÈ GRECO

We leave the Church of St. Claudius and head towards the famous Antico Caffè Greco, located in Via Condotti, one of the most expensive streets in Rome. It is frequented by tourists from all over the world interested in fashion; after all, it is here that you can visit the shops of brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Bulgari, Trussardi, and Burberry. However, in the nineteenth century, one of the street’s most famous institutions was the aforementioned café, patronised by representatives of various arts, especially literature and sculpture, not only to drink coffee or wine, but also to meet, spend time together, and discuss the latest developments in culture. The café was founded in mid-18th century by Greeks (hence its name); from the very beginning, the owners were able to attract distinguished visitors from all over the world. In the 19th century, quite a number of Poles showed up here not only to have drinks and refreshments, but to read Polish newspapers available there.

That particular day of our tour we are out of luck as the café is closed. One person says that it is because of the summer holidays and someone else that there were bureaucratic problems. I recall that I was there not so long ago and saw a plaque with portraits commemorating the Polish regulars of the café; we even managed to find a photo of it. It is worth mentioning the names in the order in which they were placed on the plaque. The poets include: Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki, Zygmunt Krasiński, and Cyprian Kamil Norwid; the novelists are: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Władysław Reymont, Stefan Żeromski, Jan Parandowski; the painters commemorated are: Jan Matejko, Aleksander Gierymski, Henryk Siemiradzki, Aleksander Stankiewicz, Włodzimierz Przerwa Tetmajer; Edward Okuń was defined as a draughtsman-painter, while the sculptors included: Pius Weloński, Wiktor Brodzki, Teodor Rygier, and Antoni Madeyski.

TRINITÀ DEI MONTI MONASTERY

We move from the Via Condotti to the Trinità dei Monti Monastery. Once hosting French religious sisters from the Sacré Coeur Congregation, today it is home to the members of the Fraternité Monastique de Jerusalemme, one of the contemporary religious communities established in France. A woman at the reception desks lets us enter the yard and the chapel located on the first floor, featuring a magnificent fresco of the Madonna and the Lily, called Mater Admirabilis. It was painted in 1844 by Pauline Perdrau, a French painter who came to Rome to hone her skills and instead recognised her life call to religious life. The fresco depicts Our Lady as a spinner, with a lily in a vase, and an open book at her feet.

Captivated by the work, Cyprian Kamil repeatedly visited the monastery to pray and contemplate its beauty. Moreover, he identified Mater Admirabilis with the Queen of Poland and saw Her as the synthesis of Christian life and vocation, consisting in the harmonious link between work (in this case, of the spinner) and prayer (the open book). In his „Legend”, written in Paris in 1852, he wrote: „Here sits the Queen on a throne in the colours of the nation – on the left side the spinning wheel – Martha. On her right those lilies that do not spin yet are more beautiful than Solomon in his glory – Mary. And the Queen of the Polish Crown is spinning the thread of Martha’s active life towards Mary… And she has already reached the middle of it… She is in a brown study… And the lilies have leaned with their buds towards the left side, towards the yarn… They are in a reverie, like the Queen of the Polish Crown herself, and they are in the fullness of development. The book is turned, as if a the time has come to read…”.

In 2001, to mark the 180th anniversary of the poet’s birth, a plaque was unveiled in the monastery with the Polish text of Norwid’s „Legend” and an inscription in Polish and Italian: „On the threshold of the third millennium and on the 180th anniversary of the birth of the poet (1821-1883), who celebrated Mater Admirabilis with his poetry, Compatriots”. It can still be found on the monastery wall, close to the entrance door to the chapel.

Leaving the monastery, we glance at the General House of the Resurrectionist Fathers, which is now located in Via Sebastianello, at a different location than in Norwid’s time. Its archives contain the originals of several, perhaps a dozen, letters from the poet to representatives of this congregation; I remember that a few years ago I had the chance to look at them and read selected passages. At the time, my attention was immediately drawn to a particularly beautiful, linear, and ornate handwriting.

123 VIA SISTINA

We move from the Trinità dei Monti to the nearby 123 Via Sistina to stand in front of the house where Norwid lived the longest during his time in Rome. The plaque in Italian, slightly damaged, commemorates this fact: “Cyprian Norwid, Polish poet, artist, and thinker, lived in this house in the years 1847 and 1848, reflecting on his homeland, Rome, and the arts. [This plaque is placed here] On the 150th anniversary of his birth – the Polish Academy Sciences and the Authorities of Rome”.
ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH

When writing about Norwid’s traces in Rome, one must mention St. Andrew’s Church on the Quirinal and the adjacent Jesuit convent. There, on the first floor, we see the cell where St. Stanislaus Kostka (†15 August 1568) ended his short earthly life. Our attention is drawn in particular to the sculpture depicting the death of the young Jesuit by the French sculptor Pierre le Gros († 1719). The dying Stanislaus holds a cross, lily and rosary in his right hand and a medallion with the Virgin Mary in his left. Cyprian Kamil was impressed by the work and by the painting by Tommaso Minardi, showing the apparition of the Virgin Mary and Saints Agnes, Cecilia and Barbara to St. Stanislaus Kostka, which is reflected in a poem he wrote, placed on a plaque in the saint’s rooms. Here is an excerpt from it: „In the chamber where St. Stanislaus the saint went to sleep in God, in the place of his bed stands a tomb of marble; the spectator unwittingly pauses at the threshold thinking that the saint has turned his face to the wall in his sleep while the morning bells echo in the air, and the saint wants to get up, and for the first time one is deceived”.

Norwid enjoyed his stay in Rome and roamed the city, convinced of its special mission for Christianity and the entire world. He recognised the role of the papacy and was therefore very happy to receive an audience with Blessed Pius IX. The Eternal City was not only unique for him in terms of monuments, architecture, and painting, but was also a spiritual space from which he drew inspiration for the rest of his life for his many and varied activities, often interweaving the threads of antiquity and Christianity with the fate of his beloved homeland. In this context, I must agree with an observation made by Bronislaw Biliński in his study Norwid in Rome: „Norwid never left Rome; only his body left it, physically, but he remained there forever in his spirit”.

Fr. Waldemar Turek / Family News Service