THE ‘MINERVA MEDICA’ AND THE SCHOLA MEDICORUM : PIRRO LIGORIO AND ROMAN TOPONYMY

The article explores how, when and why Pirro Ligorio ( c. 1513–83) chose to link a sanctuary dedicated to Minerva Medica, listed in the fourth-century ad Regionary Catalogues of the monuments of Rome as being on the Esquiline, with the late antique decagonal pavilion, near Termini, which had the second largest dome in Rome after the Pantheon. It establishes that the catalyst was the unearthing of several statues, including one of Minerva, in 1552. The fate of these finds is examined, as well as Ligorio's attempt to locate the mysterious Schola Medicorum on the same site.