St. ELIGIUS OF THE BLACKSMITHS

S. ELIGIO DEI FERRARI

Via di S. Giovanni Decollato 9

It was built over the ancient church of S. Martino and granted in 1453 by Pope Nicholas V (1447/55) to the Università dei Ferrari (University of the Blacksmiths)

It is also known as S. ALO or also as S. ANIGRO

It was rebuilt in 1562

Modified over the XVI, XVII and XX centuries

CEILING

1604 in wood and gilded stucco

1^st ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

“Wooden statue of St. Anthony” of the seventeenth century and frescoes of the sixteenth century

2^nd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

“Holy Family and St. John” end of the sixteenth century by an anonymous Flemish artist

3^rd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

Fragments of a mannerist fresco discovered in 1989 with “Way to Calvary”

MAIN ALTAR

“Madonna Enthroned, St. James and Bishops Martin and Eligius” late sixteenth century by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)

“For the accuracy of the drawing, for the calm dignity of conception and composition, he stands out among the successors of Michelangelo. A good example is this Sacred Conversation made out of beautiful colors (...), which is divided into a strictly symmetrical upper half conductor and a freer lower half” (Hermann Voss)

In a reliquary is preserved a fragment of an arm of S. Eligius

3^rd ALTAR ON THE LEFT

1827 by Luigi Valadier (1726/85)

On the altar “Crucifixion” copy of the painting by Scipione Pulzone (about 1550/98) in the Chiesa Nuova

Some scholars believe that this is the original

2^nd ALTAR ON THE LEFT

“The Martyrdom and Glory of St. Ursula” 1764 by Ambrogio Mattei (1720/68)

1^st ALTAR ON THE LEFT

“S. Ampelio cured by angels” by an anonymous eighteenth-century artist

ORATORIO

Banner in silk with, on one side “Mary appears to St. Eligius” and, on the other side, “S. Ampelio cured by angels” 1750 by Pompeo Batoni (1708/87)

MUSEUM OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF S. ELIGIO DEI FERRARI

Small museum with vestments, relics and sacred furnishings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

St. ELIGIUS OF THE JEWELLERS

S. ELIGIO DEGLI OREFICI

Via di S. Eligio 8a

1514/1551 designed by Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael) (1483/1520) from a project of the years 1514/15

The attribution is based on a drawing by Giovanni Sallustio Peruzzi (?/1573) son of Baldassarre Peruzzi. The drawing is in the Uffizi Museum in Florence and there is a note in which the church is explicitly attributed to Raphael

It was built on the former church of S. Eusterio, demolished in 1514

St. Eligius (about 588/660) was a French saint, patron of goldsmiths

According to tradition, the Frankish king Clotaire II would have commissioned a golden throne and Eligius would have made two with the amount of gold that he had been given just to make one

The king was very impressed by his ability and his honesty and appointed him goldsmith of the court and master of the mint

In addition to being the patron saint of goldsmiths, he is also the patron saint of farriers and veterinarians because he would miraculously hung a leg off a horse

RESTORATIONS

In 1590 by Francesco Capriani aka Francesco da Volterra (1535/94) and in the years 1602/04 by Flaminio Ponzio (1560/1613) who consolidated the church and in the years 1710/11, 1857/65, 1911 under the direction of Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960), 1952/55 and 1977/78

“Despite the various restorations over time, the interior maintains a fine of solemnity, as determined by light and geometric harmony among the various parts of the building that is inspired, regardless of the exact identification of the specific contributions to the project - Raphael and Peruzzi -, to the culture of Bramante. Significant in this respect the choice of the Greek cross plan that certainly can be seen as a reflection on a reduced scale of the formal, functional and symbolic implications of the designs of Bramante for St. Peter” (Sofia Barchiesi)

FLOOR

1857 using marble slabs from the destroyed Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls

FAÇADE

Collapsed in 1601

It was rebuilt in 1602/04 by Flaminio Ponzio

Completed in 1620, possibly by Giovanni Bonazzini

DOME

Maybe by Baldassarre Peruzzi (1481/1536) who completed Raphael's project

Restored and redesigned in 1590 by Francesco Capriani aka Francesco da Volterra (1535/94)

In the years 1710/11 the lead lining of the exterior of the dome began, only to be completed in 1739

RIGHT ALTAR

“Adoration of the Magi” 1639 by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (1610/62) from Viterbo, a pupil of Pietro da Cortona, who also painted the “Sibille” on the sides at the top

Originally there was a fresco by Federico Zuccari with the same subject destroyed by the collapse of 1601

APSE

Frescoes “Eternal God supporting the crucifix between angels” at the top and “Madonna and Child with Sts. Eligius, Stephen, Mary Magdalene and Lawrence on the right and John the Baptist and Catherine of Alexandria on the left” at the bottom 1581/84 maybe by Matteo da Lecce (about 1546/1616) and Taddeo Zuccari (1529/66)

“Matteo da Lecce in his frescoes was able to bring to such intensity the three-dimensional illusion that his figures - in the words of Baglione - seemed to come off the walls. In this, which is his Roman masterpiece, the composition betrays the influence of the school of Raphael, and in the design of the bodies, of the school of Michelangelo, especially through Sebastiano del Piombo and Salviati” (Hermann Voss)

On the sides “Two prophets” maybe by Taddeo Zuccari

Above the altar fragment of the head of St. Eligius kept in a silver reliquary of 1628

ARCH ABOVE THE ALTAR

Fresco “St. Eligius as he is assisting the poor” by an unknown seventeenth-century artist

On the sides “Annunciation” maybe by Matteo da Lecce

LEFT ALTAR

“Adoration of the Shepherds” in 1574 by Giovanni De Vecchi (about 1537/1615)

On the sides at the top “Sibille” by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli

LEFT AND RIGHT OF THE CHURCH

Houses belonging to the Brotherhood of the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths

The one on the right was designed in 1625 by Paolo Marucelli (1594/1649)

St. HELENA OUTSIDE THE MAJOR GATE

S. ELENA FUORI PORTA MAGGIORE

Via Casilina 205

1913/16 Guglielmo Palombi for Pius X Sarto (1903/14) to celebrate the sixteenth anniversary of the EDICT OF MILAN in the year 313 AD with which Constantine (306/337) would have legalized Christianity

Recent studies have demonstrated with convincing evidence that in fact Christianity had been legalized two years before, in the year 311 by Galerius (305/311)

The so-called “edict” of the year 313 would actually be simply a letter written by Constantine to his co-emperor Licinius (306/324) to confirm the Edict of Galerius

The exterior of the church appears in the 1945 film directed by Roberto Rossellini Roma città aperta (Rome Open City). In the fiction it is the parish of Don Pietro played by Aldo Fabrizi

The interior of the church in the movie is that of S. Maria dell'Orto in Trastevere instead

St. EGIDIO

S. EGIDIO

Piazza S. Egidio 3a

1630 for Filippo Colonna who also wanted to dedicate it to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

It was built in the area of the older church S. Lorenzo in Janiculo or De Curtibus

TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE

“Funeral Monument of Veronica Rondinini Origo” by Carlo Fontana (1634/1714)

MAIN ALTAR

“Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Simon Stock” about 1630 by Andrea Camassei (1602/49)

In the chancel “Virgin and Sts. Teresa and Joseph” by Andrea Pozzo (1642/1709)

CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“St. Egidio” by Cristoforo Roncalli aka Pomarancio (1552/1626)

In the monastery, since 1968, there are the headquarters of the Comunità di S. Egidio (Community of St. Egidio) a “public association of lay people of the Catholic Church” formed by about 50,000 members living in more than 70 countries around the world, dedicated to communicating the Gospel and its implementation in practice, helping the poor, the sick and those in need of help

In the MONASTERY there is also the

Museo di Roma in Trastevere

Museum of Rome in the Trastevere District

Section of the Museo di Roma (Museum of Rome) opened in 1977 in the wing renovated by Attilio Spaccarelli (1890/1975)

It show aspects of everyday Roman life from the late 1700s to the end of 1800s

Six “Roman Scenes” depicting life-size aspects of everyday Roman life in the nineteenth century:

A pharmacy, the depot of a wine wagon, the courtyard of an inn where one could dance the saltarello (a Roman folk dance), the interior of an inn, a public square with a public scribe and two pipers in front of a shrine

“Nativity scene” set in Rome in the nineteenth century

Materials belonging to the Roman poet Trilussa (1871/1950) donated after his death to the City of Rome, shown in part in the so-called TRILUSSA ROOM including a “Vase of the deers” in bronze 1903/06 by Duilio Cambellotti (1876/1960)

Terracotta sculpture by Achille Pinelli (1809/41)

PAINTINGS

Series of paintings of “Vanished Rome” of the end of the nineteenth century by Roesler Franz (1845/1907)

“Night View of Rome” by Amedeo Simonetti (1874/1922)

“Fantastic view of the Palatine Hill” by Carl Friederch Seiffert (1809/91)

Watercolor “The fishmonger in Portico d'Ottavia” about 1824 by the Englishman Samuel Prout (1783/1852)

“Piazza Colonna at night” by Pasquale Ruggero (1851/1915)

“Lunch in the country” in 1858 by Vincenzo Morani (1809/70)

Small views by Diego Angeli (1869/1937)

“The seller of hot chestnuts in Via Sistina” 1867 by Arnoldo Corrodi (1846/74)

St. DOROTHY OF CAESAREA

S. DOROTEA

Via di S. Dorotea 22

Mentioned in the sources from 1123 as S. Silvestro ad Portam Septimianam or as S. Silvestro della Malva

The official name of the church is still Ss. DOROTEA E SILVESTRO IN TRASTEVERE (Sts. Dorothy and Sylvester in Trastevere)

S. Dorothy was a martyr born in Cappadocia and killed at the time of Diocletian (284/305)

The church was restored in 1475

Rebuilt in the years 1751/56 by G.B. Nolli (1701/56), master of G.B. Piranesi and probably the greatest cartographer of the eighteenth century, author of the famous map of Rome in 1748

He died soon after completing the church which was given the last touches by Giovanni Carlo Vipera

“Not always successful, and yet to be fully recognized, the architectural activity of Nolli shows a search in line with the most advanced Roman trends of his time, including Fuga and Vanvitelli, architects who exercised a profound influence on his language. (...) More challenging the structures of Casa Giorgi on Piazza del Pantheon and St. Dorothy, that processes a longitudinal plant but with a very pronounced transect to suggest a substantial centrality, and a domed structure made up of vaults between large ribs set on the four pillars of the cross vault” (Mario Bevilacqua - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

VAULT

Frescoes “Stories of St. Dorothy and Franciscan saints” 1931 by the Neapolitan Gaetano Bocchetti (1888/1990)

In the chapels there are paintings all dating back to the second half of the eighteenth cantury

1^st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

“Apparition of St. Cajetan to St. Joseph Calasanz” about 1755 by Gioacchino Martorana (1735/79) from Palermo

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

“St. Anthony of Padua” by Lorenzo Gramiccia (1702/95)

3rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

“Immaculate Conception” by the Viennese George Caspar von Prenner (1720/66)

MAIN ALTAR

“Sts. Sylvester and Dorothy venerate the Virgin Mary” by the seventeenth-century painter Michele Bucci

Urn with body of S. Dorothy and tomb of G.B. Nolli with a plaque on the wall to the right

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“Crucifixion with Sts. Rosalie, Margaret of Cortona, Bonaventure and Nicholas” by Michele Meucci

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“Musical Ecstasy of St. Francis” by Liborio Mormorelli (?/1794)

1^st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“St. Joseph of Cupertino” by the Florentine Vincenzo Meucci (1694/1766)

In two rooms adjoining the church the Spanish St. Joseph Calasanz founded in 1597 the first free school in Europe

HOLY CROSS AND St. BONAVENTURE OF THE PEOPLE FROM LUCCA

S. CROCE E S. BONAVENTURA DEI LUCCHESI
Via dei Lucchesi 3
Built in the years 1575/80 for Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85)
The church incorporated two medieval churches, the oldest of which reused an ancient building of the second/fourth century AD
In the twelfth century the second church was built over the first one with the name of S. Nicolao de Trivio
From the fifteenth century the church took the name of S. Nicolao de Porcis or S. Nicola de Portiis from the name of the family De Portiis who lived in the area or perhaps even for the ancient Forum Suarium, the pork market that until the fourth century AD included also this area
It was granted by the Colonna family in 1536 to the Capuchins who moved in 1631 to their new church, S. Maria della Concezione
The church was in the same year assigned to the nation of Lucca and took its present name

FAÇADE and INTERIOR 1682/95 maybe by Mattia De Rossi (1637/95)

1859/63 interior restoration by Virginio Vespignani (1808/82)

CEILING

“The emperor Heraclius returns the Cross in Jerusalem”, “Angels with the shroud of Veronica”, “Angels and the Holy Face” and “Putti with symbols of the Passion” 1673/77 by the Lucchese Giovanni Coli (1636/81) and Filippo Gherardi (1643/1704)

COUNTER FAÇADE

In the upper part statues “S. Paolino” and “S. Frediano” by an unknown pupil of Camillo Rusconi

To the right of the entrance “Monument to Monsignor Fabio Guinigi” d. 1691

To the left of the entrance “Monument to Bishop Fatinello Fatinelli” d. 1719

He was a lawyer and paid for the decorations of the Chapel of S. Zita, the most beautiful in the church

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. ZITA

Altarpiece “St. Zita converts the water into wine for the poor” a good work by Lazzaro Baldi (about 1624/1703) from Pistoia, a pupil of Pietro da Cortona
Above the altar “Two putti” maybe by Lorenzo Ottoni (1648/1736)

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY TRINITY

1701 Simone Costanzi (active in Rome from 1695/d. 1709)
Above the altar “Immaculate” by Biagio Puccini (1673/1721) from Lucca
On the walls “S. Frediano saves Lucca from flooding by diverting the course of the River Serchio with a rake” the only Roman work by the Lucchese Francesco Del Tintore (1645/1718) and “St. Lawrence Giustiniani frees a possessed woman” by Domenico Maria Muratori (1661/1742)

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE ARCHANGEL RAPHAEL

Above the altar “Archangel Raphael” by the Lucchese Agostino Tofanelli (1770/1834) for his son Raffaele who had died prematurely

MAIN ALTAR

Decoration 1745 by Giovanni Antonio Perfetti (?/1754) renewed during the nineteenth century restoration by Virginio Vespignani (1808/82)
On the altar “Holy Face” by Francesco Buonamici, a copy of the crucifix carved, according to tradition, by Nicodemus and with the face executed by angels, kept in the Cathedral of Lucca
Christ is crucified with four nails and is dressed with the so-called colobium, a tunic with sleeves characteristic of Eastern iconography, the prototype of which in Italy is located in S. Maria Antiqua
Frescoes on the walls “Stories of the Holy Face”: on the right “Seleucio, last guardian of the statue in the Holy Land, reveals where the image is located” and on the left “The ship with the Holy Face arrives in Luni” about 1862 by Francesco Grandi (1831/91), a pupil of Tommaso Minardi

In the main altar relics of St. Aurelia, martyred, according to tradition, under Aurelian (270/275)

DOME

“Angels and symbols of the Passion” by the nineteenth-century painter Ercole Ruspi

PENDENTIVES

“Prophets” also by Ercole Ruspi

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE ASSUMPTION

Above the altar “Assumption between Sts. Jerome and Francis” maybe by Antonio Alberti aka Barbalonga (1600/49) the best pupil of Domenichino
Frescoes on the ceiling and walls badly damaged with “Saints” maybe by Marco Tullio Montagna (1594/1649) pupil from Velletri of Federico Zuccari

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Above the altar “Coronation of the Virgin” by an unknown seventeenth-century artist
In the lower part on the right “Funerary Monument of Alessandro Gaetano Buttaioni” with bas-relief by Adamo Tadolini (1788/1868)
“Monument of the painter Stefano Tofanelli (1752/1812)” with a portrait painted by his brother Agostino Tofanelli (1770/1834)

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS

Decorated with marble in 1723
“Wooden Crucifix” of the eighteenth-century
On the sides “Crowning with Thorns” and “Ecce homo” maybe by Giovanni Coli e Filippo Gherardi

UPPER CHURCH OF S. NICOLA DE PORTIIS

It dates back to the twelfth/thirteenth century and it is now used by the nuns as an oratory

LOWER CHURCH OF S.NICOLA DE PORTIIS

Two aisles divided by three brick pillars
Important complex of frescoes from the late fourteenth century inserted between ornamental motifs:

In the first arch

“St. Christopher with Christ Child on his shoulders” and “Crucifix between the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist”

In the keystone

“Mystic Lamb”

Intrados of the first arch

“Archangel Gabriel slaying the dragon” and “Virgin Mary and Child”

Back wall

“Figure of prayer”

Above the arch between the two aisles

“Annunciation”

In the right aisle

“Townscape” an almost unique work in the late medieval Roman painting

Intrados of the last arch

Fresco of the fifteenth century with “St. Nicholas” with below “Tombstone” of a certain Elizabeth, who was the nurse of King Matthias I Corvinus of Hungary (about 1440/90). The plaque was made by his son, who maybe was the sculptor Andrea Bregno (1418/1503)

St. CHRYSOGONUS

S. CRISOGONO
Piazza Sidney Sonnino 44

Fifth century as a basilica with the name of Titulus Chrysogoni on the remains of a building dating back to the early imperial age

It was enlarged in the eighth century by Gregory III (731/741) who also had the roof remade and promoted a new decoration
Rebuilt in the years 1123/29 for Cardinal Giovanni da Crema
Fully restored in the years 1620/26 by G.B. Soria (1581/1651) for Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese nephew of Paul V (1605/21)
Last renovation in the years 1863/66
It is the national church of the Corsican Nation

BELL TOWER 1124

It is the only church in the world dedicated to St. Chrysogonus, martyred in Aquileia in the year 303 AD

Beautiful coffered ceiling with paintings mirroring the wonderful cosmatesque FLOOR, the best preserved in Rome and one of the most beautiful

CENTER OF THE CEILING

Copy of the painting “Triumph of St. Chrysogonus” by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri aka Guercino (1591/1666)
The original was stolen in 1808 and it is now in the Stafford House in London

TWENTY-TWO COLUMNS IN GRANITE among the largest, precious and rare in Rome. They used to be decorating some ancient Roman building

TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE

“Monument of Cardinal Giovanni Jacopo Millo” by Carlo Marchionni (1702/86) with statues by Pietro Bracci (1700/73)

RIGHT NAVE

“Three Archangels” by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni (1592/1636)
“St. Frances of Rome” and “Crucifixion” by Paolo Guidotti aka the Cavalier Borghese (1560/1629)

HEAD OF THE RIGHT NAVE - CHAPEL OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT

1641 maybe by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680)
On the altar “Guardian Angel” by Ludovico Gimignani (1643/97) covered by an eighteenth-century painting
In the vault “Trinity and angels” Giacinto Gimignani (1606/81), father of Ludovico
On the sides “Funerary Monuments of Monsignor Gaudenzio Poli and Cardinal Fausto Poli” about 1680 with busts by Giuseppe Mazzuoli (1644/1725)

PRESBYTERY

Ceiling “Blessed Virgin Mary” by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640)

APSE

In the lower part mosaic “Madonna and Child with Sts. James and Chrysogonus” about 1290 maybe by Pietro de' Cerroni aka Pietro Cavallini (about 1240/about 1325)

CANOPY of the high altar by G.B. Soria (1581/1651) who used “Four pillars of alabaster” formerly used in the ancient basilica of the fifth century

Under the altar relics of one hand and skullcap of St. Chrysogonus

LEFT TRANSEPT

Pipe organ 1938 by Giuseppe Migliorini

CHAPEL IN THE LEFT NAVE

Embalmed body visible in a glass case of the Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769/1837)
Born in Siena she lived in Rome from the age of six and worked here as a waitress
She was equipped with incredible prophetic powers that made her announce thousands of historical events before they happened
She claimed to see a mysterious mystical solar orb that was always present above and in front of her

From the sacristy it is possible to go down to the

PALEO CHRISTIAN AND HIGH MIDDLE AGES BASILICA

On the right side

Frescoes of the eleventh century with stories of Sts. Benedict and Sylvester: “Pope Sylvester capturing the dragon”, “St. Pantaleon healing the blind man”, “St. Benedict healing the leper” and “Saving of S. Placido”

On the left side

Frescoes in panels and medallions shaped as clypei of the eight and tenth centuries with “Saints and Martyrs”

“The remains of the classical period discovered during the investigation of the Lower Basilica of St. Chrysogonus allow to reconstruct the ancient Roman street level, nearly 6 m. below the current level, and document the transformation of one (or more?) domus in a titulus, a hall for Christian worship similar to a 'parish' avant la lettre, that, since the beginning of the fifth century AD took the shape of the basilica, with a nave and an external ambulatory (narthex). The Roman house - made entirely in bricks - is almost 2/3 of the volume of the basilica. To build it the forepart of the narthex to the east was added, and the walls were prolonged toward west- in 'opus listatum' with alternating bricks and tufa rocks - in order to build the presbytery and the apse” (Flavia Frauzel - www.trasecoli.it)

St. COSIMATO

S. COSIMATO
Piazza S. Cosimato 76
1069 as Ss. Cosma, Damiano, Benedetto e Emerenziana (Sts. Cosmas, Damian, Benedict and Emerenziana) near the monastery of mid tenth century
Restored in 1246 and rebuilt with the monastery for Sixtus IV Della Rovere (1471/84)

PORCH of the twelfth century

TWO CLOISTERS:

The first floor of the first cloister dates back to 1246 and the second floor to the time of Sixtus IV
The second cloister dates back entirely to the time of Sixtus IV
The name Cosimato is a “Trastevere” contraction, a local corruption of the name Cosmas and Damian, and indeed there has never been a St. Cosimato, even in the legends

INTERIOR

Redecorated in 1871

LEFT BACK WALL

“Madonna Enthroned with Sts. Francis and Clare” by Antonio del Massaro aka Antonio da Viterbo or il Pastura (about 1450/1516)

MAIN ALTAR

Built in 1639 with venerated painting “Madonna and Child” of the end of the thirteenth century, moved here from the ancient Basilica of St. Peter
The painting was stolen, and when it was found in the river, it was recovered personally by Pope Leo X Medici (1513/21) who had it post in a tabernacle on the Ponte Senatorio (Bridge of the Senators), the current Ponte Rotto (Broken Bridge)
Later the painting was seen emanating light miraculously and it was placed in S. Cosimato

ANNEXURE TO THE SACRISTY

Seven paintings from the Oratory of S. Angelo in Pescheria by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721), Lazzaro Baldi (about 1624/1703) and Borgognone
Now in the complex there is the OSPEDALE NUVO REGINA MARGHERITA, New Hospital Queen Margherita

St. CLAIRE

S. CHIARA
Piazza S. Chiara
The original construction of the building dates back to the fifteenth century
Carlo Borromeo assigned to the Franciscan Sisters the building where they established their house called Casa Pia in honor of Pius IV Medici (1559/65). The church yet to be built should have been called S. Pius I
Built in 1582 by Francesco Capriani aka Francesco da Volterra (1535/94) for Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85)
Restored 1627/28 for Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese (1577/1633) and assigned to the Poor Clares under its present name
In 1814 it passed to the Brotherhood of St. Gregory the Wonderworker and the Poor Clares were transferred
In 1855 the roof collapsed and the church was abandoned
It was rebuilt in the years 1883/90 by Luca Carimini (1830/90)

FAÇADE

Luca Carimini. Sculptures on the façade “Madonna and Angels” and “Saints” by Domenico Bartolini

LEFT TRANSEPT

Altar piece “St. Clare adoration of the Eucharist” maybe by Angelo Caroselli (1585/1652)

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Altar piece “Holy Family” 1863 by Vincenzo Pasqualoni (1819/80)

St. CAESAR OF THE APPIAN WAY

S. CESAREO DE APPIA
Via di Porta S. Sebastiano
Built in the eight century AD over an ancient building of the second century AD, maybe part of the BATHS OF COMMODUS
Rebuilt at the end of the sixteenth century maybe by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602)
Karol Wojtyla was the titular cardinal of this church for 11 years until 1978, when he was elected pope
Also known as S. Cesareo in Turrim or, erroneously, from the sixteenth century, as S. Cesareo in Palatio
It was confused with the homonymous church no longer existing identified in 1907 by Alfonso Bartoli in a cubiculum (bedroom) of the Domus Augustana on Palatine Hill, in which a small apse had been obtained in the back wall. At the time of the excavations some painted figures were still fairly well identifiable in the cubiculum

PRESBYTERY

Enclosure of the presbytery, pulpit, altar frontal and chair reassembled at the end of the sixteenth century using also “Cosmatesque elements” from St. John Lateran

Canopy of the end of the sixteenth century

Above the chair

Fresco of the fifteenth century “Madonna and Child”

Mosaics with “Eternal Father in glory” in the apse and “Annunciation” on the outside of the triumphal arch 1603 from cartoons by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640) who maybe also painted the panels in the attic with “Stories of Sts. Ippolitus and Cesareus”

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS

Mosaic floor in black and white with “Marine scenes” of the second century AD that covers the entire area of the church
A little further along the Appian Way is the CASINA DEL CARDINAL BESSARIONE (Small Villa of Cardinal Bessarion) of the mid-fifteenth century with inside part of the original frescoes

St. CATHERINE OF THE WHEEL

S. CATERINA DELLA ROTA
Piazza di S. Caterina della Rota
Mentioned in the Mirabilia Urbis Romae, a guide for pilgrims who visited Rome, in the twelfth century as S. MARIA IN CATERINO or IN CATERINE
Mentioned by a papal bull in 1186 as S. MARIAE IN CATHERINA

There are two hypotheses to explain the present name:

1) Maybe it comes from a certain Caterina, who must have founded the church, and whose name must have been kept in the name of the church, just as it happened for the churches of S. Lorenzo in Lucina or S. Lorenzo in Miranda

2) Maybe it comes from a misunderstanding: attached to the church there was a hospital for prisoners rescued from the hands of the Muslims of Tripoli and Tunis. They used to hang their chains at the altar of the Virgin Mary, in memory of the liberation, hence the name de catenariis

Over time, this expression was transformed into Caterina (Catherine), and then the cult of St. Catherine of Alexandria replaced that of the Virgin Mary

The rota refers to the instrument of torture of the saint who was killed in the early fourth century
Restored in the eighties of the sixteenth century by Ottaviano Nonni aka Ottaviano Mascherino (1524/1606) and about 1730, the period to which dates the façade designed by an unknown architect
Restored again in the years 1857 and 1879
It is since 1929 the church of the palafrenieri (grooms) or the papal sediari, people who supported the gestatorial chair of the pope and accompanied the papal carriage

WOODEN CEILING

1587/88 moved here from the destroyed Church of St. Francis near Ponte Sisto (Sixtus Bridge) destroyed in 1879 to build the Tiber Walls

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Above the altar “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” and in the lunette “Two prophets and two putti” 1549 by Girolamo Muziano (1532/92)

“If in the lunette the influence of Michelangelo is evident, in the night scene of the panel, the artist resorts to Venetian models (Tintoretto, Sebastiano del Piombo) who had such a big part in his training” (Daniele Ferrara)

“Many elements of the style of Muziano remind us of Sebastiano del Piombo: the attitude full of quiet dignity of his figures, their restrained movements, the simple nobility of the clothes' motives, the wide technique, which still recalls Venice, the colors mostly gentle and harmonious” (Hermann Voss)

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“Wooden crucifix” maybe of the end of 1500s maybe by an anonymous Flemish artist

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“Altar of St. Anne” 1933. Sculptural group “St. Anne and the Virgin Mary” from the Monastery of the Most Holy Conception in the Campus Martius

MAIN ALTAR

“Glory of St. Catherine of Alexandria” painting of the nineteenth century by a certain Zucca
On the right fresco “God the Father in between angels and cherubs” maybe by Francesco Nappi (c. 1565/1630)
Nappi also painted the fresco in the apse to the left of the high altar beneath which there is the painting “Sts. Peter and Paul” by an anonymous artist of the end of the seventeenth century influenced by Carlo Maratta

“A sort of expressionistic epilogue of the parable of Francesco Nappi” (Claudio Strinati)

To the left of the main altar there is a “Case for the Holy Oil” of the beginning of the sixteenth century, in the form of a marble shrine

“The chorus joins the nave with three apses and, with its plan as a clover, it is the most interesting element of the structure of the church: Mascherino's drawing depicting the layout of the church kept in Rome at the National Academy of St. Luke is not still a sufficient element to understand whether the rare form with three apses would be his creation or if it would constitute a medieval legacy instead” (Daniele Ferrara)

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Frescoes “Madonna and Child with Sts. Catherine of Alexandria and Apollonia” 1569 maybe by Domenico Zaga or Michele Grechi

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“Miracle of St. Valeria” nineteenth century copy of Francesco Kech from the original painted for the Basilica of St. Peter by Giovanni Antonio Galli aka the Spadarino (1585/about 1653)

According to tradition, St. Valeria was beheaded for her faith and then she took her head in front of her bishop, S. Martial, who had made her convert

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“Funerary Memory of Giuseppe Vasi (1710/82)” engraver, architect and landscape painter born in Corleone in Sicily, famous for his detailed views of Rome