Saturday, January 19, 2019

St. JOHN OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE

S. GIOVANNI DEI FIORENTINI
Commissioned by Pope Leo X Medici (1513/21) who chose the project by Jacopo Tatti aka Jacopo Sansovino (1486/1570) for the Arciconfraternita di S. Giovanni Battista della Pietà dei Fiorentini (Confraternity of St. John the Baptist of the Mercy of the Florentine People)
The Confraternity was founded after the plague of 1448 and originally had its headquarters in the now disappeared Church of S. Pantaleone
Projects for the church had also been presented by Raphael, Baldassarre Peruzzi and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
Begun in 1519 by Jacopo Sansovino and continued in 1521 by Antonio Cordini aka Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1483/1546) until Leo X's death on that same year when the works for the church were interrupted
The works continued from 1534 until 1546, year of the death of Sangallo
In 1559 Pope Pius IV Medici (1559/65) commissioned a new project to Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475/1564), which was carried out slowly from 1560 until 1564, the year of the death of the master
Between 1564 and 1575 S. Filippo Neri (known as St. Philip Neri in English) was rector of the church
From 1583 to 1598 Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602) resumed the works according to the plans by Sangallo
From 1598 to 1614 Carlo Maderno (1556/1629) completed the works with the Dome 1612/13, the choir, the transept and also, since 1607, the Ospedale di S. Giovanni Battista della Nazione Fiorentina (Hospital of St. John the Baptist of the Florentine Nation) demolished during the Fascist period
The church is also famous for the fact that entry to pet animals is allowed
It is the National Church of Florence

1734 Alessandro Galilei (1691/1737)
“Having excluded the possibility, suggested by Giovanni Bottari, of adapting Michelangelo's project for San Lorenzo in Florence, Galilei opted for a basilica, referring to Roman solutions of the sixteenth century and especially the works of Sebastiano Serlio and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger but making a strong simplification. (...) The primacy of architecture over decoration, the free interpretation of the Renaissance treatises as well as the tradition, the rationalism of scientific matrix, the repeated use of the geometry of the elements and symmetry relationships represent, as a whole, some of the emerging features of the work of Galilei aimed at obtaining a measured and rigorous language, that would combine Florentine, Roman and English influences” (Silvia Cusmano - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
Coat of arms of Clement XII Corsini (1730/40) on the façade 
“S. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi” by Salvatore Sanni
“St. Philip Benizi de Damiani” by Francesco Queirolo (1704/62)
“S. Pietro Igneo” by Simone Martinez (1689/1763)
“Charity” and “Fortress” 1749/51 by Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768)
“S. Bernardo degli Uberti” by Gaetano Altobelli
“Blessed Eugene deacon” by Pietro Pacilli (1716/after 1769)
S. Caterina de' Ricci” by Giuseppe Canard
Reliefs from the left:
“Visitation to St. Elizabeth” by Paolo Benaglia (?/1739)
“Baptism of Christ” by Pietro Bracci (1700/73)
“Beheading of John the Baptist” by Domenico Scaramuccia
The three bells of the small BELL TOWER were bought in 1583 and come from English churches
Above the entrance ORGAN in golden wood dating back to 1673

FLOOR
Half of 1800s from a design by Gaspare Salvi (1786/1849). Restored in 1893

Right Nave of the Church

1st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. VINCENT FERRER
Above the altar “St. Vincent Ferrer” about 1604 by Domenico Crespi aka Passignano (1559/1638)
On the floor “Tombstone of the Marquis Onofrio Del Grillo” and thirteen coats of arms of Florentine families
This is the Marquis Del Grillo made famous in Italy by the film Il Marchese del Grillo in 1981 by Mario Monicelli with Alberto Sordi

PILLAR BETWEEN 1st and 2nd CHAPEL
Cross that once belonged to S. Filippo Neri (1515/95)

Above the altar “Glory of St. Philip Benizi de Damiani” end of seventeenth century by an unknown Florentine artist
On the vault frescoes “Fall of the Idols”, “Martyrdom of St. Simeon” and “Martyrdom of St. Jude Thaddeus”
On the sides “Stories of Sts. Simon and Jude Thaddeus”:
“The frescoes by Gentileschi are very interesting for the expressiveness of the characters and the representation of the clothing. Stylistically, one notes, next to a moderate Caravaggio trend, the obvious influence of the frescos in the nave of S. Maria Maggiore (1593) and in the transept of St. John Lateran (1599/1601), collective enterprises to which Gentileschi himself took part. From the cycle in the Lateran basilica, he took important cues from the Cavalier d'Arpino, who was the construction manager and from Giovanni Baglione” (Daniele Ferrara)
Coats of arms of Florentine families on the floor. The first from the left near the balustrade is the coat of arms of Carlo Maderno's family

PASSAGE TO THE SACRISTY
Memory funeral on aedicula of the years 1749/50 with “Bust of Pope Clement XII Corsini (1730/40)” about 1742 by Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768)

3rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. JEROME
Above the altar “St. Jerome penitent” 1599 by Santi di Tito (1536/1603) who also worked on the small paintings on the side with moralistic-apocalyptic scenes echoing the contemporary sermons of Girolamo Savonarola, namesake of the saint to whom the chapel is dedicated
“Santi di Tito and his pupils aspire to a chromatic style light, bright, perfectly in tune with the ancient traditions. This gives the paintings of this school an archaistic character, as if they were stained glass windows, which continues until the seventeenth century and it is even transplanted into Roman land by artists such as Agostino Ciampelli” (Hermann Voss)
To the right “St. Jerome writing the Vulgate in the study with three virtues” 1599 by Ludovico Cardi aka Cigoli (1559/1613)
To the left “Construction of the church with Michelangelo and St. Jerome” 1599 by Domenico Crespi aka Passignano (1559/1638)
Stucco and frescoes of the end of 1500s maybe by Stefano Pieri (1542/1629)

Above the altar “Virgin Mary appears to St. Philip Neri in heaven with Sts. Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene” copy from an original by Carlo Maratta at Palazzo Pitti

LAST PILLAR ON THE RIGHT
“Monument to Francesca Riccardi” 1700 previously attributed to Ercole Antonio Raggi, but recently assigned to the Florentine Lorenzo Merlini (1666/1745)
“The result of a sophisticated cultural language, the figure of the attractive marquise, even if clearly inspired by the Roman sculptors Lorenzo Ottoni and Camillo Rusconi, seems to contract debts mainly from the Florentine style, evident not only in the Verrocchio-like neo-Renaissance air, but also in the hedonistic composition of the image evidently derived from his knowledge of works of his master G.B. Foggini, not immune to references to classical statuary and to the new pre-rococo French style” (Sandro Bellesi – Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

Altarpiece “The Martyrdom of Sts. Cosmas and Damian” 1669 by Salvator Rosa (1615/73)
This painting was the subject of a famous and controversial “challenge” to Michelangelo: Salvator Rosa boasted of being able to paint a better nude figure than those of the great master
“One of the rare altar paintings by the Neapolitan artist, which in this Roman work - criticized by his contemporaries - joined the baroque emphasis of the composition with the expressive naturalism of the characters” (Daniele Ferrara)
Niches in the upper right “Bust of Ottaviano Acciaioli” about 1659 by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86) and in the upper left “Bust of Ottaviano Corsini” about 1641 by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)

Presbytery and Side Chapels

1612/14 by Carlo Maderno (1556/1629) and Matteo Castelli (1560/1632) with fifteenth-century “Madonna and Child” by an unknown artist with style similar to the Lippis, linked to a miraculous event:
The image was hit by a bocce player who was paralyzed until he obtained, through prayer, forgiveness from the Virgin Mary
Frescoes “Stories of the Virgin Mary” 1615 by Agostino Ciampelli (1565/1630) and stucco work by Pietro da Siena
To the right “Death of the Virgin Mary” 1616 by Anastasio Fontebuoni (1571/1626)

Planned already in 1634 by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona (1597/1669)
A sham structure remained in place until 1656, the year in which Francesco Borromini (1599/1667) took over. He changed slightly the project and worked on it until his death, when Pietro da Cortona returned
It was completed in the years 1673/76 by Ciro Ferri (1634/89) pupil of Pietro da Cortona, who followed the project of his master
Because of the quarrels over this project, the long friendship between Pietro da Cortona and Borromini, the two great masters of Baroque art, was affected
It is the first example of theatrical conception of an altar with light coming from hidden windows, later used in a similar way by Bernini
“If Bramante universalism tends to identify a system of rules and reasoned exceptions, Baroque is by its nature away from the role of binding rules and opens a space for experimentation from which new rules arise continuously. The centripetal situation of the sixteenth century is replaced in the seventeenth century by a centrifugal situation consecrating the freedom of the artist” (Paolo Portoghesi)
Impressive marble group “Baptism of Christ” 1667/69 by Ercole Antonio Raggi (1624/86)
The group had been originally commissioned to Francesco Mochi but he was not able to see his work located in the spot it had been commissioned for. It is now visible in Palazzo Braschi

Statues “Justice” to the right by Michelangelo Anguier and “Fortitude” on the left by Leonardo Reti

AT THE SIDES
“Falconieri Monuments” begun by Francesco Borromini and finished by Ciro Ferri:
To the right “Orazio Falconieri and his wife Ottavia Sacchetti” with “Statue of Charity” 1665/69 by Domenico Guidi (1625/1701)
The monument in the lower part dates back to 1733
To the left “Monument of Cardinal Lelio Falconieri” with “Statue of Faith” about 1667 by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86)

Francesco Borromini. The crypt is not used because it is subject to flooding

Above the altar “Bronze Crucifix” maybe by Paolo Sanquirico (1565/1630) from the model by Prospero Antichi detto Prospero Bresciano (active from 1580/d. after 1592), who maybe made also other stucco decorations in the chapel representing “Episodes from the Ancient Testament”
To the left “Road to Calvary” with lunette “Crowning with Thorns”
To the right “Agony in the Garden” with lunette “Derision of Christ” 1621/24 masterpieces by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582/1647) who also made “Evangelists” in the spandrels and “Ascension” in the vault for the Sacchetti family
“The decoration of Lanfranco is an important step in the evolution of the artist that would soon lead to the baroque decoration of the Assumption in the dome of S. Andrea della Valle: the 'breakthrough' of the vault inspired by Correggio and the figure of Christ floating with the angels in golden sky, represent the terminal phase of a thematic route that begins from the images on the walls” (Daniele Ferrara)

IN A NICHE
“Reliquary with the foot of St. Mary Magdalene” which, as the sign on the side says, was the first foot to enter the tomb of the Risen Christ

Under the DOME
In the church the painter Ludovico Cardi aka Cigoli (1559/1613) is also buried

Left Nave of the Church

LEFT TRANSEPT
Above the altar “Assumption of St. Mary Magdalene to Heaven” about 1662/65 maybe by the Sienese Astolfo Petrazzi (1583/1665)
Sculptures in the upper part “Angel Musicians” by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721)
Niches at the top:
To the right “Funerary monument of Antonio Barberini” 1629 maybe by Giuliano Finelli (1602/53) commissioned by Carlo Barberini
To the left “Funerary monument of Pier Francesco Rossi” 1673 by Domenico Guidi (1625/1701)

LAST PILLAR
To the left “Monument of Girolamo Samminiati” 1733 by Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768)
To the right “Monument of Alessandro Gregorio Capponi” 1746 by Ferdinando Fuga (1699/1782) with sculptures by Michelangelo Slodtz (1705/64)

Above the altar “St. Francis” maybe by Santi di Tito (1536/1603) or by Jacopo Ligozzi (1547/1627)
Frescoes “Stories of St. Francis”:
To the left “Honorius III Savelli (1216/27) confirming the Franciscan rule” and to the right “Preaching of St. Francis before the Sultan” about 1586/87 by Niccolò Circignani aka Pomarancio (about 1520/98)
“The frescoes by Circignani are an important stage of his artistic career, at this stage geared toward rigorous monumentality, based on architectures that enhance the depth of perspective” (Daniele Ferrara)
At the center of the vault “Angels musicians bearing roses” about 1684/87 by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721)

ON THE PILLAR BETWEEN THE 5th AND THE 4th CHAPEL
“Funerary Monument of Marco Panvini Rosati” 1826 by Pietro Tenerani (1789/1869)

On the altar “Death of St. Anthony of Egypt” 1612 by Agostino Ciampelli (1565/1630)
“It's undoubtedly the most successful Roman altarpiece of the Florentine painter. The simple, expressive manner, in which the event is represented in the lower half of this painting has an immediate impact as few works of Ciampelli, generally more proficient than deep. Even the gentle ascent of the soul (in the guise of a cute boy) helped by groups of angels has the power to steer with the beautiful rhythm of his movement” (Hermann Voss)
Frescoes in the vault “Stories of St. Lawrence”: in the center “Glory of St. Lawrence”, on the right “St. Lawrence shows the judges the poor to whom he distributed the goods” and on the left “St. Lawrence meets St. Sixtus II (257/258)” about 1612 by Antonio Tempesta (about 1555/1630)
Statues at the sides of the altar “St. Francis” and “St. Dominic”, “Angels” on the pediment and side pictures in stucco with “The Calling of St. Peter” and “Conversion of St. Paul” about 1659/63 by Giovanni Angelo Canini (1609/66)

3rd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
On the altar “Preaching of St. John the Baptist” by Salvio Savini

Above the altar “Virgin Mary and S. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi” first half of 1600s by Francesco Curradi
Frescoes in the vault “Stories of St. Egidio, St. Luke and the Virgin,” on the left “Clothing of Carlomanno” and on the right “Virgin Mary and St. Luke” about 1592/98 by the Florentine Giovanni Balducci aka Cosci (about 1560/after 1631)

On the altar “St. Sebastian Tended by the Holy Women” about 1650 by G.B. Vanni
On the right “St. Stephen I” by an unknown artist
On the floor twelve coats of arms of Florentine families

Museo d'Arte Sacra

Museum of Sacred Art
In the building to the right of the church built in 1939 by Bruno Maria Apollonj Ghetti (1905/89)
It replaced the demolished Ospedale di S. Giovanni Battista della Nazione Fiorentina (Hospital of St. John the Baptist of the Florentine Nation)
48 WORKS ON DISPLAY IN 7 ROOMS, including:
“Bust of Antonio Cepparelli” 1622 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680)
“Bust of Antonio Coppola” 1614 by Pietro Bernini (1562/1629), attributed by some art historians to Gian Lorenzo Bernini who would have painted when he was sixteen
“St. John as a child” about 1500 attributed in the past to Mino del Reame, Donatello and Jacopo Sansovino but now attributed by some scholars, based on recently discovered documents, to none other than a young Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475/1564)
“Bust of Pietro Cambi” 1627 by Pompeo Ferrucci (about 1566/1637)
“Relief depicting Madonna and Child with St. Anne” maybe by Pierino da Vinci (about 1530/53)
 Various precious reliquaries

St. JOHN THE BEHEADED

S. GIOVANNI DECOLLATO
Begun in 1490 at the behest of Pope Innocent VIII Cybo (1484/92) in place of an earlier church called S. MARIA DE FOVEA or S. MARIA DELLA FOSSA
The FAÇADE dates back to 1504
Finished in 1550 as the seat of the Arciconfraternita della Misericordia (Confraternity of Mercy) established in Florence in 1488 with the aim of assisting those sentenced to death
The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, whose head was cut off
Reconsecrated in 1727
New restorations in 1888
This church is one of the most significant examples of the presence of Tuscan Mannerism in Rome
Walls fully decorated with stucco and frescoes by Tuscan Mannerist with “Saints” in the years 1580/90:

1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “The Nativity of S. John the Baptist” by Jacopo Zucchi (about 1542/96)

2nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “Incredulity of St. Thomas” about 1580 by an anonymous artist from the school of Giorgio Vasari

3rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “Visitation” by Cristoforo Roncalli aka Pomarancio (1552/1626)

MAIN ALTAR
“Beheading of St. John the Baptist” 1553 by Giorgio Vasari (1511/74)
“The composition is relatively little damaged by mannerist elements. (...) Evidently Vasari wanted to come out from the comparison with Francesco Salviati and Jacopino del Conte, who had abundantly expressed themselves in the oratory, in the best possible light; so it is explained the acuity of his stroke and the quality of the color effect. Again the architectural background contributes in the best way to the overall effect” (Hermann Voss)

2nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “The Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist” about 1580 by G.B. Naldini (about 1537/91)

1st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “Assumption of the Virgin Mary” by Francesco Zucchi (about 1562/1622)

Oratorio di S. Giovanni Decollato

Oratory of St. John the Beheaded
Extraordinary Tuscan Mannerist frescoes painted in the years 1530/35
“New phase of Mannerism, aimed at reconciling the legacy of Raphael with the modeling of Michelangelo, according to a refined and decorative style. With the decisive contribution of Perin del Vaga and Polidoro da Caravaggio, the school of Giorgio Vasari and Francesco Salviati expressed a balanced and accessible version of Mannerism, quite different from the formal extremism of the Tuscan artists who were their contemporaries” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

FROM THE RIGHT
“Preaching of the Baptist” 1538 by Jacopino del Conte (about 1515/98)

RIGHT WALL
“The Birth of St. John the Baptist” 1551 and “Visitation” (with portrait of Michelangelo who was a member of the Confraternity) 1538 by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati (1510/63)
“The Visitation is a true product of the joy that the artist felt in front of the splendor of Rome, and it is a work by the brilliant, strong character, with a wide arrangement of figures, with an architectural background built with art and wonderfully rhythmic groups of figures, that have nothing of the crammed compositions in the paintings by Pontormo and Bronzino, but have that breathing space and spaciousness that is characteristic of the compositions by Perin del Vaga. (...) It is linked to the workshop of Raphael by the composition and by some single images of movements and drapery (for example, the woman walking on the left, also present in the Fire of Borgo), but the idea of​plastic, which will become even more intense in later work, was inspired by Michelangelo. It is also possible that in the Visitation the influence of Parmigianino was present” (Hermann Voss)
“In the Birth of John the Baptist the richness and freshness of the first period have vanished, and the imposing monumentality which the artist tries to achieve in the full, heavy figures of his late style cannot compensate for this serious loss” (Hermann Voss)
“Annunciation of the Angel to Zechariah” 1535 altar table on the MAIN ALTAR “Deposition” about 1550 by Jacopino del Conte
“The character of the composition of the Annunciation of the Angel to Zachariah is that of a relief. It reminds us in some respects even of artists like Bandinelli or Ammannati, and to their style are very similar the bearded heads of a man and of an elderly man, as well as the spacious and pompous rendition of the draping. It is a historical representation still very close to the high Renaissance for its noble, simple demeanor and for its own monumentality” (Hermann Voss)
ON THE SIDES OF THE ALTAR
“St. Bartholomew” and “St. Andrew” by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati

LEFT WALL
“Beheading of John the Baptist” 1553 and “Dance of Salome” 1550 maybe by Pirro Ligorio (about 1513/83). It would be his only extant work of painting
“The work is brilliant with regard to the architectural and decorative setting. The powerful motive of the colossal columns, closing the space in the background, catches our gaze to the point that we pass over the weaknesses of the composition and figures” (Hermann Voss)
“St. John the Baptist being arrested” 1541/44 by Battista Franco (1498/1561)
“Despite his Venetian origin, Battista Franco did not have a particular talent for colors (perhaps this was the reason for his departure from Venice), but on the other hand he dominated the art of drawing with a virtuosity equaled by few. His stroke seems frail in its elasticity, generally very thin and yet extraordinarily confident. (...) In the Arrest of John the Baptist, the artist has avoided to borrow directly from Michelangelo, but the male figure lying in the foreground does not hide its inspiration from the cartoon with Venus and Cupid by Michelangelo (painted by Pontormo)” (Hermann Voss)
“Baptism of Christ” 1541 by Jacopino del Conte
“The plastic content of the movement of the figures is strengthened so as to give the impression of something unstable, almost dancing. This applies mainly to the figure of Christ and for that scene with the river god in the foreground, which is typical of both the penetration of the mythological world in the religious world, and the way of working with nudes in Michelangelo style used as side scenes (repoussoirs), which in Rome became increasingly fashionable” (Hermann Voss)

CLOISTER-CEMETERY
Portico of the years 1535/55, rebuilt in the seventeenth century
Seven manholes in the floor through which the bodies of executed criminals were introduced without head into mass graves. Six were for men and one for women
The heads of the prisoners were in fact cut and eventually burned all together in a fire every 24 June, on the occasion of the feast of St. John the Beheaded

Museo della Camera Storica

Museum of the Historical Room
Housed in a room adjacent to the church
It is open only one day a year: every June 24 on the occasion of the feast of St. John the Beheaded
It contains documents and memorabilia of the Confraternity of Mercy
Among the objects:
Basket for the head cut off from Beatrice Cenci and kneeler on which she said her last prayers
Hood of Giordano Bruno (1548/1600)
Stretchers on which the remains of those sentenced to death were transported
Black capes of the confreres
Numerous wooden tablets with religious subjects that were offered to the sight and to the devotion of the condemned until the time of the executions. In the nineteenth century they took place in the nearby Piazza dei Cerchi

Friday, January 18, 2019

St. JOHN CALIBYTES

S. GIOVANNI CALIBITA
About 870 in the area of the Temple of Jupiter Iurarius
Mentioned in the fourteenth century in the sources with the name of Sancti Ioannis de Insula and also Sancti Ioannis Cantofiume
It was dedicated to St. John Calibita in the spot where, according to tradition, his father's house would have been
Rebuilt in 1584 on the ruins of the old church

1640, completed in 1711 by Luigi Barattoni (active in the first quarter of the eighteenth century) and Romano Carapecchia (1668/1738)
BELL TOWER
Cesare Bazzani (1873/1939)

INTERIOR
Renovated in the years 1736/42
Decorations in the years 1740/41 by Corrado Giaquinto (1703/66) including the frescoes “Glory of St. John of God” and “Sts. Hyppolitus, Taurinus and Herculaneum”
“In the pre-neoclassical Rome of these years, Giaquinto is an outsider who accentuates the melodramatic technique of the Arcadia of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, in vogue in the twenties and thirties, with amazing special effects of lights and theatrical artifice, in a style all his own. Taking to the extreme the possibilities inherent in Baroque painting, this captivating and bombastic language proves the most appropriate to interpret the requirements of representation of the great international courts” (Anna Lo Bianco)

1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “Lady of the Lamp” venerated since the flood of 1557 when the lamp below the image stayed on despite being submerged in water

UNDER THE MAIN ALTAR
Relics of St. John Calibytes and of seven other martyrs found during the seventeenth century renovation
St. John Calibytes was a Roman monk of the fifth century who went to Constantinople to live as a hermit in a hut called kalýbe, where he died

CLOISTER
Lunette with eighteenth-century paintings

St. JOHN BOSCO

S. GIOVANNI BOSCO
1953/58 Gaetano Rapisardi (1893/1988) who also designed the square, for the Salesians, the order founded by St. John Bosco (1815/88) also known as Don Bosco
FAÇADE
High relief at the center:
“St. John Bosco among young men and angels” by Arturo Dazzi (1881/1966)
In the large arches on the sides statues:
“Archangel Gabriel” and “Archangel Michael” by Ercole Drei (1886/1973)
In the four smaller niches statues from left:
“St. Francis de Sales” by Giovanni Amoroso (1913/73)
“Pius IX Mastai-Ferretti (1846/78)” and “Pius XI Ratti (1922/39)” by Francesco Nagni (1897/1977)
“S. Giuseppe Cafasso” by Antonio Venditti (1914/81)

DOME
31 m (101.3 feet), the third largest by diameter in Rome after the Pantheon (43.3 m - 142,06 feet) and St. Peter (42.56 m - 139.63 feet)
On top of the dome “Four bronze angels and crown surmounted by a cross of light” by Alessandro Monteleone (1897/1967)

PORCH
On the main door:
Reliefs “Symbols of the Four Evangelists” and stories of Don Bosco: “Pius IX blesses the work of the St. John Bosco”, “Leo XIII entrusted him with the construction of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Rome”, “Mass of St. John Bosco in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart”, “Apostolate in Rome of St. John Bosco as a young priest” by Federico Papi (1897/1982)
Above the two side doors:
Bronze statues “Redeemer” and “St. John the Baptist” by Attilio Selva (1888/1970)

INTERIOR
Marble coating by Triestino Trognoni con Cima Gargari, Fausto Gargari and Aonio Paleario
“Stations of the Cross” by Venanzo Crocetti (1913/2003)

1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
“Crucifix” in bronze by Venanzo Crocetti

2nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Painting “S. Maria Domenica Mazzarello” co-founder of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians by Paolo Giovanni Crida (1907/67)
“He renders in a popular form an orderly and readable arrangement of interesting episodes from the life of the saint. She appears in the center in a radiant halo supported by angels. The commitment of the painter turns to a historical documentation of the facts, illustrated with a minute and diligent realism with no synthesis and abstractions” (Official Website of the Parish of St. John Bosco - www.donboscoparrocchia.pcn.net)

2nd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT
Painting “S. Domenico Savio” student of Don Bosco by Mario Caffaro Rore (1910/2001)

3rd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT
Painting “St. Joseph the Worker” by Emilio Notte (1891/1982)

MAIN ALTAR
Mosaic “Glory of St. John Bosco with saints and blessed” by Giovanni Brancaccio (1903/75)
It covers an area of about 100 m² (1,100 square feet) with about 15 million tiles
Altar in Carrara marble weighing about 10 tons (11 tons) by Father Costantino Ruggeri (1925/2007)
The huge block seems to break at the base to symbolize both the crack that opened in Mount Calvary at the death of Christ, and the moment when Christ broke bread during the celebration of the Eucharist
Tabernacle with “Crucifixion with Angels” and “Bronze Candelabra” by Pericle Fazzini (1913/87)
Eight huge marble bas-reliefs (four on each side) on the sides of the tabernacle with “Stories of Don Bosco”, from bottom to top, by Alessandro Monteleone (1897/1967), Luigi Venturini (1912/98), Francesco Nagni (1897/1977) and Vico Consorti (1902/79)
Monumental “Candlestick” in bronze for the Easter candle by Lyda Preti

SMALLER DOME
24 windows with “Seven Sacraments and Works of Mercy” engraved by Bruno Saetti (1902/84)

Stained Glass “Stories from the Life of Jesus” by Marcello Avenali (1912/81) and Lorenzo Gigotti (1908/94)
Ring at the base with mosaic “Dreams of St. John Bosco” by Augusto Ranocchi

CHAPEL OF St. ANNE
Painting “St. Anne with Madonna as a young girl and angels” by Lorenzo Gigotti (1908/94)

1st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
“Baptismal font” and “Angels” in bronze by Emilio Greco (1913/95)

1st ALTAR ON THE LEFT
Painting “Virgin Help of Christians with Don Bosco, saints and boys' choir singers” by Gisberto Ceracchini (1889/1982)
In the church there are also works by Attilio Torresini (1884/1961), Primo Conti (1900/88) and other artists