St. LOUIS OF THE FRENCH

S. LUIGI DEI FRANCESI

Piazza S. Luigi dei Francesi

Begun in 1518 for Giulio de' Medici, the future Pope Clement VII Medici (1523/34) and completed in 1589 by Domenico Fontana (1543/1607) from a project by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602)

The real name of the church is SS. MARIA VERGINE, DIONIGI AREOPAGITA e LUIGI IX RE DI FRANCIA (1226/70) or Holy Virgin Mary, St. Dionysius the Areopagite (judge of the Areopagus of Athens) and Louis XI King of France (1226/70)

FAÇADE

Statues in the niches:

In the lower part “Charlemagne” and “St. Louis IX”, in the upper part “St. Clotilde” and “St. Joan of Valois” 1746 by Pierre de l'Estache (about 1688/1744)

It is the French National Church

INTERIOR

Decoration in marble and stucco 1756/64 by Antoine Dérizet (1697/1768)

VAULT

“Death and Apotheosis of St. Louis IX” 1756 by Charles Joseph Natoire (1700/1777)

1^st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Above the altar “St. Louis IX” by Renard Levieux

PILASTER IN FRONT OF THE 1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

“Memorial of the French soldiers fallen in defense of the pope in the years 1849, 1860, and 1867”

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. CECILIA

Above the altar “Sts. Cecilia, Paul, John the Evangelist, Augustine and Mary Magdalene” copy by Guido Reni (1575/1642) from the original by Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael) (1483/1520) now in the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna

Five frescoes with “Stories of St. Cecilia”:

On the vault in the center “Glory of St. Cecilia” and on the sides “Sts. Cecilia and Valerian crowned by the angel” and “St. Cecilia refusing to worship idols”

On the walls to the right “Charity of St. Cecilia” and to the left “Death of St. Cecilia” 1616/1617 masterpiece by Domenico Zampieri aka Domenichino (1581/1641)

“The center of his artistic conception was rigorous drawing and these frescoes represent the culmination of his poetry. In the Death of St. Cecilia the principles of order and clarity oversee the composition: a closed scene in which the figures are huge in the foreground near archaeological elements. Their luminous clarity emphasizes the movements, their gestures express the state of mind of the characters, their naturalness is governed by a higher principle of beauty that offers the noblest version of their sentiments” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

“Pose, gestures, styles of this cycle became inexhaustible morphemes for the declination of the classical language of art until at least the eighteenth century. Furthermore the expressive repertoire of the faces, capable of expressing the variables emotions of the human soul, was already destined to open up infinite possibilities to the research for naturalness, for formal and emotional instability, for the nascent Baroque art” (Anna Coliva)

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. JOAN OF VALOIS

Above the altar “St. Joan of Valois carried to heaven by angels” 1743 by Etienne Parrocel (1696/1774)

4^th RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. REMIGIUS

Above the altar “Oath of Clovis” 1547 by Jacopino del Conte (about 1515/98)

On the right “Clovis is preparing to attack in the battle of Tobliae on the year 496 AD” by Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527/96)

On the left “St. Remigius receives the sacred phial to anoint Clovis” by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)

In the vault “Stories of Clovis” by Pellegrino Tibaldi

5^th RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS

Tombs of famous French personalities

MAIN ALTAR

“Assumption” by Francesco da Ponte aka Bassano the Younger (1549/92)

In the upper part sculptural group “Holy Trinity” by Jean Jacques Caffieri (1725/92) the favorite sculptor of Louis XV, King of France from 1715 to 1774

SPANDRELS OF THE DOME

Sculptures “Doctors of the Church” by G.B. Maini (1690/1752), Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768), Simon Challe (1719/65) and Nicolas François Gillet (1709/91)

5^th LEFT - CONTARELLI CHAPEL

Above the altar “St. Matthew and the Angel”

“The yellow and orange colors clashing in the tunic and mantle of the saint are an invention already in the Rembrandt style. Overall, however, one cannot to deny that the picture is quite conceding to the decorum required by the times and the place. The mantle falls down with a long flap, nearly as elegant, as Francesco Mochi would be in a later period; and again it comes out with the elegance of sepals around the hands that are already modern: natural, without drawing, all in tonal sketches, notched, with cords as veins, in between wrinkles and skin” (Roberto Longhi)

On the left “The Calling of St. Matthew”

“It's a direct, personal call from God, that surprises the man when he least expects it, perhaps as he is in sin. Players wear modern clothes: it is not an old story, it is a fact that happens now and could happen at any time to anyone. Grace is not a sign that only the elect one is allowed to see: all turn surprised but the miser who counts the money as Judas with his 30 pieces of silver. With Christ and St. Peter enters a hard blade of light. It is a ray of physical light, but it is also the ray of grace. Since everything happens in that instant of light, there is no development of action. St. Peter does nothing but repeat the gesture of Christ, and the dialogue is concise: 'You - I? - you!'. More than 'ut pictura poesis' (as is painting so is poetry), more than literature translated into figures!” (Giulio Carlo Argan)

On the right “Martyrdom of St. Matthew”

“During the execution of the Martyrdom of St. Matthew he experimented with several variations of composition. After he abandoned the earlier versions, not exempt from a mannerist style, Caravaggio adopted new, unconventional solutions that could better suit a dramatic and eventful scene. Figures intersect, forms are revealed by striking luminous spirals that create patches of deep darkness and give rise to a centrifugal motion. The artist has achieved the pinnacle of sacred drama in the relationship between the murderer and the saint lying on the ground and he pointed out the horror of the bystanders in the mimed scream of the young man. The instantaneity that Caravaggio manages to infuse in the scene gives the story a character of pure occurrence, violently involving the viewers” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

1599/1602, first major artistical success of Michelangelo Merisi aka Caravaggio (1571/1610) for Virgilio Crescenzi and, after his death, for his son Giacomo Crescenzi, who were executors of Cardinal Mathieu Cointrel (d. 1585)

FRESCOES IN THE VAULT OF THE CONTARELLI CHAPEL

“Matthew raises from the dead the daughter of the king of Ethiopia, and conversion of the king and queen” 1591/99 by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640)

He had been entrusted with the decoration of the chapel but, as he was slow in completing the work, he was replaced with Caravaggio for the canvases

4^th LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Above the altar “Nativity” and on the right “Annunciation” by Charles Mellin (about 1597-1600/1649)

On the left “Adoration of the Magi” begun by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643) and continued by Charles Mellin who finished the decoration of the whole chapel, having been preferred to Nicolas Poussin who was very upset for the exclusion: it seems that he wanted to give up painting frescoes for the rest of his life

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. LOUIS IX

Above the altar “St. Louis IX” 1664 by the Roman Plautilla Bricci (1616/about 1701) who also designed the architecture of the chapel opened in 1680

On the walls “Stories of St. Louis IX” on the right by Ludovico Gimignani (1643/97), on the left by Nicolas Pinson (1636/81)

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF S. NICHOLAS

Above the altar “St. Nicholas of Bari” by Girolamo Muziano (1532/92)

On the sides “Sts. Barbara and Catherine” by Girolamo Massei (?/1614-19)

On the right and on the left “Stories of St. Nicholas of Bari” by Baldassare Croce (about 1553/1628)

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. SEBASTIAN

Above the altar “St. Sebastian” by Girolamo Massei

PALAZZO DI S. LUIGI (Palace of St. Louis)

1709/16 Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri (1655/1721)

Next to the church. Façade with scenic portal on Via Giovanna d'Arco

St. LUCY AT THE COBBLESTONES

S. LUCIA IN SELCI

Via in Selci 82

End of the fifth century

Diaconia established by Pope St. Symmachus (498/514) and confirmed by Pope Honorius I (625/638) on a site of ancient origin known as in silice for the large flint blocks which used to pave the Clivus Suburanus

A diaconia was an establishment for the care of the poor and distribution of the church's charity in the Middle Ages

In the thirteenth century a monastery was attached to the church and, since 1568, it was granted to the Augustinian cloistered nuns

Rebuilt 1604/16 by Carlo Maderno (1556/1629)

“From 1637 to 1643 the presence in the building of Francesco Borromini is known; as an architect of the convent, he was probably commissioned to restore and redefine as a whole the internal aspect of the church. Specifically his interventions are documented for the Chapel of the Trinity and for the high altar now lost” (Simona Ciofetta)

St. Lucy, according to tradition, was martyred in the year 304 AD under Diocletian (284/305) stabbed in her throat after having suffered terrible tortures

She became the patron saint of eyesight perhaps for the similarity of her name with the word light (Lucia=luce), although a medieval legend has it that she herself uprooted her eyes and sent them to her boyfriend, who had exasperated her with praises on the beauty of her eyes

ATRIUM

Wheel of the exposed, for the babies abandoned in this swivel mechanism that allowed one not to be identified from within

On the left “Portal of the church” with the original doors by Carlo Maderno

CEILING

In the center round painting “Triumph of St. Lucy” by an anonymous artist of the nineteenth-century

COUNTER-FAÇADE

“God the Father” about 1635 by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640) and elegant BALCONY FOR THE CHOIR maybe by Francesco Borromini (1599/1667)

In the first two arches on the right and on the left inscriptions regarding the history of the church surmounted by angels painted with the palms of martyrdom in their hands and dish with the eyes of St. Lucy

1^st RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. LUCY or VANINI ALTAR

“Martyrdom of St. Lucy” 1632 by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582/1647)

2^nd RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. AUGUSTINE or CELSI ALTAR

“Vision of St. Augustine” about 1635 by Andrea Camassei (1602/49)

MAIN ALTAR

Nineteenth century, replacing the one by Borromini

Above the altar “Annunciation” 1606 by Anastasio Fontebuoni (1571/1626)

2^nd RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

“St. John the Evangelist gives Communion to the Virgin Mary” about 1635 by Andrea Camassei

Spectacular “Architectural Tabernacle” with golden statuettes maybe designed by Carlo Maderno

1^st RIGHT - LANDI CHAPEL

1637/39 by Francesco Borromini

Above the altar “Holy Trinity and Sts. Augustine and Monica” by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640)

MONASTERY

Nuns' choir with walnut stalls of the seventeenth century and seven paintings of saints about 1618 by Baccio Ciarpi (1574/1654)

St. LUCY OF THE DYE

S. LUCIA DELLA TINTA

Via di Monte Brianzo 61

The first mention of the church is on an inscription of the year 1002

Restored 1580 for the Society of the Coachmen

Rebuilt in 1628 for the Borghese family

Restored again in 1911

The church took its name from the ancient neighborhood of the dyers of fabrics that included Via Condotti of which Via Monte Brianzo is the continuation

It was also called Sanctae Luciae ad quattuor portas (St. Lucy by the Fourth Door) because it was close to the four small gates (posterule) that opened on the ancient walls that lined the banks of the River Tiber from the Pons Aelius (Sant'Angelo Bridge) to Porta Flaminia (Flaminia Gate)

The church was dedicated in 1394 to St. Lucy, Roman aristocrat martyr, not to be confused with the eponymous saint from Syracuse

FAÇADE

Rebuilt in 1715 maybe by Tommaso Mattei (1652/1726) a pupil of Carlo Fontana, for the prince G.B. Borghese

CEILING

1781 ornaments by Pietro Rotati and central canvas “St. Lucy assists to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary” by the Polish Tadeusz Kuntze aka Taddeo il Polacco (1732/93) who also painted the oval boards with “Angels in flight”

1^st ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

“Wooden painted crucifix” of the beginning of the eighteenth century

2^nd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

Canvas “St. Lucia and an angel” about 1675 by an anonymous seventeenth-century artist

PRESBYTERY

In the floor “Fragment of cosmatesque mosaic” of the twelfth century

MAIN ALTAR

Above the altar very ruined fresco detached from a house in the Via di Campo Marzio “Virgin Mary Queen of Angels with Sts. John the Baptist, Joseph, Catherine of Alexandria and donor” by an anonymous seventeenth-century artist

Following the restoration of 1983 it was possible to verify that the Madonna and Child were painted in the second half of the fifteenth century and that the other figures were added perhaps following the crowning of the image occurred in 1667

2^nd ALTAR ON THE LEFT

Canvas “St. Lucy and St. Geminianus” by an anonymous seventeenth-century artist

1^st ALTAR ON THE LEFT

Canvas “Madonna Salus Infirmorum and Child, Sts. Egidio, Yves, Gimnesius and the souls in Purgatory” about 1723/25 by Giacomo Triga (1674/1746), a pupil of Benedetto Luti

St. LUCY OF THE BANNER

S. LUCIA DEL GONFALONE

Via dei Banchi Vecchi 12

Maybe end of the thirteenth century or beginning of the fourteenth century

In 1486 Pope Innocent VIII Cybo (1484/92) granted it to the Compagnia del Gonfalone (Company of the Banner)

It was rebuilt at the end of the fifteenth century and consecrated in 1511

Restorations in 1605 and in the years 1721/23

It was rebuilt again with a new FAÇADE in the years 1761/67 by Marco David (active in Rome 1754/65) for Cardinal Flavio Chigi

In 1911 it was entrusted to the Missionari Figli del Sacro Cuore Immacolato di Maria Padri or Claretiani (Missionary Sons of the Sacred Heart of Mary or Claretian Fathers)

Also known as S. Lucia della Chiavica (St. Lucy of the Sewage) for the adjacent cloaca (sewer) that used to flow into the Tiber River

INTERIOR

Decorated in the years 1859/66 for the architecture by Francesco Azzurri (1831/1901) and for the paintings by Cesare Mariani (1826/1901)

VAULT

Clearly inspired by the work of Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel:

In the central part “Episodes from the history of the Archconfraternity of the Banner: foundation, approval and charitable activity”, between the windows “Constance, Charity, Charity and Faith”, virtues inspirational for the Archconfraternity executed in the years 1863/67 by Cesare Mariani

COUNTER FAÇADE

Frescoes in the upper part “Deborah” and “Judith”, in the lower part “Architecture” and “Painting” and on the pillars “Tobias” and “Daniel” by Cesare Mariani

“Tobias and Daniel are references to St. Lucy representing respectively the healing of the eyes and the prophetic vision, thus alluding to one of the main reasons for the devotion to St. Lucy: the recovery of sight both physically and spiritually” (Daniele Ferrara)

PILLARS THAT DIVIDED THE CHAPEL

Frescoes on the right “Nehemiah” and “Ezra”, on the left “Zerubbabel” and “Jeremiah” by Cesare Mariani

“These figures of the Old Testament, referring to the issues of slavery and redemption of the Jewish people celebrate the work of the Confraternity. The figures are monumental and show evident similarities to models of Michelangelo and Raphael” (Daniele Ferrara)

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF Sts. THOMAS OF VILLANOVA AND FRANCIS DE SALES

On the altar “Virgin Mary with Sts. Thomas of Villanova and Francis de Sales” 1765 by Salvatore Monosilio (known from 1744/d. 1776) from Messina in Sicily

On the right “Funerary monument of Bishop Nicholas Maria Nicolai” 1833 by Giuseppe De Fabris (1790/1860)

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. LUCY

Statue “St. Lucy” 1861 by Scipione Tadolini (1822/92) in an aedicula in neo-Renaissance style

On the sides frescoes “Chastity” and “Charity” by Cesare Mariani

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF Sts. PETER AND PAUL

Above the altar “St. Peter and St. Paul on the road of martyrdom” by the Sicilian Mariano Rossi (1731/1807)

“To Neoclassicism, popular when his artistic personality was already well formed and defined, Rossi granted only the choice of subjects of many of his works according to the patterns that this artistic movement considered to be in vogue, but his style of painting was not affected by the new artistic ideas. Indeed, the Neoclassical painting style was underlaid by well-defined laws that impoverished the means of the painter who, concerned exclusively with such laws, would lose sight of the problems of light, color, fresh air and movement, ending up creating cold and abstract compositions immersed in a frozen light” (Antonella Tedesco - www.abitarearoma.net/s-giuseppe-alla-lungara-e-le-opere-di-mariano-rossi)

APSE

Vault of the apse “St. Bonaventure has the vision of the Virgin Mary” by Cesare Mariani (1826/1901)

On the wall of the apse two episodes of the history of the Archconfraternity:

On the left “Giovanni Cerrone appointed prefect of Rome” and on the right “Prisoners freed by the Archconfraternity of the Banner pay homage to Pope Sixtus V Peretti (1585/90)” by Cesare Mariani

“The first episode recalls the role that, according to tradition, the Confraternity had in the peaceful ouster of Luca Savelli (usurper of power in the city during the stay of the Pope in Avignon) and in the appointment on Capitoline Hill of the wise Giovanni Cerrone. The second episode is significant for the importance that the Confraternity had under Sixtus V for the task of freeing the slaves, a subject widely covered on the walls of the nave. Mariani proves to be a skilled painter of history insisting rhetorically on the dramatic effect of the composition, a trend widespread in the artistic culture of the period that finds similarities with the contemporary operas” (Daniel Ferrara)

MAIN ALTAR

1881 Giuseppe Rinaldi

In the central aedicula “Virgin Mary of the Banner” copy maybe made​by Livio Agresti (about 1508/79) of the Madonna Salus Populi Romani in S. Maria Maggiore

In the lunette above “God Eternal Father” by Erminia Pompili Maldura

3rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. BONAVENTURE

Above the altar “St. Bonaventure in prayer at the feet of St. Francis of Assisi” 1765 by Giorgio Gaspare von Prenner (1720/66) from Vienna

2nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS

Above the altar “Wooden Crucifix” of the sixteenth century

On the sides frescoes “Our Lady of Sorrows” and “St. John Evangelist” by Paolo Mei (1831/1900) pupil of Cesare Mariani

1st LEFT - CHAPEL OF S. CHARLES BORROMEO AND OF THE BLESSED GREGORIO BARBARIGO

Above the altar “St. Charles Borromeo and the blessed Gregory Barbarigo” by Eugenio Porretti (active in the eighteenth century)

For some years contemporary paintings by various artists have been exhibited in the church

SACRISTY

Marco David (active in Rome 1754/65)

On the altar “Crucifixion” maybe by Ermenegildo Costantini (1731/91)

PALAZZETTO DEL GONFALONE (Small Palace of the Banner)

1650 and rebuilt in the second half of the eighteenth century maybe by Marco David (active in Rome 1754/65)

Now is the seat of the Ufficio per la Giustizia Minorile del Ministero della Giustizia (Office for Juvenile Justice of the Ministry of Justice)

St. LAWRENCE IN PISCIBUS

S. LORENZO IN PISCIBUS

Via Pfeiffer 24 - Deconsecrated

First mentioned by the sources in the twelfth century, although tradition has it that it was founded in the sixth century by St. Galla

In 1950 it was incorporated into the building of one of the Propylaea of Via della Conciliazione that hides the façade of the church

It is also known as S. LORENZINO

The name piscibus derives from the fact that in this area there used to be a fish market

Almost entirely rebuilt in 1659 and restored in 1735

It was deconsecrated after the construction of Via della Conciliazione and consecrated again in 1983 by John Paul II Wojtyla (1978/2005)

The columns inside were taken from ancient Roman buildings 

It was used by the sculptor Pericle Fazzini (1913/87) in the years 1970/75 to put together his giant sculpture “Resurrection” for the Paul VI Audience Hall

St. LAWRENCE IN PANISPERNA

S. LORENZO IN PANISPERNA

Via Panisperna 90

Built, according to tradition, by Constantine (306/337) on the site where St. Lawrence was killed on an iron grill in the year 258 AD

Late sources mention that near the church there was a thermal building known as LAVACRUM AGRIPPINAE

First mentioned by the sources only in the sixth century, also with the name of S. Lorenzo in Formosa

Rebuilt in the fourteenth century and in the years 1574/75 by Francesco Capriani aka Francesco da Volterra (1535/94) for Cardinal Guglielmo Sirleto

External portal and double staircase 1893

Wooden door carved in 1684

COURTYARD

On the right there is a medieval house

To the left “Statue of St. Bridget” 1964 by Axel Wallenberg (1898/1996)

INTERIOR

Decorated in the years 1756/57

VAULT

“Glory of St. Lawrence” about 1747 by Antonio Bicchierai (1688/1766) helped by Niccolò Lapiccola (1727/90)

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. CLARE

Altarpiece “Miracle of St. Clare” 1756 by Antonio Nessi (active 1739/73)

On the right “Funerary monument with bust of Cardinal Guglielmo Sirteto” d. 1597, patron of the church, by Giovanni Antonio Parracca aka Valsoldo (?/1642-46)

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF Sts. CRISPIN AND CRISPINIAN

“Sts. Crispin and Crispian” maybe by Giovanni Francesco Romano

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

“Immaculate Conception” 1757 by Giuseppe Ranucci

PRESBYTERY

Large fresco “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence and stories of his life”: “Meeting with St. Sixtus II (257/258)”, “Judgment of Valerian”, “Incarceration of a deacon”, “Conversion of the neophyte” about 1590/91 by Pasquale Cati (1537/1612)

“Echoes of the paintings by Taddeo and Federico Zuccari and the inheritance of Michelangelo - the painter went down in history as a student of Michelangelo - are alongside realistic visions and perspective gimmicks of great skill, exemplified in the drapes that come out of the space of the scene” (Rosanna Barbiellini Amidei)

Vault of the apse in white and gilded stucco of the first half of the eighteenth century by Niccolò Cartoni

MAIN ALTAR

Urn with the relics of Sts. Crispin and Crispinian

At the sides of the altar oil pantings on wall “St. Michael the Archangel” 1602 by Riccio Bianchini and “Archangel Raphael with Tobias” 1755 by Antonio Bicchierai (1688/1766)

On the left “Wooden cross” of the fifteenth century

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS

“Crucifix between the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist with the Eternal Father above” 1684 by an anonymous seventeenth-century artist

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. BRIDGET

On the altar “St. Bridget in ecstasy” in 1757 by Giuseppe Montesanti

This was the original place of burial of S. Bridget of Sweden (1303/73) which was later moved to Sweden by her daughter

In the urn under the altar there are, since 1892, the remains of St. Victoria martyr

Right wall “Sarcophagus with twisted columns and winged geniuses” third century AD which, according to tradition, was the first tomb of St. Bridget

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS

Formerly painted in 1590 by Cherubino Alberti (1553/1615)

Altarpiece “St. Francis stigmatized” about mid-1700s by Niccolò Lapiccola (1727/90) who maybe reproduced the type of the earlier painting by Alberti

“In the altarpieces we perceive a classical character, corresponding to the will of the nuns, but in keeping with the passing of the poetics of the Baroque style; the eighteenth-century decoration of the church is made in a classical language of simplified forms between arcadia and neoclassicism” (Rosanna Barbiellini Amidei)

SACRISTY

“Marble tabernacle for the Holy Oil” 1625 in Early Renaissance style

UNDERGROUND CHAPEL

Oven in which, according to tradition, St. Lawrence was cooked

Monastery of the Poor Clares

Adjacent to the church, where the nuns used to distribute pane e perna, bread and ham, from which maybe, according to some, the name of the street derives. Others connect it to the worship of Pan of which a colossal statue was found here

The monastery was home to St. Bridget of Sweden

It was expropriated in 1873 and here were moved the scientific faculties of the University of Rome

In the Faculty of Physics operated their fundamental experiments on atomic energy young scientists who were members of the GROUP OF VIA PANISPERNA, including Enrico Fermi and Ettore Majorana. The Atomic Age, therefore, began here

Here was established the MUSEO DELLA FISICA E CENTRO STUDI “ENRICO FERMI” (Museum of Physics and Centre for Studies “Enrico Fermi”) to promote research and disseminate scientific knowledge

St. LAWRENCE IN MIRANDA

S. LORENZO IN MIRANDA

Via in Miranda 10

It was built maybe in the seventh or eighth century for the Guild of Apothecaries in the structure of the TEMPLE OF ANTONINUS AND FAUSTINA of the year 141 AD dedicated to Antoninus Pius (138/161) and to his wife Faustina

According to tradition, St. Lawrence was sentenced to death here

We do not know where the name “Miranda” comes from

First mentioned by the sources in 1192

Urban V (1362/70) ordered to strip some of the marbles to use them in the Basilica of St. John Lateran

Rebuilt in the years 1601/14 by Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657)

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Altarpiece “Annunciation” by Alessandro Fortuna, one of the rare paintings by this pupil of Domenichino who died very young

On the left of “Kiss of the side with a donor” about 1573 beautiful work by Giovanni De Vecchi (about 1537/1615)

MAIN ALTAR

1643/46 architecture by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona (1597/1669)

On the altar painting “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence” also by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona

On the left “Madonna and Child with Sts. Philip and James” by Raffaello Vanni (1587/1673) from Siena

1^st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Altarpiece “Madonna and Child with Saints” very damaged, about 1626 by Domenico Zampieri aka Domenichino (1581/1641) who perhaps designed the stuccos too

Under the church big SPEZIERIA (old farmacy)

St. LAWRENCE IN LUCINA

S. LORENZO IN LUCINA

Piazza S. Lorenzo in Lucina 16

Ancient Titulus Lucinae mentioned by the sources on the year 366 AD, perhaps built on the house of the Christian matron Lucina

It was transformed into a Christian basilica in the fifth century by Sixtus III (432/440)

The basilica was rebuilt by Paschal II (1099/1118)

It was consecrated in 1196 by Celestine III Orsini (1191/98)

1281/87 construction of the PALAZZO CARDINALIZIO (Palace of the Cardinal) known as PALAZZO FIANO ALMAGIÀ to the left of the church

The palace passed in 1624 to the Peretti family, then the Ottoboni Dukes of Fiano and finally in 1898 to the Almagià family

Radical restoration of the church 1650/52 by Cosimo Fanzago (1591/1678) continued up to 1675, after it was assigned in 1606 to the Regular Minor Clerics of St. Francis Caracciolo

Further radical restoration in the years 1856/58 by Andrea Busiri Vici (1818/1911)

FAÇADE and PORCH

Twelfth century, with six granite columns plus another embedded in the left side proving that the porch was originally open on that side

At both sides of the entrance “Marble Lions” maybe dating back to mid thirteenth century

On the right “Funerary monument of Clelia Severini” by Pietro Tenerani 1825 (1789/1869)

It was the first work in Rome by Tenerani, a student of Bertel Thorvaldsen, and it was placed here (in the place for which it was executed) only in 1955, after a long stay in the villa of the family, which had inspired the ode Sopra un bassorilievo antico sepolcrale (On an ancient burial bas-relief) to the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi

“Epigraph of Anacleto II Pierleoni antipope” 1130

“Epigraph to commemorate the rededication of the church in 1196”

NAVE

“Saints” between the windows and ceiling “Ascension of Christ with Sts. Lawrence, Damasus, Lucina and Francis Caracciolo” 1856/60 by Roberto Bompiani (1821/1908)

“Ten rounds monochrome in tempera with stories of St. Francis Caracciolo” 1807 by Francesco Manno (1752/1831)

FLOOR 1734

COUNTER FAÇADE

On the left “Funerary monument of Cardinal Silvio Passerini from Cortona” titular cardinal of the church from 1517 to 1520

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. LAWRENCE

Urn with grill where St. Lawrence was cooked

Tradition has it that he told his tormentors: “This side I am done, turn me around and eat me”

Above the altar “St. Lucina showing St. Lawrence the plan of the church” 1716 by Sigismondo Rosa

On the left “Presentation of the poor to the prefect of Rome” and on the right “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence” nineteenth-century paintings by G. Creti

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. ANTHONY

1651 Cosimo Fanzago (1591/1678), continued in the years 1652/55 by Carlo Rainaldi (1611/91)

Above the altar “Sacred Heart of Jesus” 1918 by Mario Aironi, which replaced a painting by Massimo Stanzione now disappeared

Oval on the pediment of the altar “Holy Family” by Domenico Rainaldi, cousin of Carlo Rainaldi

On the sides miracles of St. Anthony: on the left “Healing of the foot” and on the right “Mare worshipping the Holy Host” by the painter from Antwerp Jan Miel (1599/1663)

ON THE 2^nd PILLAR

“Monument to Nicolas Poussin (1594/1665)” 1829/32 by Louis Vaudoyer for François -René de Chateaubriand. The bust is by Paul Lemoyne (1794/1873) and the bas-relief with “Discovery of the Tomb of Sappho” is by Louis Desprez (1799/1870)

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS CARACCIOLO

On the altar “St. Francis Caracciolo adoration of the Eucharist” 1750 by Ludovico Stern (1709/77) son of Ignazio Stern (1679/1748)

The plaque on the left reminds that the artists Ludovico, Veronica and Raffaele Stern were buried in this church, and that the altar piece of this altar was placed here in 1974 to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Raffaele Stern, (son of Giovanni Stern, in turn, son of Ludovico Stern), the architect of Pius VII Chiaramonti (1800/23)

Pendentives “Stories of St. Francis Caracciolo” by Teodoro Matteini (1754/1831)

Under the altar relics of the sixth Pope St. Alexander I (105/115)

4^th CHAPEL FONSECA or CHAPEL OF THE ANNUNCIATION

1660/64 Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680)

Above the altar “Annunciation” by Ludovico Gimignani (1643/97) son of Giacinto Gimignani. It is a copy of an original by Guido Reni kept in the Chapel of the Annunciation in the Quirinal Palace

“Bronze Angels” that replaced in 1691 the originals angels in white stucco

On the right “Prophet Elisha purifies the waters of the river of Jericho” 1664 by Giacinto Gimignani (1606/81)

On the left eighteenth-century copy of “Our Lady Salus Populi Romani (Health of the People of Rome)”, which replaced the disappeared painting “King Ahab and the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel” by Guglielmo Courtois aka Borgognone

First bust on the left “Luigi de Witten” d. 1868, Interior Minister of Pius IX Mastai-Ferretti (1846/78)

Second bust on the left “Gabriele Fonseca” 1675 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gabriele Fonseca was a Portuguese doctor at the service of Pope Innocent X Pamphilj (1644/55)

The busts on the right are maybe by artists of the Bernini school

“Towards the end of his life Bernini had a tendency to replace the diagonals, predominant during his middle period, with horizontal and vertical lines, to let them play with serpentine curves or to break suddenly in angular folds and to deepen fissures and grooves. The bust of Fonseca clearly shows how strongly these compositional gimmicks accentuate the emotional tension expressed in the head. Fonseca's fervent devotion and his spiritual abandonment are evoked by the mystery of the Annunciation, painted on the altar; an intangible link therefore between Fonseca and the altar covers the space in which the viewer moves” (Rudolf Wittwoker)

RIGHT TRANSEPT

“Bust of Cardinal Giovanni Antonio De Via” by Agostino Corsini (1688/1772) the only remaining part, along with the plaque, of a disappeared monument by Ferdinando Fuga

LAST CHAPEL AT THE RIGHT END - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS

“Wooden crucifix” of the sixteenth century

On the right “Umberto II of Savoy Memorial (1904/83)”, the last king of Italy, who reigned for only a little over a month, from May 9 to June 12, 1946

MAIN ALTAR

Baroque machinery 1669 by Carlo Rainaldi (1611/91)

Above the altar very famous and iconic painting “Crucifixion” 1637/38 by Guido Reni (1575/1642)

In the choir “Madonna between Sts. John of Nepomuk and Michael” by Onofrio Avellino (about 1674/1741), a pupil of Francesco Solimena

To the right of the main altar “Candelabra for the Easter candle” about 1225/50 by Vassalletto III

Behind a small door “Papal Chair of Paschal II (1099/1118)”

TRIUMPHAL ARCH

Frescoes by Roberto Bompiani (1821/1908)

LAST CHAPEL AT THE LEFT END - CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Eighteenth century painting “Immaculate Conception”

5^th LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS AND S. GIACINTA MARESCOTTI

Above the altar “St. Francis appears to S. Giacinta Marescotti at the time of death” 1736 masterpiece by Marco Benefial (1684/1764)

“He showed aptitude for painting since he was a youth and was therefore entrusted to the teaching of Bonaventura Lamberti, a painter of Carpi, good follower of the Carraccis, who from 1698 until 1703 directed the steps within a cultural context that was based on the study of ancient sculpture, Raphael and seventeenth-century Bolognese painting, welcoming the modern experiences of Maratta, Luti and Chiari. (...) The death of Giacinta Marescotti is characterized by a strong and passionate naturalism, definitely something quite new for those years in Rome”(Evelina Borea - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

“The Roman Marco Benefial was an unconventional artist, who advocated a return to the sources of the seventeenth-century Classicism against the graceful affectations of the followers of Trevisani and the mannerist painting with no contacts with reality of the more predictable pupils of Maratta. Benefial led his controversy at the very heart of the Academy and ended up being ousted. However, beside the ecclesiastical style of the Arcadia, often sweetish and conventional, popular at the time, these paintings stand out for their freshness and truth in the narrative of suffering, free from rhetoric ennobling or languid sentimentality” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

On the cyma “Virgin Mary of the Grace” by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)

On the pillars “Saints” maybe 1807 by Francesco Manno (1752/1831)

Paintings on the vault and on the lunettes “Eternal God, angels and stories of the Virgin Mary”

Pendentives “Evangelists”

Walls on the right “The donning of St. Francis” and on the left “Temptation of St. Francis” all works painted in the years 1623/24 by the French Simon Vouet (1590/1649)

“This whole series of paintings by Vouet has absolutely extraordinary importance for the history of Roman art of the early seventeenth century, because it is one of the most ambitious attempts to meditate the lesson from Caravaggio, resulting in a highly personal synthesis” (Francesca Bertozzi)

4^th CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

On the altar “The Holy Family” by Alessandro Turchi aka Orbetto (1578/1649)

“Bust of Cardinal Carlo Cremonesi (1866/1943)” by Giuseppe Tonnini (1875/1954) who had carved the winged lions on the steps of the Victor Emmanuel Monument and the Monument to St. Francis of Assisi at the Basilica of St. John Lateran

BETWEEN 4^th AND 3^rd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“Marble pulpit” 1651 by Cosimo Fanzago (1591/1678)

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. JOHN OF NEPOMUK

“Statue of St. John of Nepomuk” 1737 by Gaetano Altobelli

On the right “St. John of Nepomuk dead on the banks of the Vltava” and on the left “St. John of Nepomuk taken before King Wenceslas” by an unknown eighteenth-century artist

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. CHARLES BORROMEO

Altarpiece “St. Charles Borromeo carrying in procession the Holy Nail Cross” about 1613 by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620)

“The dynamism of the composition is perfect, a crescendo that leads to the precious relic enhanced by the open arms of the cleric. The crucifix lit on the top right is made with masterful and almost alive strokes, while the saint, heir of Ambrose, makes a gesture loaded with eloquence, looking at the faithful outside the painting. (...) The cross supporting the old reliquary is lifted like a banner (the thrust desired by the painter is expressed by his repentance in the position of the hands).The canvas can now be dated to 1613, thanks to the cleaning for the exhibition in 2013 at Palazzo Venezia, particularly revealing of colors and veiling, of the four shades of red, white and blue-black, of the totally obscured background from which the relic at the center and the crucifix in the upper part emerge” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

Paintings on the sides maybe by Gregorio Preti (active in the seventeenth century), Mattia Preti's Brother

1^st LEFT - BAPTISTERY

1721 Giuseppe Sardi (1680/1753), maybe from a project by Francesco De Sanctis (1693/1740)

“Interesting opening on the European 'rocaille' taste, inspired by a careful rereading of the Roman Baroque style. Due to the tight integration between structure and decoration, it is likely that the stuccos (unfortunately in very poor condition due to infiltration of water) have been carried out from the design of the same artist responsible for the architecture” (Francesca Bertozzi)

Above the altar “Baptism of Christ” 1722 by Giuseppe Nasini (1657/1736)

Canvas on the left “Baptism of St. Lucina” and on the right “St. Peter baptizes St. Savina” by Giovanni Antonio Grecolini (1675/1725)

SACRISTY

“Reliquary of the chains of St. Lawrence” of the sixteenth century

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS

Building of the second century AD of uncertain identification inserted in the area of the monuments of Augustus, traces of which remain in two rooms with black and white floor mosaics and wall paintings

An insula (apartments' block) was superimposed in the third century AD also used for Christian activities in the fourth century, as a source mentions that here (in Lucinis) the election of Pope Damasus (366/384) took place

The perimeter of the insula was used for the construction of the early Christian Basilica of the fifth century built by Pope Sixtus III (432/440) of which traces of the baptistery remain