S. NICOLA DA TOLENTINO
St.
Nicholas of Tolentino (1245/1305) was born in the Marche region and lived most
of his life in Tolentino, where he also died. He was canonized in 1325
The church
was built in 1599 for the Discalced Augustinians
Rebuilt in
the years 1619/51 by Bonaventura Cherubino da Spoleto and Martino Longhi the
Younger (1602/60)
Completed
in the years 1651/54 maybe by Giovanni Maria Baratta
(active since 1644/d. after 1679) under the guidance of Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654) for Prince Camillo Pamphilj nephew
of Pope Innocent X Pamphilj (1644/55)
The
identity of the main architect is not clear and it seems that the prince
Camillo Pamphilj himself actively participated in the design of the church,
being, as the scholar Passeri wrote, intendentissimo di architettura
(extremely knowledgeable in architecture)
With the
completion of the church the union of the families Pamphilj and Barberini was
sealed. Olimpiuccia Giustiniani, nephew Camillo Pamphilj, married Don Maffeo,
heir of the Barberinis
The church
was consecrated in 1685
Since 1883
it belongs to the Pontifical Armenian College. Here mass is officiated
with the Armenian rite
Restorations
in the years 1938/42
1653/70 by Giovanni Maria Baratta
To the left
of the façade, above the entrance of the College, ovate with relief “Glory of
St. Nicholas” 1664 by Giovanni Francesco De Rossi
(active 1640/77)
Next to the
window “Religion” and “Charity” 1665 by Andrea Baratta
(about 1595/1666), brother of Giovanni Maria
“Octagons
with figures of saints”, starting from the entrance:
“St.
William of Aquitaine” 1663 by Pietro Paolo Naldini
(1619/91)
“Blessed
Clare of Montefalco” 1664 by Giovanni Francesco De
Rossi, who also sculpted the “Angels” in the counter façade and near the
windows
“St.
Augustine”, “St. Thomas of Villanova” and “St. Agnes” 1661 by Pietro Sassi
“St.
Nicholas of Tolentino” 1656 by G.B. Ferrabosco
Stuccos in
the vault by Stefano Roncaglia and Pietro Sassi
PILLARS
BETWEEN 1st AND 2nd CHAPELS
“Stoups” in
marble 1664/65 by Andrea Baratta
1st
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. NICHOLAS OF BARI
On the sides
“Nativity of the Virgin Mary” and “Coronation of the Virgin” 1680 by Giovanni Ventura Borghesi pupil of Pietro da Cortona
Above the
altar “Meeting between Pope Sylvester and St. Gregory” 1908 by Giovanni Gagliardi (1838/1924), grandson of Pietro
Gagliardi
On the
right “Tomb of Patriarch Antony Peter IX Hassun” d. 1884
On the left
“Tomb of Cardinal Gregory Peter XV Agagianian”
3rd RIGHT - LANTE DELLA ROVERE
CHAPEL
Above the
altar “Sts. Lucretia and
Gertrude” old copy from the original by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri aka Guercino
(1591/1666) now at the Savoy Gallery in Turin
RIGHT TRANSEPT
Altar by Giovanni Maria Baratta
At the
center of the vault stucco “St. Thomas of Villanova” by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86) by Camillo Pamphilj
On the
sides of the altar “Gravestones of Giuseppe and Nicola Oregi” 1669 for Cardinal
Agostino Oregi
1651/55 Giovanni Maria Baratta (active since 1644/d. after
1679) under the guidance of Alessandro Algardi
(1598/1654)
Marble
altarpiece “Virgin Mary and Child with Sts. Augustine and Monica appearing to
St. Nicholas of Tolentino” before 1654 by Domenico
Guidi (1625/1701) and Ercole Ferrata (who
executed St. Nicholas) designed by Alessandro Algardi
Above the
pediment “Angels” maybe by Francesco Baratta
(about 1590/about 1663)
Gilded
stucco in the apse 1656/57 by G.B. Ferrabosco
“In 1654
Algardi was dead and Ferrata, who had become a successful sculptor (...),
seemed about to take his place as representative of Baroque classicism. His
style formed in contact with the naturalism of Neapolitan artists and later of
Bernini, always showed classical cadences, already appreciated by him in Naples
with Duquesnoy (admired certainly with interest in his Roman works), and almost
imposed on him by the attendance to Algardi's school. The influence of Bernini,
inevitable, in Ferrata is, however, always limited, often only episodic”
(Gerardo Casale - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
“In 1669
they were called to Rome by Pietro da Cortona to paint the dome of S. Maria in
Campitelli, but when they arrived they found not only that the old master was
dead, but also that they had lost most of their possessions, money, and
paintings - they used to own works even by Tintoretto and Veronese - on a ship
that was attacked by pirates. Moreover, to add insult to injury, it all came to
nothing of S. Maria in Campitelli. The two, however, placing themselves under
the protection of Cardinal Spada, managed to get the commission of the dome of
St. Nicholas of Tolentino. Their fresco (...) although it derives directly,
both in the overall composition and in the details, from the fresco by
Berrettini in the dome of S. Maria in Vallicella (...), in its lightness,
airiness and ease it anticipates the later Baroque style which Baciccio would
adopt in the dome of the Gesù church” (Robert Enggass - Dizionario Biografico
degli Italiani Treccani)
SPANDRELS
“Vows of
the Augustinian Order: Humility, Chastity, Obedience and Poverty” 1643 by Pietro Paolo Ubaldini (about 1614/about 1684)
TO THE LEFT
OF THE MAIN ALTAR - CHAPEL OF Sts. MATTHEW AND CECILIA or BURATTI CHAPEL
Above the
altar “Apparition of the Virgin Mary to Sts. Matthew and Cecilia” and frescoes
in the rest of the chapel with “Stories of Sts. Matthew and Cecilia” 1638/40 by
Pietro Paolo Ubaldini
Canvas on
the sides “Agony of St. Cecilia” and “Martyrdom of St. Matthew” maybe by an unknown French artist of the early seventeenth century pupil
of Guido Reni
LEFT
TRANSEPT
On the
altar “Preaching of the blessed Gomidas” 1929 by Mario
Barberis (1893/1960)
The
Armenian priest Gomidas Keumurgian, a native of Constantinople, was martyred in
1707 and was beatified in 1929, the same year in which this painting was
executed
Stucco on
the vault and “St. Agnes” in the octagon by Ercole
Ferrata
Altar
designed by Pietro Camporese the Elder (1726/81)
On the
altar “Our Lady of Good Counsel” by Cristoforo
Unterberger (1732/98)
Stucco
decoration around the painting by Vincenzo Pacetti
(1746/1820)
On the left
“Annunciation” 1789 by the Capuchin Father Raffaele
Minossi
In the lunettes
“Sibyls” in monochrome and in the dome “God the Father in Glory” by Ermenegildo Costantini (1731/91)
1668/77.
Begun by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona
(1597/1669), completed after 1674 by his pupil Ciro
Ferri (1634/89) for G.B. Gavotti
“To the
typical chromatic chords of Bernini, Pietro da Cortona adds, in contrast with
the marble, gilded bronze which, in the ribs, ligaments and finials, has its
discontinuous light intertwined with the darker colors of the stone to reach in
the Gavotti Chapel an effect of funeral wealth” (Paolo Portoghesi)
On the
right “Statue of St. Joseph” by Ercole
Antonio Raggi (1624/86) over the “Tomb
of Carlo Gavotti” m. 1690
Medallion
in the upper part “St. Charles Borromeo” maybe by Ercole
Antonio Raggi
Fresco in
the dome “Glory of Angels” begun by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona and finished by Ciro Ferri after the master's death
1st
LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
“The Holy Sepulchre” 1679, exact copy of the one in
Jerusalem, formerly in the church of St. Mary of Egypt and moved here in 1921,
after it was desecrated to show the Temple
of Portunus
It is an
important copy because the original in Jerusalem was destroyed by fire in 1808
and rebuilt two years later in a different style
On the
altar “St. Filippo Neri in ecstasy in the Church of Minerva” 1728 by Cristoforo Ceo
