St. ANGELO IN THE FISH MARKET

S. ANGELO IN PESCHERIA

Via di S. Angelo in Pescheria 6

Diaconia (building for assistance and charity to the poor, the sick and pilgrims) dedicated to St. Paul, founded in the year 755, maybe on a previously existing church dating back to the fourth or sixth century, built in turn on the ruins of the PORTICO D’OTTAVIA

This information was taken from an inscription embedded on the left wall of the entrance room

In the twelfth century it was dedicated to S. Angelo and was named S. Angelo in Foro Piscium (St. Angel in the Forum of Fish) for the presence of the nearby fish market

Restored in 1583 by Martino Longhi the Elder (1534/91) and in 1599 by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602)

Other restorations in the years 1700, 1719, 1741, 1821

Last renovation in 1864 Alessandro Betocchi for Pius IX Mastai-Ferretti (1846/78)

“The engineer Alessandro Betocchi, also intervened on the outside: he knocked down the huts on the left side of the front of the Propylaeum with the aim to restore its original appearance, he destroyed the wall that was partially hiding the arch and carried out an excavations to bring to light the Roman walkway. Inside he also freed the three columns and the façade of the church was moved back from them. The façade was plastered with the aim to put even more emphasis on the difference with the Roman ruins” (Pier Paolo Racioppi)

In 1929 the roof with trusses was rebuilt after the collapse of the vault in 1928

Here the Roman Jews were forced to listen to the sermons of the Jesuits who wanted to convert them

1^st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Above the altar “Apparition of the Blessed Trinity to Sts. Cyrus and Lorenzo” by G.B. Brughi (1660/1730) pupil of Baciccio

2nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. ANDREW OF THE FISHMONGERS

Above the altar “St. Andrew” maybe by Marco Tullio Montagna (1594/1649) from Velletri, pupil of Federico Zuccari

On the right “The Calling of St. Andrew” in 1619 by Bernardino Cesari (1571/1622), brother of Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino

Frescoes “Stories of St. Andrew, Evangelists and saints” about 1599 maybe by Innocenzo Tacconi (active in Rome 1607/25)

Coat of arms in the floor in opus sectile (inlaid marble) of the University of Fishmongers who had the chapel restored in 1618. The fish symbol is accompanied by the deer, symbol of old nobility and the Capitoline geese, symbol of fidelity

MAIN ALTAR

“St. Michael” 1862 copy by Angelo Augero of the famous original by Guido Reni in S. Maria della Concezione

Under the altar “Early Christian sarcophagus” with relics of St. Cyrus of Alexandria

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Above the altar “Madonna and Child with Angels” 1450 maybe by Benozzo di Lese aka Benozzo Gozzoli (1420/97)

He was called Gozzoli by Giorgio Vasari in the 1568 edition of his book dedicated to the lives of the artists, but all the other existing documents identify him as Benozzo di Lese

It is a fresco that was detached from the outer wall of the church and was moved here to be better preserved

“He worked with Ghiberti (...), but he was born to art with Fra Angelico: it is assumed with convincing evidence that he was his help during the work in the Convent of S. Marco in Florence, and worked with him in March of the year 1447 in the Vatican and in June of the same year in Orvieto, in the Chapel of S. Brizio in the Duomo. (...) It is also likely that he helped Angelico with the frescoes in the Chapel of Nicholas V in the Vatican painted in those years. Benozzo became independent late, in his thirties, and always under the influence of the mystical severity of his teacher. But also his familiarity with Ghiberti left in him a clear pattern: that loving attention to the world around him and his pleasant capacity of materializing Angelico's style” (Emma Micheletti - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

1^st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS

“Wooden crucifix” of the sixteenth century

Above the entrance doors of the side aisles “St. Francis Caracciolo converts a courtesan” and “St. Francis Caracciolo adoration of the Eucharist” 1808 by Francesco Manno (1752/1831)

TO THE RIGHT OF THE PROPYLAEUM OF PORTICO D’OTTAVIA

ORATORIO DI S. ANDREA DEI PESCIVENDOLI (deconsecrated)

Oratory of St. Andrew of the Fishmongers 

1688/89 Filippo Tittoni

Façade with stucco restored in 1928

It was dedicated to St. Andrew, the apostle who was a fisherman

Inside the church “Busts of the Evangelists and of the Fathers of the Church” maybe by Lorenzo Ottoni (1648/1736) and Michel Maille aka Michele Maglia (active in Rome in the second half of the seventeenth century)

It is now owned by the Municipality of Rome and it is used for commercial activities

VATICAN MUSEUMS - CHAPEL OF NICHOLAS V

Cappella Nicolina

In the TOWER OF INNOCENT III of the Counts of Segni (1198/1216)

Rediscovered in 1721 when it was added the altarpiece “Stoning of St. Stephen” by Giorgio Vasari (1511/74)

Extremely important cycle of frescoes:

In the vault:

“Four Evangelists”

Pilasters at the side of the altar:

“St. Athanasius”, “St. Leo the Great”, “St. Gregory the Great” and “St. Chrysostom”

Pilasters at the side of the door:

“St. Thomas Aquinas”, “St. Ambrose”, “St. Augustine” and “St. Bonaventure”

On three walls:

“Stories of the protomartyrs Sts. Stephen and Lawrence” 1448/50 masterpiece by Fra' Giovanni da Fiesole aka Fra Angelico (about 1395/1455) for Nicholas V Parentucelli (1447/55) finished with the assistance of Benozzo di Lese aka Benozzo Gozzoli (1420/97 )

The six scenes from the life of St. Stephen are in the lunettes at the top:

“St. Stephen receives the diaconate from St. Peter”

“S. Stephen distributes alms”

“Preaching of St. Stephen”

“Dispute in the Sanhedrin”

“St. Stephen led to torture”

“Stoning of St. Stephen”

The five scenes from the life of St. Lawrence are in rectangular panels at the bottom:

“St. Sixtus II (with the portrait of Nicholas V) gives the diaconate to St. Lawrence”

“St. Sixtus II entrusts the Church's treasure to St. Lawrence”

“St. Lawrence distributes alms to the poor”

“St. Lawrence in judgment before Emperor Decius”

“Martyrdom of St. Lawrence”

The Dominican monk Giovanni da Fiesole aka Fra Angelico is known as Beato Angelico (Blessed Angelic) in Italian and he was actually proclaimed blessed only by Pope John Paul II in 1984. However he was described as “Beato” soon after his death both for the emotional devoutness of his paintings, and for his human qualities

In his work he conjugated aspects of medieval art such as the importance of education in art or the mystical use of light with new Renaissance instances such as the careful use of perspective or the emphasis on human figures

His influence will be felt by his collaborator Benozzo Gozzoli and by Filippo Lippi. With his use of light he paved the way for the great masters Piero Della Francesca and Melozzo da Forlì

“Influenced by the Roman environment and of course also from the direct vision of the ancient monuments, Fra Angelico's style acquired a brand new appearance dignified, majestic and classic. The simple Florentine narration leaves the field to noble rhetorical oratory, the figures become firmer and monumental, reconnecting to the solemn Masaccio's Tribute; natural landscape is replaced by grandiose architectural plants, rich in classical allusions. Behind the mask of the vicissitudes of life and martyrdom of the saints is in fact the celebration of this papacy, self-proclaimed heir to the greatness of Ancient Rome” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

“The humanist pope would not have called Fra Angelico if he had not recognized him as the great exponent of religious humanism. Angelico wants to show that a fact is historical when it contains a deep conceptual meaning. St. Lawrence giving Church property to the poor is a historical fact that, as an exhortation to charity, may also have a moral significance, but it also has a conceptual meaning because material goods given are the grace that the Church distributes in the whole mystical body of the Christian community. The Church is represented by the deep perspective aisle and the community of the faithful or the mystical body of the poor, decent as ancient characters” (Giulio Carlo Argan)

“In the use of light, however, Fra Angelico's technique is at its finest: pervading the entire surface of the painting light manages to instill a deep sense of unity to the scenes. The bright light mystically understood ends up being almost emanation of the divine and manages to optimize colors that shine also for the use of gold” (Andrea Pomella)