S. EUSTACHIO
Maybe
founded by Constantine (306/337) on the site where St. Eustace was martyred and
buried with his wife and two children, according to tradition, at the time of
the reign of Hadrian (117/138)
This is
impossible of course, because during the reign of Hadrian there was, according
to historical sources, no persecution. Moreover, according to pagan sources
such as the Historia Augusta, Hadrian, shortly before his death, had
decided to recognize Christianity and was ready to dedicate temples without
statues to Christ
St.
Eustace, according to tradition, was a Roman army officer named Placido who had
a vision of the crucifix between the antlers of a deer as he was hunting
Mentioned
as a diaconia at the time of Gregory II (715/731)
A diaconia
was an establishment for the care of the poor and distribution of the church's
charity in the Middle Ages
Restored
and re-consecrated in 1196 by Celestine III Orsini (1191/98), who also built
the bell tower reusing the base dating back to about 1090
Complete
reconstruction begun in the years 1701/03 by Cesare
Crovara (active from 1682/d. 1703) from a design of 1692 by G.B. Contini (1641/1723)
1703/08
further works directed by G.B. Contini after the
death of Crovara. He designed the chapels and the porch
1724/27
completion of work with transept and apse by Antonio
Canevari (1681/1759), by Nicola Salvi
(1697/1751) and, in the years 1728/30, by Giovanni
Domenico Navone (known from 1706/d. 1770), thanks to a legacy of Pope
Innocent XIII Conti (1721/24)
The
construction of the church therefore lasted about 29 years
Restoration
in 1861, in the years 1930/40 and 1992
FAÇADE
1701/03 by Cesare Crovara
It was
restored in 1992 with the original so-called “color of the air”, a beautiful
celestial hue
Above the
pediment sculpture “Deer
Head” by Paolo Morelli (known
from 1712/d. 1719)
The head
was not considered similar to that of a deer by most people, so much that there
was a lampoon who claimed to not understand why one would confuse deers with
donkeys
TO THE LEFT
OF THE ENTRANCE
“Funerary
monument of Giovanni Giraud” 1843 by Giuseppe Barba
“The
interior is a splendid set of architectural structures, figurative elements and
ornamental solutions of the more mature Baroque style. Visitor is immediately
inserted into a space 'animated' by the intertwining of real or illusory lines
and a pleasant harmony of colors and gilding, on which the light is diffused in
a game of refractions and references. It seems clear, in this way, as the
decoration is not an extrinsic and distracting component, but contributes fully
to organize a perfect environment balanced between exuberant magnificence and
measured sobriety” (Vincenzo Francia)
COUNTER
FAÇADE
Spectacular
“Organ” 1764 by Johannes Conradus Werle
(1701/77)
Stained
glass window with “Penitent Magdalene” of the end of the nineteenth century by Gabriel and Louis Gesta
from Toulouse
1st
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Above the
altar “Holy Family in the Temple of Jerusalem” about 1854 by Pietro Gagliardi (1809/90)
On the
right “Funerary monument of Luigi Greppi” 1673
In the two
ovals on the sides there were two paintings unfortunately stolen not long ago
2nd
RIGHT – ANNUNCIATION CHAPEL
Designed by
Ferdinando Fuga (1699/1782)
On the
altar “Annunciation” about 1620 by Ottavio Lioni
(1578/1630)
3rd
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
Above the
altar “Sacred Heart of Jesus”, on the right “Christ on the Cross and St.
Longinus”, on the left “Supper at Emmaus” and other decorations 1934/37 by Corrado Mezzana (1890/1952)
“In his
artistic production (...) it is apparent a crystallization of formulas of
classical academic style, especially in the works with sacred subjects (...),
while in the stamps' designs, to which he devoted himself assiduously since the
thirties, Mezzana was able to synthesize the compositional complexity of the
details and the expressive immediacy of allegory” (Rosanna Ruscio -
Biographical Dictionary of Italian Treccani)
RIGHT
TRANSEPT
“St. Jerome
penitent” 1725 by Giacomo Zoboli (1681/1767)
from Modena
Under the
canvas fine “Confessional in wood” by Corrado Mezzana
1739 by Nicola Salvi
(1697/1751) for Cardinal Neri Corsini
On the
altar “Martyrdom of St. Eustace” 1725 by Francesco
Fernandi aka Imperiali (1679/1740)
The
nickname comes from the fact that the artist was protected by Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali
Under the
altar “porphyry urn” which contains the bodies of St. Eustace, his wife
Theopista and his son Agapito and his daughter Theopista
CANOPY
1746 Ferdinando Fuga
He devised
a remarkable and innovative suspended canopy so not to burden the space
APSE
In the
upper part plaster relief “Triumph of the Cross” by Galileo
Parisini (1872/1949)
In the
niches at the sides plaster statues “Redeemer” and “Immaculate” 1900 by Augusto Foli
“An
interesting and original architectural solution can be admired in the transept:
the edges are beveled so as to evolve the layout of the church toward an
elliptical plan. The elliptical impression is accentuated by the shallow depth
of the apse. Elegant balconies accompany, with a smooth convex line, the
concavity of the rounded corners” (Vincenzo Francia)
VAULT OF
THE TRANSEPT
Fresco with
fake dome of 1930
LEFT
TRANSEPT
“Meeting of
the Virgin and St. Elizabeth” 1725 by Giacomo Zoboli
Under the
canvas fine “Confessional in wood” by Corrado Mezzana
PULPIT
Decorated
in polychrome marble. Built in memory of the preaching here of Bishop Giacomo
Della Chiesa who later became Pope Benedict XV (1914/22)
3rd
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
1771 Melchiorre
Passalacqua, son of Pietro Passalacqua,
and Agostino Penna (active since 1768/d. 1800)
On the
altar ovate painting “Immaculate Heart of Mary” of the Venetian G.B. Casanova (1730/95) copy from an original donated
to the church by Charles Emmanuel IV of Savoy
On the
right “Holy Family” 1774 by Tommaso Maria Conca
(1734/1822) who was a pupil of his uncle, the great Sebastiano Conca
On the left
“Flight into Egypt” 1774 maybe by Étienne de La Vallée
Poussin (1735/1802) or Michele Paolini
2nd
LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
1714/19 Giuseppe Sardi
(1680/1753) designed by Alessandro Sperone
Above the
altar “St. Michael the Archangel” 1817 copy by Giovanni
Bigatti (1774/1817) from the world famous original by Guido Reni in St.
Mary of the Immaculate Conception
To the left
“Funeral Monument of Teresa Tognoli Samonati Canale” d. 1807
To the
right “Funeral Monument of Silvio Cavalleri” d. 1717 Alessandro
Sperone with sculptures by Lorenzo Ottoni(1648/1736)
1st
LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. JULIAN HOSPITALLER
Above
the altar “S. Julian” in 1706 by Biagio Puccini
(1673/1721)
