St. MARY OF THE STAIRS

S. MARIA DELLA SCALA

Piazza della Scala 23

Built in the years 1593/1610. Francesco Capriani aka Francesco da Volterra (1535/94) began the works but he died after one year and the church was finished by Girolamo Rainaldi (1570/1655)

FAÇADE

Finished in 1624 according to the design of Francesco da Volterra

In the niche of the façade “Madonna and Child” 1633 by Francesco di Cusart

In 1849, during the period of the Roman Republic, the church was used as a field hospital for Garibaldi's soldiers

Restored in 1851

The interior is a reformulation Church of the Gesù

COUNTER FAÇADE

Spectacular wooden choir stalls 1756 by Giuseppe Pannini (about 1720/about 1810), the architect of the Trevi Fountain and the son of the painter Giovanni Paolo Pannini

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. JOHN THE BAPTIST

Above the altar “Beheading of the Baptist” 1619 masterpiece by Gerrit Van Honthorst aka Gherardo Delle Notti (1590/1656)

“He brings back Caravaggio's forming light into a light source within the painting, taking advantage of the shade not as matrix of light, but as a screenplay” (Cesare Brandi)

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. HYACINTH

On the altar “Virgin Mary, St. Hyacinth and St. Catherine of Siena” by Antiveduto Grammatica (about 1572/1626)

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. JOSEPH

Above the altar “Holy Family” by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721)

Dome “Glory of St. Joseph” and on the right “Joseph's Dream” by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731)

On the left “Marriage of Mary and Joseph” by Antonio David (1684/after 1735)

RIGHT TRANSEPT - CHAPEL OF St. TERESA OF AVILA

Designed by Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1691/1765)

Here the right foot of St. Teresa of Avila was kept from 1617 until 1905. Now it is in the Chapel of the Relic

Above the altar “Ecstasy of St. Teresa” by Francesco Mancini (1679/1758)

Oval marble on the left “St. Teresa in Ecstasy” by Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768) and on the right “St. Teresa pierced by a cherub” by Michelangelo Slodtz (1705/64)

On the pediment “Two angels” in stucco by G.B. Maini (1690/1752)

In the big lunette two reliefs in stucco with “Visions of St. Teresa” by Giuseppe Lironi (1689/1749)

MAIN ALTAR

1647 Carlo Rainaldi (1611/91)

Statues at the sides on the left “St. Joseph” and on the right “St. Teresa” by Simone Giorgini (active in Rome 1677/1712)

On the back “Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel” 1737 by Giuseppe Peroni (about 1626/63)

Four paintings on the walls of the presbytery with “Stories of the Christ”:

From right “Baptism”, “Wedding at Cana”, “The Last Supper” and “Ascension” by the Flemish painter Lucas De La Haye aka Luca Fiammingo (second half of the eighteenth century) and “Madonna with Child” in 1612 by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640)

IN THE APSE

“Redeemer Enthroned with Virgin Mary and saints” second half of the nineteenth century by Fra' Silvestro di S. Luigi

TO THE LEFT OF THE CHOIR - CHAPEL OF THE RELIC

The right foot of St. Teresa of Avila has been kept here since 1905

Six paintings with “Stories of St. Teresa of Avila” by Lucas De La Haye aka Luca Fiammingo

LEFT TRANSEPT - CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF THE STAIRS

“Miraculous image of Our Lady”: according to tradition, in 1592 this icon, located on the outer stairs of a nearby house, miraculously healed a deformed child after the prayers of his mother

On the right “Cenotaph of Cardinal Prospero Santacroce” by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)

On the left “Tomb of Livia Prini Santacroce” by Domenico Guidi (1625/1701)

Cardinal Prospero Santacroce was the first ever to introduce tobacco in Rome. It was then known as Santacroce's grass

Paintings on the right “Coronation of the Virgin” and on the left “Immaculate Conception” by Lucas De La Haye aka Luca Fiammingo

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE CRUCIFIX

Marble group “St. John of the Cross at the foot of the Crucifix” by Pietro Papaleo (1640/1740)

Vault “Angels and symbols of the Passion”

On the right “Mocking of Christ” and on the left “Christ fallen under the Cross” by Filippo Zucchetti (active 1694/1712) from Rieti

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE ASSUMPTION

Designed by Girolamo Rainaldi (1570/1655)

On the altar “Death of the Virgin Mary” about 1610 by the Venetian Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620) for the lawyer Laerzio Cherubini, instead of the rejected masterpiece by Caravaggio, now in the Louvre

“The first version is now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. (...) For the Roman painting (...) a restoration carried out in 2013 on the occasion of the exhibition at Palazzo Venezia made ​​it possible to study in depth this work of great compositional maturity, albeit with sometimes hasty painting style in the lower half, with the figures of the apostles and the holy women intensely pathetic in pure Caravaggio's style, the Virgin Mary solemn and traditionally looking in the center. The masonry architecture with arches and vaults of the first version (...) is replaced by a rather conventional riot of angels rejoicing, of pictorial quality quite different than the lower part, with a small successful example of still life in the little wreath of flowers. (...) The modern character looking toward the viewers is perhaps a self-portrait and one can identify his collaborator in the man next to him” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

On the sides “Marriage of the Virgin Mary” and “Birth of the Virgin Mary” by Giovanni Conca (about 1690/1771) cousin of the more famous Sebastiano Conca and often believed his brother, so tight their bonds of friendship and work were. He was the father of distinguished painter Tommaso Conca

Wax statue of St. Teresa of Avila (1515/82) containing her relics

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MOUNT CARMEL

Above the altar “The Virgin Mary gives the scapular to St. Simon Stock” and in the pediment “Eternal Father” by Cristoforo Roncalli aka Pomarancio (1552/1626)

CONVENT OF THE DISCALCED CARMELITES

Maybe Matteo Bartolani da Città di Castello (about 1527/about 1598) and Ottaviano Nonni aka Ottaviano Mascherino (1524/1606) with OLD APOTHECARY on the second floor above the pharmacy, still operating

It was opened in the early eighteenth century and supplied the popes and their families, enjoying privileges and tax exemptions. The furniture and tools of the eighteenth century are still here today

St. MARY OF THE SOUL

S. MARIA DELL'ANIMA

Via di S. Maria dell'Anima 64

Built in the fourteenth century as a chapel for the Hospice for German, Dutch and Flemish Pilgrims at behest of the gunsmith Dordrecht and his wife

Rebuilt in the years 1500/23 maybe by Giuliano Giamberti aka Giuliano da Sangallo (1445/1516)

Mid-1700s CHOIR renovated by Paolo Posi (1708/76)

Fully restored in 1843

Further restoration 1874/75 by Emilio Stramucci with interior decoration by Ludovico Seitz (1844/1908) representing German personalities and Saints

FAÇADE

Three portals and a copy of the sculptural group “Virgin Mary between two souls in purgatory” (original in the Chapel of the Fallen) maybe by Andrea Contucci aka Andrea Sansovino (1460/1529) or by Bartolomeo Lante

BELL TOWER built in 1502

It is the German national church whose model were the German Hallenkirchen

“Saints” in the nave and stained glass window above the entrance “Virgin Mary with Child enthroned with saints” 1875/82 by Ludovico Seitz

TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE

“Tomb of Cardinal Andrea d'Asburgo” 1600 by Gillis de la Rivière (?/1602)

TO THE RIGHT OF THE ENTRANCE

“Tomb of Cardinal Willem van Enkevoirt” 1536/38 by Giovanni Mangone

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF S. BENNO

“St. Benno receives from a fisherman the keys of the cathedral of Meissen in Saxony” 1618 by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620)

“The Bishop Benno, who lived in the eleventh century, was declared a saint in 1523 by Pope Adrian VI (buried in this church) in opposition to the rampant Lutheran movement, which soon after would destroy Benno's reliquary throwing it in the Elba River; the saved relics were brought to the Duke of Bavaria (to whom Saraceni was about to send some of his works) in the 'Bavaria Sancta' where the Catholic cult of relics was a bulwark against the Protestant Reformation and of which Benno was declared guardian saint. (...) The fish is a clear reference to Christology, and the host-fisherman is almost certainly a portrait of an influential member of the community, the merchant and patron George Piscatorius” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Altarpiece “Holy Family” by Giacinto Gimignani (1606/81)

On the left “Tomb of Cardinal Johann Walter Sluse” 1687 with bust by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86)

On the right “Tombs of Johannes Savenier and his nephew Gualtero Gualteri de Castro” with a bust by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)

ON THE 3^rd PILLAR ON THE RIGHT

“Tomb of Adrian Vryburg with cherubs” 1629 by François Duquesnoy (1597/1643)

“From 1618 he was active in Rome, where he remained until a short time before his death. He was successful in the Roman scene, becoming one of the most prominent figures of the Classicist style. (...) The tombs (...) in S. Maria dell'Anima (...), enriched with figures of little angels, indicate not only his mastery in dealing with marble but also the anti-Baroque classical composure that was his artistic ideal” (Enciclopedia Treccani)

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

“Crucifix” by G.B. Montano (1543/1621)

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

4^th CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Copy of the “Pieta” by Michelangelo begun in 1532 by Lorenzo Lotti aka Lorenzetto (1490/1541) and completed by Giovanni Lippi aka Nanni di Baccio Bigio (about 1513/68)

AT THE END OF THE NAVE - MEMORIAL CHAPEL

1937 Karl Holey (1879/1955) who rebuilt the Cathedral of Vienna and the Salzburg Cathedral after the Second World War

MAIN ALTAR

“Fugger altarpiece: the Holy Family with saints” 1522 by Giulio Pippi aka Giulio Romano (1499/1546) for the banker Jacob Fugger of Augsburg, his last work before going to Mantua

It was repainted in 1619 by Carlo Saraceni in 1682 by Carlo Maratta, in 1819 by Pietro Palmaroli and in 1880 by Ludovico Seitz, although the work is considered by Giulio Romano for about 85%

“It is particularly significant because it seems to anticipate some of the grounds that the artist will develop after a few years. Thus the luminous effect that envelops the characters isolated in a dark space, recalls the night of the Sala di Psyche at Tea Palace in Mantua, in the same way as the ' architecture in the background with octagonal coffered vault and Doric pilasters that frame the niches , prefigures certain architectural solutions of the palace of Mantua” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

APSE

On the right “Nativity of the Virgin” and on the left “Death of the Virgin” mid-1700s by Ludovico Stern (1709/77), son of Ignazio Stern

Central window “Trinity” by Ludovico Seitz (1844/1908)

On the right “Monument of Adrian VI (1522/23)” with the four cardinal virtues: “Fortitude, Temperance, Justice and Prudence” by Baldassare Peruzzi (1481/1536)

Adrian VI was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands and he was the last non-Italian pope before John Paul II (1978/2005)

On the left “Tomb of the Duke of Cleves” 1576 by Gillis de la Rivière (?/1602) and Nicolò Pippi (?/1601-1604 )

TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE SACRISTY

“Tomb of Lukas Holstenius” by Antonio Giorgetti (active since 1660/d. 1669)

ON THE 3^rd PILLAR ON THE LEFT

“Tomb of Ferdinand van der Eyden” 1631 by François Duquesnoy (1597/1643)

4^th CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

On the altar “Deposition”, in the vault “Descent of the Holy Spirit” and on the walls “Sacred Stories” 1540 masterpiece by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati (1510/63)

“Today, unfortunately, the frescoes are so faded that even critical judgment on them would be diminished. Anyway it is admirable the beautiful decorative texture of the side walls, whose narrowness does not appear to have represented a major obstacle for Salviati. On each of them the mighty figure of a saint stands in a pose with imposing balanced gestures and rhythmic articulation, surrounded by a rich ornamental frame. (...) The altarpiece accentuates almost too violently the nakedness of the body taken down from the cross. What in Rome appears as a novelty is the extraordinary exuberance of the decorative system of illusionary type” (Hermann Voss)

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. BARBARA

“Stories of St. Barbara” about 1538 by the Flemish artist Michiel Coxie (1499/1592), known as the Flemish Raphael. He died 92 years old, falling from the stairs

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“Sts. John of Nepomuk and John Sarcander” 1880 by Ludovico Seitz

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. LAMBERT

There are the relics of St. Lambert

Altarpiece “Martyrdom of St. Lambert” 1618/19 by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620)

“The patron Lambertus de Ursinus Vivariis placed the painting with his namesake saint in his family chapel. He chose a subject connected with his name and with the criminal profanation in a sacred place (the Cathedral of Liege), alluding to the desecration of the memory of the martyrs and of the role itself of holiness that the Protestants carried out during the wars of religion that had shocked the Netherlands” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

Frescoes “Stories of St. Lambert” 1650/53 by the painter from Antwerp Jan Miel (1599/1663)

SACRISTY

1636 Orazio Torriani (about 1601/about 1657) and later Paolo Marucelli (1594/1649)

In the vault “Assumption” 1636/39 by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (1610/62) from Viterbo, a pupil of Pietro da Cortona

Paintings on the walls with the theme of “Life of the Virgin Mary” by Gilles Hallet (1620/94), Giovanni Maria Morandi (1622/1717), Theodor van Loon (1581-82/1649) and Anton von Maron (1733/1808)

St. BERNARD AT THE BATHS

S. BERNARDO ALLE TERME

Via Torino 94

Built in the years 1598/1602 for Caterina Nobili Sforza S. Fiora, nephew of Julius III Del Monte (1550/55), using one of the four corner towers of the ancient enclosure of the Baths of Diocletian (284/305) built from 298 to 306 AD

The tower was maybe a Sphaeristerium, a gym for some ball game, or a room for reading and studying

Restorations for the consolidation of the dome were carried out in 1857: the lantern of the sixteenth century that burdened too much the ancient dome was taken off

It is dedicated to the Burgundian St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090/1153) the founder of the Cistercian Order

It is also known as the Church without Windows

DOME (diameter 22 m - 72.2 feet)

Along the perimeter “Eight statues of saints” in stucco over 3 m (10 feet) tall, about 1599/1602 masterpiece of Camillo Mariani (1567/1611)

From the right: “St. Augustine”, “St. Monica”, “St. Mary Magdalene”, “St. Francis”, “St. Bernard”, “St. Catherine of Alexandria”, “St. Catherine of Siena” and “St. Jerome”

“He was born in Vicenza and in the study of Rubini he had the inestimable advantage of going through the discipline of the school of Alessandro Vittoria. Shortly after his arrival in Rome he made these noble figures of monumental saints, his masterpieces. The Venetian touch is visible to all but it was strengthened with a new emphasis and a fine psychological insight, so that these works raise well above the average contemporary production and are linked to the intensity of the transitional style in painting in which we find crystallized the true spirit of the great reformers” (Rudolf Wittkower)

“Camillo Mariani was instrumental in the formation of another great sculptor, Francesco Mochi, who, some scholars speculate, might have been a young assistant of the master in S. Bernardo. Mindful of the painting of the Venetian masters such as Veronese, Titian and Tintoretto, Mariani here realizes 'the achievement of monumentality combined with naturalness, the bright distinction of matter combined with a noble stylization' (Nava Cellini). It is a style that would leave a deep imprint in the Roman scene and it would be a source of inspiration and reflection for many seventeenth-century sculptors, including Bernini himself” (Sergio Lombardi)

ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

“Vision of St. Bernard” about 1705 by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731), a pupil of Baciccio

In 1718 Odazzi was commissioned to add a lunette in the upper part of the painting, which was originally rectangular. The addition is well connected and the painted angels help to give a buoyancy to the composition

“Odazzi, faithful follower of Baciccio, shows here that he was influenced by the master in the figures of angels and in the bright colors he used, as well as in the setting of the theatrical scene” (Sergio Lombardi)

The painting is flanked by two beautiful columns in verd antique (ancient green) marble from the Baths of Diocletian

ON THE 5th PILLAR ON THE RIGHT

“Tomb of S. Giovanni della Barrière” 1626 with painting maybe by Andrea Sacchi (1599/1661)

BEHIND THE MAIN ALTAR

At the sides canvas “Death of Joseph” second half of seventeenth century by anonymous and “Madonna of Loreto” beginning of seventeenth century by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620)

UNDER THE 3rd NICHE ON THE LEFT

“Monument of the sculptor Carlo Finelli (1785/1853)” by Rinaldo Rinaldi (1793/1873)

Carlo Finelli from Carrara was part of a family of sculptors including the great Giuliano Finelli precious collaborator of Bernini in the extraordinary group of Apollo and Daphne in the Galleria Borghese

ALTAR ON THE LEFT

“Mystic Marriage of St. Robert with the Virgin Mary” 1710 by Giovanni Odazzi

In 1730 Giovanni Odazzi was commissioned to add, just like in the opposite painting, a lunette in the upper part

This painting, like the one in front, is flanked by two beautiful columns in verd antique (ancient green) marble from the Baths of Diocletian

To the right of the Presbytery

CHAPEL OF S. FRANCIS

Family chapel of the Nobili, built in 1647 for Vincenzo Nobili, grandson of Caterina Nobili Sforza

“Statue of St. Francis in Ecstasy” about 1647 by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli (1619/71), who also sculpted the statue of the Nile in the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona

On the left “Tomb of the painter Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789/1896)” 1869 by the German Karl Hoffmann (1815/86), his friend and collaborator

On the walls “Busts of Nobili family members: Vincenzo junior, Pierfrancesco, Sforza, Roberto and Vincenzo” who had initiated the construction of the chapel, 1647/49 by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli who also made the rich stucco decoration of the ceiling that frames the painting “St. Francis in Glory with Angels” and “Angels with Instruments of the Passion” in the square panels 1897 by Mario Adami

The altars on the left and on the right exhibit considerable seventeenth century frontals in scagliola, a type of fine chalk that mimics inlaid marble