S. BIBIANA
Built in
the IV century, according to tradition, for the Roman matron Olimpina over the
house of S. Bibiana martyred during the persecution of Julian the Apostate
(361/363)
The Liber
Pontificalis, however, date the construction to 468 for Pope Simplicius
(468/483)
The father
of Bibiana, Flavian was also killed, as were her mother Dafrosa and her sister
Demetria
The plaque
to the right of the entrance portal states that in the seventh century the
remains of 11,266 martyrs were transported here, not counting women and
children, including Simplicius, Faustina and Viatrix from the Catacomb of
Generosa
Transformed
in the years 1624/26 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(1598/1680)
“The
reference perhaps intentional to the façade of the Scala Santa by Domenico
Fontana gives to Bernini's architectural debut the character of an homage to
the cautious and solid Roman Mannerism” (Paolo Portoghesi)
“Throughout
this church the perspective structure of Bernini shows an extremely intelligent
and controlled knowledge of Manneristic architecture” (Brandi)
Cornerstone
of Baroque architecture: first architectural project and first large statue of a sacred subject
by Bernini, as well as the first important paintings cycle by Pietro da Cortona
Restorations
1739/48 by Filippo Raguzzini (1680/1771)
Between
1863 and 1874 the church was unfortunately isolated for the construction of Termini Railway Station
Restorations
1961/64
In May
1982, part of the plaster of the ceiling fell due to vibration caused by trains
and the church was closed for three years
Restorations
of consolidation 1983/87
Internal
restoration 1997/99
It is very
sad to see such a masterpiece of crucial importance for the history of art of
the world neglected and abandoned to itself between traffic and dirt
“In the
interior, contrasting the nave, animated by the large polychrome surfaces of
the frescoes, the shrine of the altar of pure lines, entirely 'carved' in white
marble, is able to find a personal linguistic expression that anticipates the
arrival points of Bernini's research” (Paolo Portoghesi)
COUNTER
FAÇADE
“Angel
Musicians”
RIGHT WALL
“Body of S.
Bibiana abandoned in the Forum Tauri”, where the Emperor Julian had
professed his apostasy, “Burial of S. Bibiana”, “Erection of the church by the
matron Olimpina” and CHAPEL TO THE LEFT OF THE APSE “St. Demetria” Bibiana's
sister, all works by Agostino Ciampelli
(1565/1630)
“In this
work, to be considered his masterpiece, Ciampelli shows not to be insensitive
to the classicist lesson of Domenichino, in particular in the frescoes at
Grottaferrata, and to be inspired by the way of turning the sacred stories in
human and real-life forms of the Bolognese painter. He must have felt that
style particularly close to his Florentine reformed education” (Simonetta
Prosperi Valenti Rodinò - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
“Good
frescoes painted with mastery, which stand out in their particular way with
their sober routine from the ingenious attempts of a young hot-headed innovator
as Pietro da Cortona” (Hermann Voss)
LEFT WALL
“Trial with
condemnation and death of Demetria while professing her faith”, “Matron Rufina
trying to induce Bibiana to renounce her faith”, “Flagellation of S. Bibiana
tied to a column” and CHAPEL TO THE RIGHT OF THE APSE “St. Dafrosa”, Bibiana's
mother, all the works by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro
da Cortona (1597/1669)
“Already in
this first work of his he pointed to new luministic compositional and textural
values, announcing a stylistic change when compared to the staid classicism of
Domenichino” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
“The figures
have grown in volume and their immensely strong tactile valuesmake them appear
real and tangible. So real life seems to replace the studied classicism of
Domenichino with a manly style, bold and alive, close to the spirit of the
Farnese ceiling by Annibale Carracci and with qualities similar to the
sculpture of Bernini in those years” (Rudolf Wittkower)
The cycle
was evidently done in collaboration and agreement even if between Ciampelli and
Berrettini there was not much friendliness
Designed by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini with valuable “Alabaster
tub” dating back to the age of Constantine (306/337) which contains the remains
of the three saints
“The
psychological extension of the figure carved in the world inhabited by human
beings, which we first saw in David, is here adapted to a new context
specifically Catholic. The contrast of feeling and meaning between these two
figures is as large as the similarity of the means used and is symptomatic of
Bernini's virtuosity that between the determined Jewish warrior and this martyr
believer there are only a year or two of difference. (...) For religious
figures, particularly for those of the early Christianity, the artists of the
seventeenth century created an unmistakable feminine type, yielding even though
inspired by a resolution due to spiritual communion. It is to the art of Guido
Reni that this Bibiana should be compared” (Howard Hibbard)
In the
vault “God Father” by the unknown Milanese artist Giovanni
Domenico Marziani
IN THE LEFT
ISLE
“Piece of
the column of martyrdom” to which Bibiana would have been tied to be battered
to death
It is
worn by the scraping of the pilgrims who would so obtain powder to drink
dissolved in water from the well of the nearby garden: according to tradition,
it had a mysterious healing power
