1482/84 maybe Baccio
Pontelli (about 1450/92), Francesco di Giorgio
Martini (1439/1502) or Leon Battista Alberti
(1404/72) for Sixtus IV Della Rovere (1471/84)
“The
singular union of two antithetical conceptions of space (central -
longitudinal) has induced to believe the building being the result of two phases
of construction with debate about whether the nave or the octagonal area would
have been built first. (...) According to the most recent studies, however, the
temple was designed and built as a unit” (Maria Pia D'Orazio)
It was
built over the pre-existing church known as S. Andrea ex Cyclarii or Cerclariorum
perhaps in relation to the nearby Stadium
of Domitian which in the Middle Ages was called Circus
It was also
known as S. Andrea de Aquarizaris in relation to water carriers or water
vendors who would have chosen it as headquarters
DOME
1520/25 by Jacopo Ungarino from a design by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1483/1546)
Restoration
and new FAÇADE
1656/58 by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona
(1597/1669) for Alexander VII Chigi (1655/67)
Pietro da
Cortona also rearranged the surrounding area urban
“Pietro da
Cortona studied the layout of the church in order to provide it with a
suggestive power of attraction: in front of the building he created a square
which is accessed by a narrow road, so the succession of buildings accompanies
the gaze to the sudden vision of the monumental façade. Two large concave side
wings, purposefully backward, form an exedra which highlights the protrusion of
the semicircular porch: plastic element of clear structural and chromatic
dominance. The convex upper part, helps to increase the contrast between
curves, foregrounds and backgrounds. The use of light therefore reaches the
highest values as a result of vibration of light and shade in its rich coloristic
quality. Everything entices to participate in the show: the façade, not anymore
a structural limit, determines the routes of the urban plan and invites us to
stop and enjoy the square” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio
Giuliano)
Designed by
Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael) (1483/1520)
High-relief
in bronze “Christ carried by the angels” designed by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona and executed by Cosimo Fancelli (1620/88)
On the
sides of marble statues “St. Catherine” by Cosimo
Fancelli and “S. Bernardino” by Ercole Ferrata
(1610/86)
Above the
arch of the chapel frescoes with “Sibyls: Cumaean, Persian, Phrygian and
Tiburtine” 1514 by Raphael for Agostino Chigi
In the
lunette above frescoes with “Prophets: David and Daniel on the right, Habakkuk
and Jonah on the left” by Timoteo Viti (1469/1523)
from a design by Raphael
“The perfect
harmonized composition, punctuated by the central cherub and the harmonic mirroring
of the figures, typical of Raphael, is full of symbolic and literary
references. The most obvious relationship is between the angels carrying the
divine message and the Sibyls who will announce it to the world, thus becoming
the essential link between the pagan era where they belong to and the imminent
Christian one. Their importance in Renaissance iconography is also evidenced by
their living presence in the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo.
Comparison between the Sibyl of Raphael and those of Michelangelo once again
emphasize the stylistic differences between the two geniuses of the sixteenth
century. Michelangelo's figures are powerful and plastically define their inner
strength. Those of Raphael are elegant and lyrical, soft and harmonious as all
of his painting is” (DART - Web Site chiostrodelbramante.it)
1525 Antonio Cordini aka Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1483/1546)
Renaissance
sculptural ornaments on the external arc and sphinxes, about 1525 by Simone Mosca (1492/1553)
Statues in
the niches on either side of reliefs and “Sleeping figures on the Cesi Graves”
about 1550/60 by Vincenzo De Rossi (1525/87)
“The
architect drew up a complex decorative project of which there are some
drawings, inspired by the ancient world: painting, sculpture and stucco overlap
from the outside to the inside in a sort of 'horror vacui' proposing religious
subjects and classical ornamental motifs redrawn with refined fantasy” (Maria
Pia D'Orazio)
“He was
influenced by Andrea del Sarto, but his aspirations were addressed to drama, to
movement. The naked body, in its grandiose linear construction, was for him the
essential thing; from there Rosso created some unified complexes of figures
plastically conceived, that very soon would have surpassed in boldness and
grandeur the usual level of Florentine works. His formal imagination has
something distinctly sculptural” (Hermann Voss)
In the
little vault frescoes by Girolamo Siciolante da
Sermoneta (1521/80)
OCTAGONAL TRIBUNE
Designed by Antonio Cordini aka Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
Decorated
with stucco from designs by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro
da Cortona
1st
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT IN THE OCTAGONAL TRIBUNE
Above the
altar “St. Anthony of Padua” by an unknown artist of the end of the seventeenth
or early eighteenth century
Above the
altar “St. John inspired by the angel” by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier d'Arpino (1568/1640)
In the
small vault three small frescoes “Stories of St John the Evangelist” by artists from the workshop of Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier
d'Arpino
In the
inner sides “Gravestones of the Benigni family”
Above the
altar “Baptism of Jesus” 1607 by Orazio Lomi aka Orazio
Gentileschi (1563/1639)
On the
sides “Preaching of St. John the Baptist to Herod” and “Beheading of St. John
the Baptist” by Bernardino Mei (1612/76)
In the DRUM
large paintings, from the right:
In the
LITTLE DOME
1611 Carlo Maderno (1556/1629)
Statues
above the pediment 1616 by Stefano Maderno
(1560/1636)
On the
altar venerated image of “Our Lady of Peace” of the fifteenth century in a
precious frame made out of amethyst and lapis lazuli
In 1480,
according to tradition, the image would have spilled blood after having been
stabbed by a gambler who had gone mad for having lost a lot of money
Sixtus IV
was impressed with the event and he made a vow that if the war, originally
caused by the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478 involving himself, wouldn't have broken
out, he would have built a church in this area dedicated to the Virgin Mary,
which he promptly did after the peace of 1482 was signed, and so the church
took its present name of St. Mary of Peace
On the
sides oil on the wall paintings “Nativity” and “Annunciation” by Domenico
Crespi aka Passignano (1559/1638)
Vault, apse
and triangles above the arch “Virgin Mary in Glory”, “Eternal Father” and “Prophets
Isaiah and David” 1612/14 by Francesco Albani
(1578/1660)
Under the
arch paintings on slate with “Four female saints” 1611/14 by Lavinia Fontana (1552/1614)
“Wooden
cross” of the fifteenth century above a “Marble altar” about 1490 by the school of Andrea Bregno (1418/1503)
In the
inner sides on the left “Magdalene” by Jacopo Zucchi
(about 1542/96) and on the right “St. Martha” maybe by Ventura
Salimbeni (1568/1613)
Above the
altar “Adoration of the Shepherds” about 1560/65 by Girolamo
Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)
In the
small vault three small frescoes “Original Sin” and on the inner sides “St.
Sebastian” and “St. Andrew” also by Sermoneta
Since 1548
the patronage of the chapel was of the Capodiferro family
Above the
altar “Madonna in Glory with Sts. Jerome and Ubaldo” about 1548/50 by Marcellus Venusti (about 1512/79)
“During the
restoration of 1989 the figure of the kneeling youth was recovered and
identified with the nephew of Cardinal Mignanelli, the founder of the chapel, a
rare example of Venusti as a portraitist” (Maria Pia D'Orazio)
Lunette
above the outer arc “Expulsion from Paradise” and “Adam's Family” 1657 by Filippo Lauri (1623/94)
OUTSIDE THE
MIGNANELLI CHAPEL
On the
right “Tomb of Pietro Paolo Mignanelli” with bust maybe by Valerio Cioli
On the left
“Tomb of the Consistory Lawyer Girolamo de Giustini” by Raffaello da Montelupo (about 1505/57)
For
Cardinal Ferdinando Ponzetti physician of Pope Innocent VIII Cybo (1484/92)
Important
fresco “Madonna with Sts. Catherine and Bridget and Cardinal Ferdinando
Ponzetti” 1516 by Baldassare Peruzzi
(1481/1536), who also painted in the apse “Stories of the Old and New Testament”
“With the
few works of him that have survived, he belonged to the circle of those old
school artists in Rome, close to Raphael, who have respectably striven to
achieve a 'modern' style, but did not however possess the ability to keep up
with the genius from Urbino” (Hermann Voss)
Outside “Two
memorials of the Ponzetti family” respectively 1505 and 1509 by artists from the workshop of Luigi Capponi (active end
of 1400s/beginning of 1500s)
1500/04
first work in Rome by Donato Bramante (1444/1514)
for the Neapolitan Cardinal Oliviero Carafa
“Bramante
identifies a principle of proportioning of the whole that would establish in a
scientific manner location and dimension of the individual architectural
elements in plan and elevation. Having chosen the square, he divides the whole
area into a regular grid that sets the dimensions of the building and the
position of the supporting structures, even adjusting the heights, so that the
two floors are proportionate according to the rule of Vitruvius who wanted the
second floor a quarter lower than the ground floor. Bramante ensures close
coordination of architectural body parts between them and the entire building,
obtaining a result of absolute value” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti,
Antonio Giuliano)
Fragments
of frescoes with “Life of the Virgin Mary” and “Story of the miracle of Our
Lady of Peace” by Nicolò Martinelli aka Trometta (about 1540/1611)
“Tomb of Bishop Giovanni Andrea
Bocciaccio” maybe by Luigi Capponi
