SS. SUDARIO DEI PIEMONTESI
Via del Sudario 47
1604/05
Carlo di Castellamonte for Carlo Emanuele I of
Savoy
1660/67 and
1682/92 expanded by Carlo Rainaldi (1611/91)
Church of
the people from Savoy, Piedmont and Nice in Rome gathered in a fraternity
recognized in 1597 with headquarters in the now destroyed church of S. Lodovico, which was originally on the
site of the church of S. Andrea della Valle
The
Brotherhood then took the name of Arciconfraternita del SS. Sudario (Confraternity
of the Holy Shroud)
During the
Napoleonic period it was deconsecrated and turned into stable until 1814
In 1871 it
was rearranged by Giacomo Monaldi (1819/1905)
and it became the local church of the House of Savoy
COUNTER
FAÇADE
Organ of
the eighteenth century
VAULT
“Glory of
the Blessed Ludovica, Amedeo, Umberto, Bonifacio and Margherita of Savoy House”
by the Sienese Cesare Maccari (1840/1919)
ON THE
RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. FRANCIS DE SALES
“S. Francis
de Sales” about 1665 maybe by Carlo Cesi (1626/86)
St. Francis
de Sales was canonized in this church in 1665
MAIN ALTAR
“Deposition
of Christ in the shroud with saints and blessed of the Savoy family” 1682 by Antonio Gherardi (1638/1702)
“Painted
according to a compositional scheme drawn up by the sixteenth-century Venetian
painting, whose characters formed a source of reflection and conceptual
training for the artist from Rieti, the work presents a celebration of the
relic that gives the name to the church, and a parade of the most significant
religious figures of the house of Savoy” (Stefano Petrocchi)
On the
pediment sculpture group “Eternal Father” with a copy of the Holy Shroud by Pietro Mentinovese pupil of Gian Lorenzo Bernini
The Holy
Shroud was in possession of the Savoy family since 1452. The copy shown here
was donated to Alexander VII Chigi (1655/67)
Frescoes on
the walls “Sermon of St. Anselm of Canterbury” and “Meeting of St. Francis de
Sales and Blessed John Juvenal Ancina” 1871/73 by Cesare
Maccari
ON THE LEFT
- ALTAR OF BLESSED AMADEUS OF SAVOY
“Blessed
Amadeus IX of Savoy” about 1680 by Giovanni Domenico
Cerrini (1609/81)
SACRISTY
“Crucifixion”
and “Nativity” by Lazzaro Baldi (about 1624/1703)
Saturday, January 4, 2020
SACRED STIGMATA OF St. FRANCIS
SS. STIMMATE DI S. FRANCESCO
Via dei Cestari/Largo delle Stimmate 1
1297 consecration of a pre-existing church as Ss. XL Martirium de Calcararo
However, it is already mentioned by sources in 1192 as Calcariorum
The name derives from the presence of numerous calcare (kilns) where, in the Middle Ages, pieces of limestone or marble from the ancient monuments were transformed into lime
In 1597 Clement VIII Aldobrandini (1592/1605) entrusted it to the Confraternity of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis which had been founded three years earlier
Clement XI Albani (1700/21) in 1714 laid the foundation stone of the new church rebuilt by G.B. Contini (1641/1723) who was dismissed in 1716 due to disagreements with his clients
Completed 1716/21 by Antonio Canevari (1681/1759) who also made the INTERIOR, the FAÇADE and the BELL TOWER
Since 1974 it has been entrusted to the Capuchins of the Picena Province
FAÇADE
“Statue of St. Francis” 1718/21 by Bernardino Cametti (1669/1736)
PORCH
“Tomb of Palmira Petracchi and his son Enrico Pulieri” 1844 by Adamo Tadolini (1788/1868), a pupil of Canova
NAVE
Decoration with capitals 1828/29 by Giuseppe Valadier (1762/1839)
COUNTER FAÇADE
Organ of 1856
Confessionals in walnut wood, a product of Roman cabinetry of the beginning of the eighteenth century
VAULT
“Glory of St. Francis” about 1720 last work of Luigi Garzi (1638/1721), a pupil of Andrea Sacchi who was later influenced by Carlo Maratta
1st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF REDEMPTION
Vault “Triumph of the Cross with the angels holding symbols of the Passion of Christ” about 1726 by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731)
“Ivory crucifix” maybe by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)
Above the altar “Our Lady of Sorrows” maybe by Francesco Mancini (1679/1758)
On the walls, on the right “Flagellation” about 1730 by Marco Benefial (1684/1764)
“Having reached around 1730 the fullness of his style, the restless painter, however, ended up contradicting himself as he compromised more than once with the prevailing academic taste. If in such works as the Massacre of the Innocents, in the collection Ferroni in Florence today, one can appreciate the smart inspiration from the tragic mimicry of Nicolas Poussin, in other works, such as the Flagellation in S. Francis of the Stigmata in Rome and the Vision of S. Catherine of Genoa, now in Palazzo Corsini, he aligns himself with the professors of the Academy of St. Luke. He was, in fact, received among them in 1741” (Evelina Borea - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
On the left “Crown of Thorns” about 1730 by Domenico Maria Muratori (1661/1742)
2nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. MICHAEL
Above the altar “St. Michael the Archangel” a nineteenth century copy by Nicola Pannini from the original by Guido Reni in St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
3rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
“Apparition of the Virgin Mary to St. Joseph Calasanz” about 1749 by Marco Caprinozzi aka Marco del Ruspoli da Civita Castellana, a little known pupil of Benefial
MAIN ALTAR
“S. Francis stigmatized” 1719 masterpiece by Francesco Trevisani (1656/1746)
“Angels” in stucco on the pediment by Pietro Bracci (1700/73)
Left wall of the presbytery “Tomb of Count Ladislaus Constantine Wasa” d. 1698 son of King Ladislaus IV of Poland, commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Albani (future Clement XI) to Lorenzo Ottoni (1648/1736)
3rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA
Restored 1870 by Andrea Busiri Vici (1818/1911)
Above the altar “St. Anthony” 1719 by the capable Istrian painter Francesco Trevisani (1656/1746)
2nd LEFT - PECCI CHAPEL
Pecci was the family of Leo XIII (1878/1903)
Above the altar “Immaculate Conception” and frescoes on the walls 1887 by the Roman Domenico Torti (nineteenth century)
1st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY FORTY MARTYRS
“The Martyrdom of Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste” about 1660 masterpiece by Giacinto Brandi (1621/91)
“Before 1663 the painter carried out the work that marked his artistic maturity, the Holy Forty Martyrs for the Roman church of the Stigmata. The drawing (Rome, private collection) and the preparatory sketch (Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire) testify the merger, which was implemented in this painting, of all the means of expression acquired by Brandi. (...) The fame achieved after this work was such that the artist was considered to be among the best of his time, as confirmed by a judgment of Mattia Preti, who, writing in 1665 to Don Antonio Ruffo, a collector of Messina, states that compared to Mola, Ferri and Maratta, Brandi 'is the best painter of all three'. However, in the seventh decade of the century, the artist joined in ever more conspicuously to the stylistic climate of Baroque, perhaps more to obey the wishes of his clients than for a phase of decline of his talent” (Antonella Pampalone - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
SACRISTY
Vault “Pardon of Assisi” by Girolamo Pesci (1679/1759)
Two paintings: “Death of St. Francis” maybe by Massimo Stanzione (1585/1656) and a copy of the “Deposition” by Annibale Carracci
“Silver reliquary” 1633 donated by Card. Francesco Barberini with fragments of cloth and sponge soaked in the blood that flowed from the wounds of St. Francis, collected by Fra Leone, a disciple of the saint
HALL OF THE STIGMATA (oratory) on the first floor
In the vault canvas “Ecstasy of St. Francis” by Filippo Lauri (1623/94)
“In the work is described the particular event occurring after the consecration of the stigmata, the so-called miracle of the bees that sucked the wounds of the saint as pollen of eternal life, and that could be a reference to the arms of the Barberini family, who commissioned the work, as it can be inferred by the figure of Cardinal Carlo, who in 1686 obtained the patronage of a chapel of the church, of which this painting was perhaps the altarpiece” (Stefano Petrocchi)
On the entrance wall tempera “Apparition of St. Francis to Gregory IX” about 1720/24, “St. Elizabeth of Hungary” and “Clare” by an unknown artist from the studio of Sebastiano Conca
In a room of the convent but originally intended for the oratory, canvas “St. Francis stigmatized” by Giacinto Brandi (1621/91)
UNDERGROUND CEMETERY
Two rooms the first of which has a ceiling decorated with motifs made from the bones of the monks according to the Franciscan tradition
Via dei Cestari/Largo delle Stimmate 1
1297 consecration of a pre-existing church as Ss. XL Martirium de Calcararo
However, it is already mentioned by sources in 1192 as Calcariorum
The name derives from the presence of numerous calcare (kilns) where, in the Middle Ages, pieces of limestone or marble from the ancient monuments were transformed into lime
In 1597 Clement VIII Aldobrandini (1592/1605) entrusted it to the Confraternity of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis which had been founded three years earlier
Clement XI Albani (1700/21) in 1714 laid the foundation stone of the new church rebuilt by G.B. Contini (1641/1723) who was dismissed in 1716 due to disagreements with his clients
Completed 1716/21 by Antonio Canevari (1681/1759) who also made the INTERIOR, the FAÇADE and the BELL TOWER
Since 1974 it has been entrusted to the Capuchins of the Picena Province
FAÇADE
“Statue of St. Francis” 1718/21 by Bernardino Cametti (1669/1736)
PORCH
“Tomb of Palmira Petracchi and his son Enrico Pulieri” 1844 by Adamo Tadolini (1788/1868), a pupil of Canova
NAVE
Decoration with capitals 1828/29 by Giuseppe Valadier (1762/1839)
COUNTER FAÇADE
Organ of 1856
Confessionals in walnut wood, a product of Roman cabinetry of the beginning of the eighteenth century
VAULT
“Glory of St. Francis” about 1720 last work of Luigi Garzi (1638/1721), a pupil of Andrea Sacchi who was later influenced by Carlo Maratta
1st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF REDEMPTION
Vault “Triumph of the Cross with the angels holding symbols of the Passion of Christ” about 1726 by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731)
“Ivory crucifix” maybe by Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)
Above the altar “Our Lady of Sorrows” maybe by Francesco Mancini (1679/1758)
On the walls, on the right “Flagellation” about 1730 by Marco Benefial (1684/1764)
“Having reached around 1730 the fullness of his style, the restless painter, however, ended up contradicting himself as he compromised more than once with the prevailing academic taste. If in such works as the Massacre of the Innocents, in the collection Ferroni in Florence today, one can appreciate the smart inspiration from the tragic mimicry of Nicolas Poussin, in other works, such as the Flagellation in S. Francis of the Stigmata in Rome and the Vision of S. Catherine of Genoa, now in Palazzo Corsini, he aligns himself with the professors of the Academy of St. Luke. He was, in fact, received among them in 1741” (Evelina Borea - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
On the left “Crown of Thorns” about 1730 by Domenico Maria Muratori (1661/1742)
2nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. MICHAEL
Above the altar “St. Michael the Archangel” a nineteenth century copy by Nicola Pannini from the original by Guido Reni in St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
3rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
“Apparition of the Virgin Mary to St. Joseph Calasanz” about 1749 by Marco Caprinozzi aka Marco del Ruspoli da Civita Castellana, a little known pupil of Benefial
MAIN ALTAR
“S. Francis stigmatized” 1719 masterpiece by Francesco Trevisani (1656/1746)
“Angels” in stucco on the pediment by Pietro Bracci (1700/73)
Left wall of the presbytery “Tomb of Count Ladislaus Constantine Wasa” d. 1698 son of King Ladislaus IV of Poland, commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Albani (future Clement XI) to Lorenzo Ottoni (1648/1736)
3rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA
Restored 1870 by Andrea Busiri Vici (1818/1911)
Above the altar “St. Anthony” 1719 by the capable Istrian painter Francesco Trevisani (1656/1746)
2nd LEFT - PECCI CHAPEL
Pecci was the family of Leo XIII (1878/1903)
Above the altar “Immaculate Conception” and frescoes on the walls 1887 by the Roman Domenico Torti (nineteenth century)
1st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY FORTY MARTYRS
“The Martyrdom of Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste” about 1660 masterpiece by Giacinto Brandi (1621/91)
“Before 1663 the painter carried out the work that marked his artistic maturity, the Holy Forty Martyrs for the Roman church of the Stigmata. The drawing (Rome, private collection) and the preparatory sketch (Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire) testify the merger, which was implemented in this painting, of all the means of expression acquired by Brandi. (...) The fame achieved after this work was such that the artist was considered to be among the best of his time, as confirmed by a judgment of Mattia Preti, who, writing in 1665 to Don Antonio Ruffo, a collector of Messina, states that compared to Mola, Ferri and Maratta, Brandi 'is the best painter of all three'. However, in the seventh decade of the century, the artist joined in ever more conspicuously to the stylistic climate of Baroque, perhaps more to obey the wishes of his clients than for a phase of decline of his talent” (Antonella Pampalone - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
SACRISTY
Vault “Pardon of Assisi” by Girolamo Pesci (1679/1759)
Two paintings: “Death of St. Francis” maybe by Massimo Stanzione (1585/1656) and a copy of the “Deposition” by Annibale Carracci
“Silver reliquary” 1633 donated by Card. Francesco Barberini with fragments of cloth and sponge soaked in the blood that flowed from the wounds of St. Francis, collected by Fra Leone, a disciple of the saint
HALL OF THE STIGMATA (oratory) on the first floor
In the vault canvas “Ecstasy of St. Francis” by Filippo Lauri (1623/94)
“In the work is described the particular event occurring after the consecration of the stigmata, the so-called miracle of the bees that sucked the wounds of the saint as pollen of eternal life, and that could be a reference to the arms of the Barberini family, who commissioned the work, as it can be inferred by the figure of Cardinal Carlo, who in 1686 obtained the patronage of a chapel of the church, of which this painting was perhaps the altarpiece” (Stefano Petrocchi)
On the entrance wall tempera “Apparition of St. Francis to Gregory IX” about 1720/24, “St. Elizabeth of Hungary” and “Clare” by an unknown artist from the studio of Sebastiano Conca
In a room of the convent but originally intended for the oratory, canvas “St. Francis stigmatized” by Giacinto Brandi (1621/91)
UNDERGROUND CEMETERY
Two rooms the first of which has a ceiling decorated with motifs made from the bones of the monks according to the Franciscan tradition
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Sts. SYLVESTER AND MARTIN AT THE MONTI NEIGHBORHOOD
SS. SILVESTRO E MARTINO AI MONTI
Viale del Monte Oppio 28
About 509 for Pope Symmachus (498/514) with the name of S. Martino (St. Martin)
It was built at the same time of the adjacent church of S. Silvestro (St. Sylvester) for which the structures of the ancient Titulus Equitii were used, maybe house of Pope St. Sylvester I (314/335)
It was renovated in the year 772 for Hadrian I (772/795)
Completely rebuilt in the years 844/847 for Sergius II (844/847), who built the monastic buildings over the old church of St. Sylvester. It was completed under the next pope, Leo IV (847/855)
For the foundations were used limestone blocks taken from the Servian Walls still visible on the right side of the church
Restorations 1636/67 by the Roman architect and painter Filippo Gagliardi (about 1607/1659) aka Filippo Bizzarro or Filippo delle Prospettive
BELL TOWER 1714
It is officiated since 1299 by the Carmelite Fathers
St. Martin of Tours (about 316/397) was originally the patron saint of animals with horns, and then also became the protector of cuckold husbands
“Twenty-four ancient columns” in different kinds of marble: cipollino, pavonazzetto, biglio and imezio, maybe recycled from the nearby Baths of Trajan
When in 1653 the box with the relics was found, it was was decided the lowering of the floor of the church of 50 cm (20 inches) in order to see the relics from the entrance
CEILING
1560 for Cardinal Charles Borromeo who was the cardinal in charge of the church with frames embossed in gold
It was rebuilt in 1650 and restored in the years 1741 and 1870
COUNTER FAÇADE
Statues in the first order “St. Peter” and “St. Paul” by Pietro Paolo Naldini (1619/91)
Statues in the second order “St. John the Baptist” and “St. Antonio the Great aka St. Anthony from Egypt” by Daniele Fiammingo
ON THE TRABEATION OF THE NAVES
“Frieze with Christian-Jewish symbols” 1649/52
“Eight statues of saints” and “Medallions in stucco” about1655 by Pietro Paolo Naldini
SIDE NAVES
Eighteen frescoes on the walls “Stories of St. Elijah and of his disciple Elisha inserted in the Roman countryside landscapes” of which sixteen were painted by Gaspard Dughet (1615/75) and two by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606/80) from Bologna
St. Elias was the Prophet revered as an inspiration by the Carmelites
In addition, two frescoes in the left nave with the interior of “St. John’s Lateran” (before the renovation by Borromini) and “The old St. Peter's Basilica” by Filippo Gagliardi (about 1607/1659)
“This decoration is one of the most important and innovative cycle of paintings of the mid-1600: it is unique in the panorama of seventeenth-century ecclesiastical decoration in Rome. The novelty consists in the subordination of religious scenes to the setting of broad landscape that accomplishes itself the function of transmitting the religious message” (Simonetta Ceccarelli)
1st RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. MARY MAGDALENE OF PAZZI
“St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi” 1647 by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi
2nd RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. TERESA OF JESUS
“Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Jesus” 1646 by Giovanni Greppi
3rd RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. MARTIN
“St. Martin” 1645 by Fabrizio Chiari (about 1615/95)
4th RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. STEPHAN
“St. Stephan” 1645 by Giovanni Angelo Canini (1609/66)
5th RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. CHARLES BORROMEO
“St. Charles Borromeo” 1693 by Filippo Gherardi (1643/1704)
MAIN ALTAR
End of the eighteenth century by Francesco Belli
APSE
Eighteenth-century frescoes “Eternal Father, saints and the Madonna and Child” by Antonio Cavallucci (1752/95) and Giovanni Micocchi
Spectacular CRYPT about 1650 by Filippo Gagliardi with stucco in the vaults by Pietro Paolo Naldini and “Fake dome in perspective with the symbol of the church” also by Filippo Gagliardi
TO THE LEFT OF PRESBYTERY - CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Rebuilt in 1790 by Andrea de Dominicis
Above the altar “Our Lady of Mount Carmel” 1595 by Girolamo Massei (?/1614-19) surrounded by the altar piece “Souls in Purgatory and cloud of St. Elijah” by Antonio Cavallucci who also painted the fresco on the left wall “Vision of St Elijah” and in the vault “Our Lady gives the scapular of Mount Carmel to St. Simon Stock” together with Tommaso Sciacca
3rd LEFT - ALTAR OF THE HOLY TRINITY
“Holy Trinity with Sts. Bartholomew and Nicholas of Bari” 1640/44 by Giovanni Angelo Canini (1609/66)
2nd LEFT - ALTAR OF St. ALBERT
“St. Albert Carmelite” 1575 by Girolamo Muziano (1532/92)
“A genuine controversial response to the late Mannerist painters from Emilia and Tuscany who still enjoyed great success in Rome during the seventies. The painting by Muziano from Brescia is quiet and solemn, with that monumental saint who dominates the canvas with his lofty quiet melancholy, solid like an oak and at the same time available to a frank chat with the faithful. Muziano, just like Marcello Venusti, moves away from any drama to focus on results of absorbed severity and intense naturalism” (Vincenzo Farinella)
BETWEEN THE TWO ALTARS
Large fresco “Pseudo-council of St. Sylvester in the age of Constantine” according to the apocryphal documents of Symmacus 1640 by Galeazzo Leoncini a Milanese that after this work, perhaps aware of his limitations, began the work as innkeeper
1st LEFT - ALTAR OF St. ANGELUS OF JERUSALEM
“St. Angelus of Jerusalem” 1646 by Pietro Testa (1612/50)
TOP OF THE NAVE
Large fresco “S. Cyril baptizes a sultan” 1651 by the Antwerp painter Jan Miel (1599/1663)
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS
From the crypt it is possible to go down to a hall of 18 x 11 m (59 x 36 feet) of the third century AD preceded by a vestibule part of the Titulus Equitii
Roman and medieval architectural fragments
Remains of frescoes from the ninth century, including “Jeweled cross” and a mosaic of the sixth century “Madonna with St. Sylvester”
Viale del Monte Oppio 28
About 509 for Pope Symmachus (498/514) with the name of S. Martino (St. Martin)
It was built at the same time of the adjacent church of S. Silvestro (St. Sylvester) for which the structures of the ancient Titulus Equitii were used, maybe house of Pope St. Sylvester I (314/335)
It was renovated in the year 772 for Hadrian I (772/795)
Completely rebuilt in the years 844/847 for Sergius II (844/847), who built the monastic buildings over the old church of St. Sylvester. It was completed under the next pope, Leo IV (847/855)
For the foundations were used limestone blocks taken from the Servian Walls still visible on the right side of the church
Restorations 1636/67 by the Roman architect and painter Filippo Gagliardi (about 1607/1659) aka Filippo Bizzarro or Filippo delle Prospettive
BELL TOWER 1714
It is officiated since 1299 by the Carmelite Fathers
St. Martin of Tours (about 316/397) was originally the patron saint of animals with horns, and then also became the protector of cuckold husbands
“Twenty-four ancient columns” in different kinds of marble: cipollino, pavonazzetto, biglio and imezio, maybe recycled from the nearby Baths of Trajan
When in 1653 the box with the relics was found, it was was decided the lowering of the floor of the church of 50 cm (20 inches) in order to see the relics from the entrance
CEILING
1560 for Cardinal Charles Borromeo who was the cardinal in charge of the church with frames embossed in gold
It was rebuilt in 1650 and restored in the years 1741 and 1870
COUNTER FAÇADE
Statues in the first order “St. Peter” and “St. Paul” by Pietro Paolo Naldini (1619/91)
Statues in the second order “St. John the Baptist” and “St. Antonio the Great aka St. Anthony from Egypt” by Daniele Fiammingo
ON THE TRABEATION OF THE NAVES
“Frieze with Christian-Jewish symbols” 1649/52
“Eight statues of saints” and “Medallions in stucco” about1655 by Pietro Paolo Naldini
SIDE NAVES
Eighteen frescoes on the walls “Stories of St. Elijah and of his disciple Elisha inserted in the Roman countryside landscapes” of which sixteen were painted by Gaspard Dughet (1615/75) and two by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606/80) from Bologna
St. Elias was the Prophet revered as an inspiration by the Carmelites
In addition, two frescoes in the left nave with the interior of “St. John’s Lateran” (before the renovation by Borromini) and “The old St. Peter's Basilica” by Filippo Gagliardi (about 1607/1659)
“This decoration is one of the most important and innovative cycle of paintings of the mid-1600: it is unique in the panorama of seventeenth-century ecclesiastical decoration in Rome. The novelty consists in the subordination of religious scenes to the setting of broad landscape that accomplishes itself the function of transmitting the religious message” (Simonetta Ceccarelli)
1st RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. MARY MAGDALENE OF PAZZI
“St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi” 1647 by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi
2nd RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. TERESA OF JESUS
“Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Jesus” 1646 by Giovanni Greppi
3rd RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. MARTIN
“St. Martin” 1645 by Fabrizio Chiari (about 1615/95)
4th RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. STEPHAN
“St. Stephan” 1645 by Giovanni Angelo Canini (1609/66)
5th RIGHT - ALTAR OF St. CHARLES BORROMEO
“St. Charles Borromeo” 1693 by Filippo Gherardi (1643/1704)
MAIN ALTAR
End of the eighteenth century by Francesco Belli
APSE
Eighteenth-century frescoes “Eternal Father, saints and the Madonna and Child” by Antonio Cavallucci (1752/95) and Giovanni Micocchi
Spectacular CRYPT about 1650 by Filippo Gagliardi with stucco in the vaults by Pietro Paolo Naldini and “Fake dome in perspective with the symbol of the church” also by Filippo Gagliardi
TO THE LEFT OF PRESBYTERY - CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Rebuilt in 1790 by Andrea de Dominicis
Above the altar “Our Lady of Mount Carmel” 1595 by Girolamo Massei (?/1614-19) surrounded by the altar piece “Souls in Purgatory and cloud of St. Elijah” by Antonio Cavallucci who also painted the fresco on the left wall “Vision of St Elijah” and in the vault “Our Lady gives the scapular of Mount Carmel to St. Simon Stock” together with Tommaso Sciacca
3rd LEFT - ALTAR OF THE HOLY TRINITY
“Holy Trinity with Sts. Bartholomew and Nicholas of Bari” 1640/44 by Giovanni Angelo Canini (1609/66)
2nd LEFT - ALTAR OF St. ALBERT
“St. Albert Carmelite” 1575 by Girolamo Muziano (1532/92)
“A genuine controversial response to the late Mannerist painters from Emilia and Tuscany who still enjoyed great success in Rome during the seventies. The painting by Muziano from Brescia is quiet and solemn, with that monumental saint who dominates the canvas with his lofty quiet melancholy, solid like an oak and at the same time available to a frank chat with the faithful. Muziano, just like Marcello Venusti, moves away from any drama to focus on results of absorbed severity and intense naturalism” (Vincenzo Farinella)
BETWEEN THE TWO ALTARS
Large fresco “Pseudo-council of St. Sylvester in the age of Constantine” according to the apocryphal documents of Symmacus 1640 by Galeazzo Leoncini a Milanese that after this work, perhaps aware of his limitations, began the work as innkeeper
1st LEFT - ALTAR OF St. ANGELUS OF JERUSALEM
“St. Angelus of Jerusalem” 1646 by Pietro Testa (1612/50)
TOP OF THE NAVE
Large fresco “S. Cyril baptizes a sultan” 1651 by the Antwerp painter Jan Miel (1599/1663)
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS
From the crypt it is possible to go down to a hall of 18 x 11 m (59 x 36 feet) of the third century AD preceded by a vestibule part of the Titulus Equitii
Roman and medieval architectural fragments
Remains of frescoes from the ninth century, including “Jeweled cross” and a mosaic of the sixth century “Madonna with St. Sylvester”
HOLY SEVEN FOUNDERS
SS. SETTE FONDATORI
Piazza Salerno 4
1946 Alberto Tonelli (1923)
It was built on a dodecagonal plan
It was entrusted to the Servants of Mary or Servite who have dedicated to the seven founders of their order: seven Florentines who had all together in 1233 a vision of the Virgin Mary
The church is a NATIONAL TEMPLE as it is built on the Memorial to the Fallen of two World Wars
Piazza Salerno 4
1946 Alberto Tonelli (1923)
It was built on a dodecagonal plan
It was entrusted to the Servants of Mary or Servite who have dedicated to the seven founders of their order: seven Florentines who had all together in 1233 a vision of the Virgin Mary
The church is a NATIONAL TEMPLE as it is built on the Memorial to the Fallen of two World Wars
Sts. SERGIUS AND BACCHUS
SS. SERGIO E BACCO
Via degli Zingari/Piazza della Madonna dei Monti 3
Built in the ninth century with monastery dedicated to Serio and Baco in Calinico, maybe Calinico patriarch of Constantinople of the seventh/eighth century exiled to Rome by Justinian II. Tradition has it that Calinico died in this spot
Sergius and Bacchus were soldiers under Maximian (286/305) and, after being martyred, they became the protectors of the army. Their cult was popular and widespread, especially in the Eastern Church
The church was restored under Urban VIII Barberini (1623/44) for Cardinal Antonio Barberini, who donated it with the adjoining MONASTERY to the Ruthenians monks of St. Basil
It was known as Madonna del Pascolo (Madonna of the Pasture) since 1719 when an image of “Madonna and Child” was found in the monastery
It is a copy of the “Madonna of the Pasture” appeared to some shepherds in a church Lithuania. The image was later moved in the church
The church was rebuilt in 1741 by Francesco Ferrari (active in Rome 1721/44)
It was restored in the years 1969/73 for Cardinal Joseph Slipyj, Archibishop of Lviv in Ukraine
It is the national Ukrainian church
FAÇADE
It was added in the years 1880/96 by Ettore Bonoli in so called historicist style in imitation of the sixteenth century style
Statues in the niches: on the left “Joseph Rutskyj, Archibishop of Kiev” and on the right “Card. Joseph Slipyj”
VAULT
“Madonna in Glory with Angels” 1741 by Sebastiano Ceccarini (1703/83)
NEXT TO THE ENTRANCE DOOR
“Funerary monument of the Polish painter Giulio Miszewski” 1827
ALTAR ON THE RIGHT
“St. Basil” about 1741 by Ignazio Stern (1679/1748)
MAIN ALTAR
1719 Filippo Barigioni (about 1680/1753)
Venerated image “Madonna of the Pasture” brought here from the monastery
ALTAR ON THE LEFT
“Ss. Sergius and Bacchus” about 1714 by Ignazio Stern
Via degli Zingari/Piazza della Madonna dei Monti 3
Built in the ninth century with monastery dedicated to Serio and Baco in Calinico, maybe Calinico patriarch of Constantinople of the seventh/eighth century exiled to Rome by Justinian II. Tradition has it that Calinico died in this spot
Sergius and Bacchus were soldiers under Maximian (286/305) and, after being martyred, they became the protectors of the army. Their cult was popular and widespread, especially in the Eastern Church
The church was restored under Urban VIII Barberini (1623/44) for Cardinal Antonio Barberini, who donated it with the adjoining MONASTERY to the Ruthenians monks of St. Basil
It was known as Madonna del Pascolo (Madonna of the Pasture) since 1719 when an image of “Madonna and Child” was found in the monastery
It is a copy of the “Madonna of the Pasture” appeared to some shepherds in a church Lithuania. The image was later moved in the church
The church was rebuilt in 1741 by Francesco Ferrari (active in Rome 1721/44)
It was restored in the years 1969/73 for Cardinal Joseph Slipyj, Archibishop of Lviv in Ukraine
It is the national Ukrainian church
FAÇADE
It was added in the years 1880/96 by Ettore Bonoli in so called historicist style in imitation of the sixteenth century style
Statues in the niches: on the left “Joseph Rutskyj, Archibishop of Kiev” and on the right “Card. Joseph Slipyj”
VAULT
“Madonna in Glory with Angels” 1741 by Sebastiano Ceccarini (1703/83)
NEXT TO THE ENTRANCE DOOR
“Funerary monument of the Polish painter Giulio Miszewski” 1827
ALTAR ON THE RIGHT
“St. Basil” about 1741 by Ignazio Stern (1679/1748)
MAIN ALTAR
1719 Filippo Barigioni (about 1680/1753)
Venerated image “Madonna of the Pasture” brought here from the monastery
ALTAR ON THE LEFT
“Ss. Sergius and Bacchus” about 1714 by Ignazio Stern
Sts. RUFINA AND SECUNDA
SS. RUFINA E SECONDA
Via della Lungaretta 92
Mentioned for the first time by the sources in 1192
It was built on the house of Asterius, the father of the two Roman martyrs Rufina and Seconda who would have lived here in the third century
In 1611 it was entrusted by Pope Paul V Borghese (1605/21) to the nuns followers of Francesca Montioux, who commissioned the construction of the adjoining MONASTERY
1716/22 further expansion of the monastery
The structures on which the church was built are not orthogonal to each other because they were built on pre-existing foundations belonging to a Roman insula (apartment block)
In 1917 it passed to the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea
Restoration 1973/74 that has retained little of the old structure, also for the demolition of the apse
Of the medieval church remain only the “Eight ancient marble columns” and the beautiful ROMANESQUE BELL TOWER of the first half of the twelfth century
Via della Lungaretta 92
Mentioned for the first time by the sources in 1192
It was built on the house of Asterius, the father of the two Roman martyrs Rufina and Seconda who would have lived here in the third century
In 1611 it was entrusted by Pope Paul V Borghese (1605/21) to the nuns followers of Francesca Montioux, who commissioned the construction of the adjoining MONASTERY
1716/22 further expansion of the monastery
The structures on which the church was built are not orthogonal to each other because they were built on pre-existing foundations belonging to a Roman insula (apartment block)
In 1917 it passed to the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea
Restoration 1973/74 that has retained little of the old structure, also for the demolition of the apse
Of the medieval church remain only the “Eight ancient marble columns” and the beautiful ROMANESQUE BELL TOWER of the first half of the twelfth century
HOLY ROSARY OF POMPEII
SS. ROSARIO DI POMPEI
Via Cernaia 14b
1889/98 Pio Piacentini (1846/1928) in eclectic style
It was built in the area of the Campus Sceleratus where the vestal virgins who broke the vow of chastity were buried alive
“Here the term 'eclectic' is revealed in its most complete meaning, with the use by the designer of elements of ancient Roman, Byzantine and Medieval styles, freely assembled with the result, especially outside of a somewhat hybrid product. But it is precisely this formal indeterminacy that instead of placing the building out of time, it places it exactly at the precise historical moment of which it is the expression” (Massimo Alemanno)
Via Cernaia 14b
1889/98 Pio Piacentini (1846/1928) in eclectic style
It was built in the area of the Campus Sceleratus where the vestal virgins who broke the vow of chastity were buried alive
“Here the term 'eclectic' is revealed in its most complete meaning, with the use by the designer of elements of ancient Roman, Byzantine and Medieval styles, freely assembled with the result, especially outside of a somewhat hybrid product. But it is precisely this formal indeterminacy that instead of placing the building out of time, it places it exactly at the precise historical moment of which it is the expression” (Massimo Alemanno)
Sts. QUIRICUS AND JULIETTA
SS. QUIRICO E GIULITTA
Via di Tor de' Conti 31a
Seventh century. Originally dedicated to Sts. Stephan and Lawrence
1584 restorations for Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici with inverted orientation and floor raised four meters (13 feet)
With the new orientation the church had its façade facing the new Via Alessandrina opened at the behest of Cardinal Michele Bonelli, nephew of St. Pius V Ghislieri (1566/72), known as Il Cardinale Alessandrino (the Cardinal from Alexandria) as he was a native of Alessandria in the Piedmont region
Restorations 1606/08
FAÇADE about 1733 by Filippo Raguzzini (1680/1771)
PORTAL apparently dating back to the Renaissance period maybe by Baccio Pontelli (about 1450/92), but most likely put in place in 1750
Dedicated to Julietta and her three year old Quiricus, both martyrs in Tarsus under Diocletian (284/305)
VAULT
Frescoes “Glory of Sts. Quiricus and Julietta” 1856 by Pietro Gagliardi (1809/90)
FLOOR 1956
1st ALTAR ON THE RIGHT - ALTAR OF Sts. JOSEPH AND DIMAS (the Good Thief)
“Holy Family with the Infant St. John with Visitation” by an anonymous artist of the eighteenth century
2nd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT
“Preaching of St. Dominic” 1855 by Ercole Ruspi
MAIN ALTAR
“Martyrdom of Sts. Quirico and Giuditta” in 1631 by an unknown artist of the seventeenth-century
Frescos on the vault of the presbytery “Allegory of the Mystic Lamb” 1856 by Pietro Gagliardi (1809/90)
2nd ALTAR ON THE LEFT - ALTAR OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
“St. Dominic and St. Catherine worship the image of the Virgin Mary” by an anonymous artist of the eighteenth century
1st ALTAR ON THE LEFT
“Sts. Nicholas of Bari and Vincent Ferrer in adoration of the Christ Child” by an anonymous artist of the eighteenth century
There is adjoining MUSEUM OF THE NATIVITY SCENE with 3,000 figurines from all over the world
LOWER CHURCH
Two layers of frescoes, the oldest of which maybe dates back to the eleventh century with “Mystic Lamb” and fragments of “Saints”
EX-CONVENT
1750/53 by Gabriele Valvassori (1683/1761)
It incorporates the small Romanesque bell tower. Now it is the HOTEL FORUM
Via di Tor de' Conti 31a
Seventh century. Originally dedicated to Sts. Stephan and Lawrence
1584 restorations for Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici with inverted orientation and floor raised four meters (13 feet)
With the new orientation the church had its façade facing the new Via Alessandrina opened at the behest of Cardinal Michele Bonelli, nephew of St. Pius V Ghislieri (1566/72), known as Il Cardinale Alessandrino (the Cardinal from Alexandria) as he was a native of Alessandria in the Piedmont region
Restorations 1606/08
FAÇADE about 1733 by Filippo Raguzzini (1680/1771)
PORTAL apparently dating back to the Renaissance period maybe by Baccio Pontelli (about 1450/92), but most likely put in place in 1750
Dedicated to Julietta and her three year old Quiricus, both martyrs in Tarsus under Diocletian (284/305)
VAULT
Frescoes “Glory of Sts. Quiricus and Julietta” 1856 by Pietro Gagliardi (1809/90)
FLOOR 1956
1st ALTAR ON THE RIGHT - ALTAR OF Sts. JOSEPH AND DIMAS (the Good Thief)
“Holy Family with the Infant St. John with Visitation” by an anonymous artist of the eighteenth century
2nd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT
“Preaching of St. Dominic” 1855 by Ercole Ruspi
MAIN ALTAR
“Martyrdom of Sts. Quirico and Giuditta” in 1631 by an unknown artist of the seventeenth-century
Frescos on the vault of the presbytery “Allegory of the Mystic Lamb” 1856 by Pietro Gagliardi (1809/90)
2nd ALTAR ON THE LEFT - ALTAR OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
“St. Dominic and St. Catherine worship the image of the Virgin Mary” by an anonymous artist of the eighteenth century
1st ALTAR ON THE LEFT
“Sts. Nicholas of Bari and Vincent Ferrer in adoration of the Christ Child” by an anonymous artist of the eighteenth century
There is adjoining MUSEUM OF THE NATIVITY SCENE with 3,000 figurines from all over the world
LOWER CHURCH
Two layers of frescoes, the oldest of which maybe dates back to the eleventh century with “Mystic Lamb” and fragments of “Saints”
EX-CONVENT
1750/53 by Gabriele Valvassori (1683/1761)
It incorporates the small Romanesque bell tower. Now it is the HOTEL FORUM
FOUR HOLY CROWNED ONES
SS. QUATTRO CORONATI
Via Ss. Quattro Coronati 20
Fourth century, reusing a hall with apse maybe belonging to the ancient Titulus Aemilianae perhaps from the name of the lady who used to own the house
The archaeological remains are very heterogeneous and there is a rich stratigraphy difficult to interpret
Maybe it was part of CAELIOLUS with the TEMPLE OF MINERVA CAPTA and the QUERQUETULANA GATE
Mentioned in the sources for the first time on the year 595
Enlarged in about 630 for Honorius I (625/638) who commissioned the Chapel of St. Barbara, the semicircular crypt, the portico and the bell tower
Converted into a basilica in about 850 by Leo IV (847/855)
For the foundations were used blocks of tufa stone taken from the Servian Walls
It was damaged by a destructive fire caused by the Normans in 1084
It was rebuilt smaller in the years 1111/16 for Pascal II (1099/1118), with a second internal courtyard
At the end of 1100s/beginning of 1200s monastery and cloister were added
Between 1244 and 1251 the building was used as a residence by the Cardinal Rainaldo Conti di Ienne, the future Pope Alexander IV (1254/61), who had here a wealthy PALATIUM (palace) definitely connected with the nearby Lateran Patriarchate
Only the TORRE MAGGIORE (Major Tower) and the adjoining TORRE DI S. SILVESTRO (tower of St. Silvester) are left of the Palace of Alexander VI
Soon after, the building was chosen as the home of some senators of Rome and it housed cardinals and politicians
Renewal of the sanctuary and crypt 1621/27
Restoration 1912/16 by Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960)
In the west side of the building live some nuns of the order of the Augustinians, in the east side live the so called Little Sisters of the Lamb
The church is dedicated to the four soldiers Severo, Severiano, Carpoforo and Vittorino martyred for not worshiping the statue of Aesculapius and whose bodies were buried in secret by their friend St. Sebastian
The church is dedicated also to four Dalmatians sculptors (to whom was later added a fifth martyr) of the Pannonia quarries, killed on the same day by the order of Diocletian (284/305) drowned in metal cases for having refused to carve the statue of Aesculapius
The cult of the two groups of martyrs was joined together by Pope Miltiades (311/314)
The TOWER WITH FOUR-LIGHT WINDOWS dates back to the ninth century
It was first used for defensive purposes, then as a bell tower
It is the oldest tower of Rome and it is a unique typology, inspired by models from across the Alps
In the PORTICO OF THE FIRST COURTYARD faded frescoes 1632 maybe of the school of Livio Agresti (about 1508/79) or of the school of G.B. Naldini (about 1537/91)
INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH
WOODEN CEILING
1580 for Cardinal Enrico from Portugal
COSMATESQUE FLOOR
One of the earliest examples of this technique in Rome
WALLS OF THE NAVE AND OF THE COUNTER FAÇADE
Frescoes with gaps representing “Stories of Saints” end of 1200s/beginning of 1300s
RIGHT NAVE - ALTAR OF THE HOLY SACRAMENT
“Adoration of the Shepherds” end of the 1500s, maybe by an anonymous artis of the school of Federico Zuccari
APSE
Closed by a gate and used by the cloistered Augustinian nuns to sing
On the right seventeenth-century organ with ivory keys and doors painted with “Musical Scenes”
Frescoes in the lower order “Seven scenes of the saints sculptors from Pannonian”, in the higher order “Four scenes of the saints soldiers”, in the apse “Paradise with the glory of all the saints” (known as “chorus of the women angels” for adolescent effeminate appearance of the angels) 1623 by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni (1592/1636) helped by the plasterer Francesco Solario from Chiaronno
“Not even the Roman experience freed him from the ways of expression and from the provincialism of the Florentines of his own period. Although his light touch, bright colors and the looseness and panache of his production make him one of the most attractive Florentine painters of the 1600s, the character of his art is dated” (Rudolf Wittkower)
CRYPT
Cell with “Four ancient tombs” (one in red porphyry, another in green porphyry) with the relics of the saints
Frescoes in the vault “God the Father” and “Sts. Four Crowned” by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni
AT THE END OF THE COLUMNS, ON THE LEFT
“Ciborium” of the end of the fifteenth century maybe by Andrea Bregno (1418/1503) or Luigi Capponi (active end 1400s/beginning of 1500s)
LEFT NAVE - ALTAR OF St. SEBASTIAN
Featuring a fenestella confessionis where the reliquary with the head of St. Sebastian used to be kept. Now it is in the Museo Sacro Vaticano
“St. Sebastian Tended by Irene and Lucina” by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643)
FURTHER ON IN THE NAVE
“Annunciation” by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni
SACRISTY
“Aedicula in marble with winged griffins facing each other” about 1500
CLOISTER
About 1116 maybe by Pietro de Maria, one of the oldest in Rome, perhaps the first ever built
“Fountain made of two overlapping medieval pools” assembled by Antonio Muñoz in 1917
It probably dates to the late eleventh century and it could therefore be regarded as the oldest fountain in Rome
Adjacent to the cloister there is the CHAPEL OF St. BARBARA with traces of thirteenth-century paintings
In the second external courtyard RECEPTION OF THE NUNS with “Liturgical Calendar of the thirteenth ceentury”
FIRST FLOOR OF THE MONASTERY
Extraordinary GOTHIC CHAPEL with frescoes of the thirteenth century discovered in 1996 attributed to the Third Master of Anagni, the painter of the frescoes in the crypt of the Cathedral of Anagni, one of the most important and admired medieval pictorial cycles in Italy
“At the time of presentation of the frescoes to the scholars the Hall was called 'The Sistine Chapel of the thirteenth century'. Beyond the excellent quality of the frescoes, the historical importance of this series of paintings is such as to oblige scholars and historians to rewrite entire pages of art history. The press throughout Europe has spoken enthusiastically of this finding. (...) The Gothic Chamber, however, is in a monastery of cloistered nuns who can not have contact with any outside person. To open the hall to the public was thus necessary the construction of a secondary access door. In December 2006, the then Minister Francesco Rutelli announced the end of the restoration work, postponing the opening to the public in March 2009. To this day (May 2013) the works necessary for the construction of the door have not yet begun. From a research of the Rome daily Il Tempo has emerged that the responsibility of the work is of the APSA (Administration o the Apostolic Heritage), an organ of the Vatican from which the newspaper has received no answer. And so the Gothic Hallis likely to remain closed. All blocked. For a small door” (From the blog riprendiamociroma.blogspot.it)
Frescoed in 1247 by one or more masters of Byzantine influence, Venetian, perhaps, for Cardinal Rainaldo Conti di Ienne future Pope Alexander IV (1254/61), who consacrated it on that same year
In the counter façade
“Christ between the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, and two angels”
On the side walls
“STORIES OF CONSTANTINE”
“Recognition of the true cross among the three crosses found by St. Helena on Golgotha”
“S. Silvestro resurrects a bull” who had been killed by a rabbi
With this miracle St. Sylvester (314/335) succeeded in converting both Helena and the rabbi and the bull became his iconographic attribute
“Defeat of a huge dragon settled in a cave of the Roman Forum” (almost completely gone) persistent symbol of paganism in Rome
“Constantine leper reassures mothers who ask mercy for their children” having had from the pagan doctors the advice to immerse himself in the blood of three hundred children
“Sts. Peter and Paul appear in a dream to Constantine”
“The imperial envoys go on the Soratte Mountain to look for St. Sylvester”
“St. Sylvester baptizes Constantine”
“Constantine cured of leprosy hands the tiara to St. Sylvester”
“Constantine receives St. Sylvester in Rome”
These paintings reflect the contrasts between Pope Innocent IV dei Conti di Lavagna (1243/54) and the Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen
Here the anti-imperial and theocratic ideology of the church is glorified with a flat but decoratively rich style. It is an original reprocessing of influences coming perhaps from the mosaics of Monreale or from the frescoes in the crypt of the Cathedral of Anagni
Rectangular apse:
Frescoes on the right “Deposition of the four saints sculptors in the coffers before being thrown into the river”
On the left “Flagellation of the four holy soldiers”
On the back wall “Crucifixion” and, in the upper part, “Annunciation”
In the pendentives “Four Saints”
In the vault “Four angels and four Evangelists” 1570 all works maybe by Raffaellino Motta aka Raffaellino da Reggio (1550/78)
On the frieze two marble funnels voice-carriers to allow to listen to the songs and ceremonies in the Gothic Hall on the floor above
Via Ss. Quattro Coronati 20
Fourth century, reusing a hall with apse maybe belonging to the ancient Titulus Aemilianae perhaps from the name of the lady who used to own the house
The archaeological remains are very heterogeneous and there is a rich stratigraphy difficult to interpret
Maybe it was part of CAELIOLUS with the TEMPLE OF MINERVA CAPTA and the QUERQUETULANA GATE
Mentioned in the sources for the first time on the year 595
Enlarged in about 630 for Honorius I (625/638) who commissioned the Chapel of St. Barbara, the semicircular crypt, the portico and the bell tower
Converted into a basilica in about 850 by Leo IV (847/855)
For the foundations were used blocks of tufa stone taken from the Servian Walls
It was damaged by a destructive fire caused by the Normans in 1084
It was rebuilt smaller in the years 1111/16 for Pascal II (1099/1118), with a second internal courtyard
At the end of 1100s/beginning of 1200s monastery and cloister were added
Between 1244 and 1251 the building was used as a residence by the Cardinal Rainaldo Conti di Ienne, the future Pope Alexander IV (1254/61), who had here a wealthy PALATIUM (palace) definitely connected with the nearby Lateran Patriarchate
Only the TORRE MAGGIORE (Major Tower) and the adjoining TORRE DI S. SILVESTRO (tower of St. Silvester) are left of the Palace of Alexander VI
Soon after, the building was chosen as the home of some senators of Rome and it housed cardinals and politicians
Renewal of the sanctuary and crypt 1621/27
Restoration 1912/16 by Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960)
In the west side of the building live some nuns of the order of the Augustinians, in the east side live the so called Little Sisters of the Lamb
The church is dedicated to the four soldiers Severo, Severiano, Carpoforo and Vittorino martyred for not worshiping the statue of Aesculapius and whose bodies were buried in secret by their friend St. Sebastian
The church is dedicated also to four Dalmatians sculptors (to whom was later added a fifth martyr) of the Pannonia quarries, killed on the same day by the order of Diocletian (284/305) drowned in metal cases for having refused to carve the statue of Aesculapius
The cult of the two groups of martyrs was joined together by Pope Miltiades (311/314)
The TOWER WITH FOUR-LIGHT WINDOWS dates back to the ninth century
It was first used for defensive purposes, then as a bell tower
It is the oldest tower of Rome and it is a unique typology, inspired by models from across the Alps
In the PORTICO OF THE FIRST COURTYARD faded frescoes 1632 maybe of the school of Livio Agresti (about 1508/79) or of the school of G.B. Naldini (about 1537/91)
INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH
WOODEN CEILING
1580 for Cardinal Enrico from Portugal
COSMATESQUE FLOOR
One of the earliest examples of this technique in Rome
WALLS OF THE NAVE AND OF THE COUNTER FAÇADE
Frescoes with gaps representing “Stories of Saints” end of 1200s/beginning of 1300s
RIGHT NAVE - ALTAR OF THE HOLY SACRAMENT
“Adoration of the Shepherds” end of the 1500s, maybe by an anonymous artis of the school of Federico Zuccari
APSE
Closed by a gate and used by the cloistered Augustinian nuns to sing
On the right seventeenth-century organ with ivory keys and doors painted with “Musical Scenes”
Frescoes in the lower order “Seven scenes of the saints sculptors from Pannonian”, in the higher order “Four scenes of the saints soldiers”, in the apse “Paradise with the glory of all the saints” (known as “chorus of the women angels” for adolescent effeminate appearance of the angels) 1623 by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni (1592/1636) helped by the plasterer Francesco Solario from Chiaronno
“Not even the Roman experience freed him from the ways of expression and from the provincialism of the Florentines of his own period. Although his light touch, bright colors and the looseness and panache of his production make him one of the most attractive Florentine painters of the 1600s, the character of his art is dated” (Rudolf Wittkower)
CRYPT
Cell with “Four ancient tombs” (one in red porphyry, another in green porphyry) with the relics of the saints
Frescoes in the vault “God the Father” and “Sts. Four Crowned” by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni
AT THE END OF THE COLUMNS, ON THE LEFT
“Ciborium” of the end of the fifteenth century maybe by Andrea Bregno (1418/1503) or Luigi Capponi (active end 1400s/beginning of 1500s)
LEFT NAVE - ALTAR OF St. SEBASTIAN
Featuring a fenestella confessionis where the reliquary with the head of St. Sebastian used to be kept. Now it is in the Museo Sacro Vaticano
“St. Sebastian Tended by Irene and Lucina” by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643)
FURTHER ON IN THE NAVE
“Annunciation” by Giovanni Mannozzi aka Giovanni da S. Giovanni
SACRISTY
“Aedicula in marble with winged griffins facing each other” about 1500
CLOISTER
About 1116 maybe by Pietro de Maria, one of the oldest in Rome, perhaps the first ever built
“Fountain made of two overlapping medieval pools” assembled by Antonio Muñoz in 1917
It probably dates to the late eleventh century and it could therefore be regarded as the oldest fountain in Rome
Adjacent to the cloister there is the CHAPEL OF St. BARBARA with traces of thirteenth-century paintings
In the second external courtyard RECEPTION OF THE NUNS with “Liturgical Calendar of the thirteenth ceentury”
FIRST FLOOR OF THE MONASTERY
Extraordinary GOTHIC CHAPEL with frescoes of the thirteenth century discovered in 1996 attributed to the Third Master of Anagni, the painter of the frescoes in the crypt of the Cathedral of Anagni, one of the most important and admired medieval pictorial cycles in Italy
“At the time of presentation of the frescoes to the scholars the Hall was called 'The Sistine Chapel of the thirteenth century'. Beyond the excellent quality of the frescoes, the historical importance of this series of paintings is such as to oblige scholars and historians to rewrite entire pages of art history. The press throughout Europe has spoken enthusiastically of this finding. (...) The Gothic Chamber, however, is in a monastery of cloistered nuns who can not have contact with any outside person. To open the hall to the public was thus necessary the construction of a secondary access door. In December 2006, the then Minister Francesco Rutelli announced the end of the restoration work, postponing the opening to the public in March 2009. To this day (May 2013) the works necessary for the construction of the door have not yet begun. From a research of the Rome daily Il Tempo has emerged that the responsibility of the work is of the APSA (Administration o the Apostolic Heritage), an organ of the Vatican from which the newspaper has received no answer. And so the Gothic Hallis likely to remain closed. All blocked. For a small door” (From the blog riprendiamociroma.blogspot.it)
Oratorio di S. Silvestro
Oratory of St. SylvesterFrescoed in 1247 by one or more masters of Byzantine influence, Venetian, perhaps, for Cardinal Rainaldo Conti di Ienne future Pope Alexander IV (1254/61), who consacrated it on that same year
In the counter façade
“Christ between the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, and two angels”
On the side walls
“STORIES OF CONSTANTINE”
“Recognition of the true cross among the three crosses found by St. Helena on Golgotha”
“S. Silvestro resurrects a bull” who had been killed by a rabbi
With this miracle St. Sylvester (314/335) succeeded in converting both Helena and the rabbi and the bull became his iconographic attribute
“Defeat of a huge dragon settled in a cave of the Roman Forum” (almost completely gone) persistent symbol of paganism in Rome
“Constantine leper reassures mothers who ask mercy for their children” having had from the pagan doctors the advice to immerse himself in the blood of three hundred children
“Sts. Peter and Paul appear in a dream to Constantine”
“The imperial envoys go on the Soratte Mountain to look for St. Sylvester”
“St. Sylvester baptizes Constantine”
“Constantine cured of leprosy hands the tiara to St. Sylvester”
“Constantine receives St. Sylvester in Rome”
These paintings reflect the contrasts between Pope Innocent IV dei Conti di Lavagna (1243/54) and the Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen
Here the anti-imperial and theocratic ideology of the church is glorified with a flat but decoratively rich style. It is an original reprocessing of influences coming perhaps from the mosaics of Monreale or from the frescoes in the crypt of the Cathedral of Anagni
Rectangular apse:
Frescoes on the right “Deposition of the four saints sculptors in the coffers before being thrown into the river”
On the left “Flagellation of the four holy soldiers”
On the back wall “Crucifixion” and, in the upper part, “Annunciation”
In the pendentives “Four Saints”
In the vault “Four angels and four Evangelists” 1570 all works maybe by Raffaellino Motta aka Raffaellino da Reggio (1550/78)
On the frieze two marble funnels voice-carriers to allow to listen to the songs and ceremonies in the Gothic Hall on the floor above
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Sts.PETER AND PAUL
SS. PIETRO E PAOLO
Piazzale dei Ss. Pietro e Paolo 8 - EUR
Begun in 1938, opened in 1955 by Arnaldo Foschini (1884/1968) with the collaboration of Tullio Rossi (1903/97), Costantino Vetriani (1895/1968) and Alfredo Energici (1894/?)
Height 72 m (236 feet)
DOME
In reinforced concrete covered with slate with a diameter of 28 m (92.8 feet)
It is the fourth wider dome in Rome after the Pantheon (43.3 m - 142.06 feet), St. Peter (42.56 m - 139.6 feet) and S. Giovanni Bosco al Quadraro (31 m - 101.7 feet)
ON TOP OF THE STAIRS
Statues “St. Peter” by Domenico Ponzi (1891 /?) and “St. Paul” by Francesco Nagni (1897/1977)
“The filled and swollen forms, featuring the careful modulation of the anatomical figures reveal the choice for a sculpture of architectural mass and plastic volume, which made Francesco Nagni one of the main artists of the celebrative tradition of the Fascist period, facilitating his early participation in the orbit of major public works” (Francesca Franco - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
HIGH-RELIEF ON THE FAÇADE
“The Handing oo the keys” and bronze portal by Giovanni Prini (1877/1958)
OTHER RELIEFS ON THE FAÇADE
Works by Alessandro Monteleone (1897/1967), Venanzo Crocetti (1913/2003) and Carlo Pini (1902 /?)
INTERIOR
Two “Ambos” in bronze by Duilio Cambellotti (1876/1960)
MAIN ALTAR
Sculpture “Christ Triumphant” by Attilio Selva (1888/1970)
“Crucifix” in bronze by Giuseppe Graziosi (1879/1942)
“Bronze doors of the tabernacle” by Ernesto Vighi (1894/1950)
DRUM OF THE DOME
Four marble reliefs with Evangelists: “St. Luke and St. Mark” by Francesco Coccia (1902/81), “St. John and St. Matthew” by Enrico Castelli (1890/?)
Piazzale dei Ss. Pietro e Paolo 8 - EUR
Begun in 1938, opened in 1955 by Arnaldo Foschini (1884/1968) with the collaboration of Tullio Rossi (1903/97), Costantino Vetriani (1895/1968) and Alfredo Energici (1894/?)
Height 72 m (236 feet)
DOME
In reinforced concrete covered with slate with a diameter of 28 m (92.8 feet)
It is the fourth wider dome in Rome after the Pantheon (43.3 m - 142.06 feet), St. Peter (42.56 m - 139.6 feet) and S. Giovanni Bosco al Quadraro (31 m - 101.7 feet)
ON TOP OF THE STAIRS
Statues “St. Peter” by Domenico Ponzi (1891 /?) and “St. Paul” by Francesco Nagni (1897/1977)
“The filled and swollen forms, featuring the careful modulation of the anatomical figures reveal the choice for a sculpture of architectural mass and plastic volume, which made Francesco Nagni one of the main artists of the celebrative tradition of the Fascist period, facilitating his early participation in the orbit of major public works” (Francesca Franco - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
HIGH-RELIEF ON THE FAÇADE
“The Handing oo the keys” and bronze portal by Giovanni Prini (1877/1958)
OTHER RELIEFS ON THE FAÇADE
Works by Alessandro Monteleone (1897/1967), Venanzo Crocetti (1913/2003) and Carlo Pini (1902 /?)
INTERIOR
Two “Ambos” in bronze by Duilio Cambellotti (1876/1960)
MAIN ALTAR
Sculpture “Christ Triumphant” by Attilio Selva (1888/1970)
“Crucifix” in bronze by Giuseppe Graziosi (1879/1942)
“Bronze doors of the tabernacle” by Ernesto Vighi (1894/1950)
DRUM OF THE DOME
Four marble reliefs with Evangelists: “St. Luke and St. Mark” by Francesco Coccia (1902/81), “St. John and St. Matthew” by Enrico Castelli (1890/?)
MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY
SS. NOME DI MARIA
Foro Traiano 89
Begun in 1732 by Mauro Fontana (1701/67) for the Confraternita del SS. Nome di Maria (Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of Mary) established on the occasion of the Christian victory against the Turks in 1683
It was built on the former church of S. Bernardo of the fifteenth century
In 1735 Antoine Dérizet (1697/1768) succeeded to Fontana and he totally changed the design and added the DOME, which was completed in 1738
The FLOOR was completed in 1742
It seems that during the crucial meeting for the approval of the project by the monks, the French architect had cunningly folded the sheet to hide the structure of the dome
“Dérizet imagined for this new church a building where could go together Manneristic ideas, inspired by the nearby S. Maria di Loreto, with the academic classicist style. Interested in the problems of architectural proportion and supporter of the theory of structural relations between music and architecture, Dérizet tried in his project to create a structure where there would be no contrasts between the internal space and the external structure” (Luigi Gallo)
In 1751 Mauro Fontana was reinstated. He closed the two side entrances for static problems caused by the weight of the dome and added the presbytery
EXTERNAL BANISTER
“Eleven statues of saints and prophets” 1739/41 carried out by eleven different artists such as Pietro Paolo Campi (known 1702/40) (“Ageo”) and Michelangelo Slodtz (1705/64) (“St. Matthew” and “Obadiah”)
INTERIOR
Decorated in 1743 by Agostino Masucci (1691/1758)
Interior lining in faux marble 1858 by Luigi Gabet (active 1858/78), who also restored dome and pillars, while he was working at the same time in the adjacent Palazzo Valentini
IN THE RIBS OF THE DOME
Eight medallions in stucco “Stories of the Virgin Mary” about 1750 by Carlo Tandardini (1677/1748), Francesco Queirolo (1704/62), Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768), G.B. Maini (1690/1752), Bernardino Ludovisi (about 1713/49) and Michelangelo Slodtz who also made the stuccos in the lantern
1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “St. Aloysius Gonzaga” by Antonio Nessi (active 1739/73)
2nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “St. Anne and the Virgin Mary” about 1757 by Agostino Masucci (1691/1758)
3rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Stucco decoration by Andrea Bergondi (active in Rome in the XVIII century)
Above the altar “Death of St. Joseph” 1755 by the Roman Stefano Pozzi (1699/1768)
MAIN ALTAR
1750 designed by Mauro Fontana (1701/67)
Spectacular “Glory of Angels” by Andrea Bergondi that includes “Virgin Mary and Child” painting of the first half of the thirteenth century by an artist of the Roman school from the Sancta Santorum in the Lateran Palace
ON THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE CHAPEL OF THE MAIN ALTAR
“Tomb of Cardinal Ludovico Pico della Mirandola” d. 1743 indefatigable supporter of Antoine Dérizet
2nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “Virgin Mary appears to St. Bernard” 1751 by Nicolò Ricciolini (1687/1772)
1st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “Sts. Peter and Paul” by Lorenzo Masucci (?/1785), son of the painter Agostino Masucci
On the left “St. Joseph with the Child” by an artist of the Roman school of the eighteenth century
SACRISTY
1839 neoclassical façade
There is preserved a carpet removed from the tent of the Grand Vizier after the 1683 defeat of the Turks in Vienna
Bas-relief “Madonna and Child” by an unknown artist of the second half of the sixteenth century
Foro Traiano 89
Begun in 1732 by Mauro Fontana (1701/67) for the Confraternita del SS. Nome di Maria (Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of Mary) established on the occasion of the Christian victory against the Turks in 1683
It was built on the former church of S. Bernardo of the fifteenth century
In 1735 Antoine Dérizet (1697/1768) succeeded to Fontana and he totally changed the design and added the DOME, which was completed in 1738
The FLOOR was completed in 1742
It seems that during the crucial meeting for the approval of the project by the monks, the French architect had cunningly folded the sheet to hide the structure of the dome
“Dérizet imagined for this new church a building where could go together Manneristic ideas, inspired by the nearby S. Maria di Loreto, with the academic classicist style. Interested in the problems of architectural proportion and supporter of the theory of structural relations between music and architecture, Dérizet tried in his project to create a structure where there would be no contrasts between the internal space and the external structure” (Luigi Gallo)
In 1751 Mauro Fontana was reinstated. He closed the two side entrances for static problems caused by the weight of the dome and added the presbytery
EXTERNAL BANISTER
“Eleven statues of saints and prophets” 1739/41 carried out by eleven different artists such as Pietro Paolo Campi (known 1702/40) (“Ageo”) and Michelangelo Slodtz (1705/64) (“St. Matthew” and “Obadiah”)
INTERIOR
Decorated in 1743 by Agostino Masucci (1691/1758)
Interior lining in faux marble 1858 by Luigi Gabet (active 1858/78), who also restored dome and pillars, while he was working at the same time in the adjacent Palazzo Valentini
IN THE RIBS OF THE DOME
Eight medallions in stucco “Stories of the Virgin Mary” about 1750 by Carlo Tandardini (1677/1748), Francesco Queirolo (1704/62), Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768), G.B. Maini (1690/1752), Bernardino Ludovisi (about 1713/49) and Michelangelo Slodtz who also made the stuccos in the lantern
1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “St. Aloysius Gonzaga” by Antonio Nessi (active 1739/73)
2nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the altar “St. Anne and the Virgin Mary” about 1757 by Agostino Masucci (1691/1758)
3rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Stucco decoration by Andrea Bergondi (active in Rome in the XVIII century)
Above the altar “Death of St. Joseph” 1755 by the Roman Stefano Pozzi (1699/1768)
MAIN ALTAR
1750 designed by Mauro Fontana (1701/67)
Spectacular “Glory of Angels” by Andrea Bergondi that includes “Virgin Mary and Child” painting of the first half of the thirteenth century by an artist of the Roman school from the Sancta Santorum in the Lateran Palace
ON THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE CHAPEL OF THE MAIN ALTAR
“Tomb of Cardinal Ludovico Pico della Mirandola” d. 1743 indefatigable supporter of Antoine Dérizet
2nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “Virgin Mary appears to St. Bernard” 1751 by Nicolò Ricciolini (1687/1772)
1st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “Sts. Peter and Paul” by Lorenzo Masucci (?/1785), son of the painter Agostino Masucci
On the left “St. Joseph with the Child” by an artist of the Roman school of the eighteenth century
SACRISTY
1839 neoclassical façade
There is preserved a carpet removed from the tent of the Grand Vizier after the 1683 defeat of the Turks in Vienna
Bas-relief “Madonna and Child” by an unknown artist of the second half of the sixteenth century
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