Erected,
according to tradition, over the house of the father of St. Ambrose (about
334/397) who would have lived here before being transferred as consul in
Milan where he later became bishop, in the area once occupied by the TEMPLE OF
HERCULES MUSAGETE
According
to tradition, at the time of St. Leo III (795/816) it became the property of a
certain Maxima, hence perhaps the name, who built a Latin cross church with
monastery
The
specification De Maxima in the name of the church appears in the sources
only in the thirteenth century and, in fact, it is most likely derived from the
nearby Cloaca Maxima, the oldest sewer of Rome, or from a commercial
building known as Porticus Maxima
It was
called S. Stefano de Maxima and S. Maria in Formosa but in the
fifteenth century it returned to its original name
Rebuilt in
the years 1606/26 maybe by Carlo Maderno
(1556/1629) for the De Torres family
Complete
with dome and side altars in 1633 by Orazio Torriani
(about 1601/about 1657)
The FAÇADE was rebuilt in 1863 on the model of
the previous one and on the same year the church was restored and the interior
embellished with inlaid marble altar frontages taken from Ligurian churches
Since 1861
the monks of Subiaco live in the premises
1st CHAPEL
ON THE RIGHT
Nineteenth-century
painting “Sts. Marcellina, Ambrose and Satyr” which replaced the painting by
Pietro da Cortona “Martyrdom of St. Stephen” stolen in 1810
2nd CHAPEL
ON THE RIGHT
Statue “St.
Benedict” of the Roman Orfeo Boselli (about
1600/67), who was inspired by the style of François Duquesnoy
RIGHT
TRANSEPT
“Crucifixion”
copy with variations from the original by Francesco Trevisani (1656/1746) in S. Sylvester in Capite
MAIN ALTAR
Canvas of
1974 painted on the occasion of the visit of Pope Paul VI to the Church
PENDENTIVES
OF THE DOME
“Cardinal
Virtues”: “Justice defeats Envy”, “Fortress defeats Fear”, “Temperance defeats
Lust” and “Prudence defeats Luck” about 1633 by Francesco
Cozza (1605/82), pupil of Domenichino
“This is
actually the triumphs of the cardinal virtues on the personifications of the
vices opposing them, as they are described by Cesare Ripa in his Iconology.
(...) Inspired by similar depictions of Domenichino in S. Carlo ai Catinari,
Francesco Cozza is shown here firmly rooted in his training with the first
generation of Bolognese classicists” (Francesca Cappelletti)
LEFT
TRANSEPT
“S. Mauro
heals a paralytic” by Ciro Ferri (1634/89)
2nd
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Frescoes “Life
of the Virgin Mary” maybe by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier
d'Arpino (1568/1640) and his school
Altar “Medieval
Icon” discovered in S. Benedict in Piscinula in 1846, heavily restored. Only
the face of the Virgin Mary is original
1st
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Canvas “Ss.
Joseph, Ambrose and Marcellina” of the second half of 1800s
REFECTORY
Fresco
transferred to canvas in 1963 originally in the portico of the church from
which it was detached in 1862 “Deposition with the patrons Benedictine Sisters”
about 1497 by Antonio Aquili aka Antoniazzo Romano
(about 1435-40/1508)
“The scene
follows the iconography of the Nordic Vesperbild (image of the vesper), a
subject of popular piety derived from Northern Europe and common in the Umbria
region, but very unusual in Rome. Towards the end of the fifteenth century
Michelangelo will be the one (...) to give fame and nobility to this Nordic
popular subject. In the Roman painting the theme of the Pietà is inserted in a
more complex figurative system with the presence in the background of the symbols
of the 'Arma Christi' (Arms of Christ), according to an association quite
common starting from the second half of the fourteenth century to encourage the
faithful to meditate, prompting emotional involvement” (Anna Cavallaro)
“Death of
St. Benedict” about 1609 by Baccio Ciarpi
(1574/1654)
“In Rome he
had Pietro da Cortona as one of his pupils. His works show a conventional
narrative language in a reformed key, enriched with a luminosity influenced by
Caravaggio” (Enciclopedia Treccani)
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