About 750
when some Basilian nuns fled Constantinople with the body of St. Gregory of
Nazianzus, now in the Vatican, and other relics, including the Madonna
Avvocata (Virgin Mary Advocate) believed to have been painted by St. Luke
himself
Pope St. Zechariah
(741/752) granted to the nuns this church near which they built a monastery.
According to tradition, the animals that carried the body of St. Gregory
Nazianzus and the relics stopped in this spot
Rebuilt in
the second half of 1500s by Giacomo Della Porta
(1533/1602) and in the first half of 1600s by Carlo
Maderno (1556/1629) and Francesco Peparelli
(active since about 1626/d. 1641)
Completely
transformed in Baroque style in the years 1668/85 by Giovanni
Antonio De Rossi (1616/95)
It is an
Eastern Catholic Church of Syro-Antiochian rite
“This
imposing Greek cross with an oval dome but without the drum is a masterpiece of
the mature style of De Rossi. The way as the mass of the apse closes the view
from Via della Maddalena is designed in the best tradition of the Roman Baroque
style” (Rudolf Wittkower)
1st
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
On the
altar “Nativity of the Virgin” maybe by Lazzaro Baldi
(about 1624/1703) or one of his pupils
RIGHT ALTAR
OF THE GREEK CROSS
Above the
altar “Baptism of Jesus”
On the left
“The Birth of St. John the Baptist” and on the right “Beheading of the Baptist”
about 1690 by Pasquale Marini (about 1660/about
1712) a pupil of Carlo Maratta
“The painter
from the Marche region shows a predilection for models of Pietro da Cortona
especially in the beheading of St. John the Baptist. His approach is still
grandiose and bombastic just like the great seventeenth-century altarpieces. In
the canvas at the sides the emphasis of gestures and expressions is
reconstructed in the balanced equilibrium of the whole” (Laura Possanzini)
2nd
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the
altar “St. Gregory of Nazianzus” 1686/87 by Luigi Garzi
(1638/1721)
“To an
essential and balanced approach he combines his personal visions of the early
Baroque, as in the angel holding up the book. The dynamic action of light as
well and the attention to realistic details denote a desire to broaden his
cultural references both recalling Lanfranco's ideas and finding closer
inspiration in Courtois or Brandi” (Laura Possanzini)
MAIN ALTAR
1708 Tommaso Mattei (1652/1726), a pupil of Carlo Fontana
“Icon of
Our Lady Advocate” 1100/1200 from Constantinople
Our Lady
looks at the viewer slightly turned to the right, with her right hand raised
and her left hand to her chest to indicate that she intercedes for all those
who are praying her
APSE
Frescoes in
the middle “Immaculate Conception”, on the right “St. John the Evangelist”, and
on the left “Isaiah” 1730 by Placido Costanzi
(1702/59)
2nd
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
On the
altar “Bronze Crucifix”
Lateral
paintings by artists of the school of Sebastiano Conca
On the left
“Noli Me Tangere” and on the right “Penitent Magdalene” maybe by Giovanni Angelo Soccorsi
LEFT ALTAR
OF THE GREEK CROSS
On the
altar “Death of St. Benedict”
On the left
“St. Benedict writing the rule” and on the right “Madonna and Child with St.
Gertrude and Benedictine saints” 1685/88 masterpieces by Lazzaro Baldi (about 1624/1703)
“The Madonna
and Child with Saints is one of the best results of the followers of Pietro da
Cortona and anticipates aspects of eighteenth-century painting with a lot of
great airiness effects. The three paintings are considered to be the 'second
maturity of the artist's masterpieces' and the best example of a complete
fusion between the styles of Cortona and Maratta” (Laura Possanzini)
1st CHAPEL
ON THE LEFT
Above the
altar “Deposition of Christ” of the second decade of the 1600s by Baccio Ciarpi (1574/1654)
“The
attribution of Federico Zeri was accepted by all art historians: the position
of the artist expresses the new formula of 'regulated mixing' implemented at
the beginning of the seventeenth century in Rome through the experience of the
painting style of Titian and Rubens compared with the style of Tuscan Mannerism”
(Laura Possanzini)
CONVENT
During
construction in 1777, it was found here the “Column of cipolin marble” now in
Piazza di Spagna, near the Spanish Steps, and known as the Column of the Immaculate Conception
The “Painting
on board with Christ blessing” about 1150 was also found and the “Last Judgement”
with “Christ Pantocrator, Christ the Priest, Allegory of Earth and Sea, Hell
and Heavenly Jerusalem with the patron Abbess Constance and her partner
Benedetta” of the end of 1100s by Giovanni and Nicolò now in the
Vatican Museums and maybe
originally located on the counter façade of the Oratory of St. Gregory of
Nazianzus
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