Formerly S.
Nicola in Agone, mentioned by the sources for the first time in 1186
It was
built with marble taken from the nearby Stadium
of Domitian
In 1476
Sixtus IV Della Rovere (1471/84) granted the church of S. Stefano in Regione
Pontis (destroyed in 1888 for the construction of the Victor Emmanuel II
Bridge) to the four transalpine nations: France, Burgundy, Lorraine and
Savoy. Lorraine was independent nation until its annexation to France in
1766
In 1612 the
sculptor from Lorraine Nicolas Cordier (1567/1612) left a large sum for the
construction of a new national church of Lorraine
In 1623 it
was decided to rebuild the old and abandoned S. Nicola in Agone
Rebuilt
1635/36 with new FAÇADE in travertine by the architect from
Lorraine François Desjardins, when it was assigned to the Brotherhood of
Lorraine
Fully
decorated with splendid frescoes in the years 1731/33 by Corrado Giaquinto (1703/66), his first great
masterpiece:
Vault of
the nave “St. Nicholas making
water overflow from a rock”
Spandrels “Four cardinal virtues”: Prudence,
Justice, Fortitude and Temperance
Vault of
the presbytery “Three
theological virtues”: Faith, Hope and Charity
Counter
façade “Angel
releasing a prisoner”
“These
paintings, made readable again by the recent restoration, marked the Roman
debut of the artist, who proved himself master of his own personal language,
formed on contemporary Roman examples, while the influence of Francesco
Solimena seemed to have somewhat reduced (...). Sign of the success met by
Giaquinto with the decoration of the national church of Lorraine was the call
to the court of Turin, in June 1733, by Filippo Iuvarra” (Susanne Adine Meyer -
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
“Giaquinto
first worked closely with Sebastiano Conca, then ended up distinguishing
progressively himself for a more blunt penchant for painting with results of
airy and bright rococo, as with these brilliant frescoes” (Carlo Bertelli,
Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
RIGHT
CHAPEL
Above the
altar “St. Peter Fourier
and the Virgin Mary” about 1730 by Francesco Antonozzi
MAIN ALTAR
“St. Nicholas with
the three children and a prisoner” about 1676/86 by Nicolas François de Bar aka Nicolas Lorrain or Niccolò Lorenese (1632/95)
In the
upper part “Decorations with
architectural trompe-l'oeil” 1750 by the Roman architect Giuseppe Silvestri
LEFT CHAPEL
Above the
altar “Mystic Marriage of
St. Catherine of Alexandria” about 1660/74 by Nicolas François de Bar aka Nicolas Lorrain or Niccolò Lorenese
ABOVE THE
FOUR DOORS
Four
reliefs in stucco “Stories of St. Nicholas”:
On the
right “St. Nicholas elected bishop of Myra” and “St. Nicholas refuses breast
milk on Wednesdays and Fridays”
On the left
“St. Nicholas child prays during a bath” and “St. Nicholas distributes his
possessions to the poor” 1749 by G.B. Grossi,
who also sculpted one relief for the Trevi
Fountain
During the
same period the SIXTEEN PILLARS were coated with Sicilian jasper
and yellow marble from Siena by Pietro Mariotti
ABOVE THE
FIRST DOOR ON THE LEFT
“Crucifix”
in front of which young Roman couples used to swear eternal love
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