S. ROCCO
Largo S. Rocco/Piazza Augusto
Imperatore 6
Eleventh
century as S. Martino di Posterula
Rebuilt in
the years 1499/1503 for Alexander VI Borgia (1492/1503) for the Confraternity
of St. Roch, established precisely in 1499
It was
dedicated to the French hermit St. Roch of Montpellier (about 1346-50/about
1376-79), protector of plague victims
In those
same years a hospital and a chapel were also built adjacent to the church,
eventually destroyed in 1938
It was
transformed in the years 1644/80 by Giovanni Antonio De
Rossi (1616/95)
FAÇADE
1834
neoclassical masterpiece by Giuseppe Valadier
(1762/1839), a tribute to façade of S. Giorgio Maggiore in Venice by the great
architect Andrea Palladio (1508/80)
“He was the
best architect of his time, but he did not have ideological assumptions or
social programs. He had too much taste and sense of proportion not to
understand that Rome is, basically, a Baroque city. Everywhere, in numerous and
timely interventions, he grasped with finesse the tone the Rome of his time,
papal and bourgeoisie. His ideal was balance, a syntactically well-articulated
discourse, without emphasis and without vulgarity. This is demonstrated by what
is perhaps his masterpiece, the façade of St. Roch, where he combined to perfection,
fitting the pieces into each other, the central section all developed in height
and the two lowered wings all developed in width” (Giulio Carlo Argan)
The two “Angels
holding candles” on the façade were placed here in 1984
On the
right side of the church was placed in 1821 the Hydrometer of Ripetta, a
bas-relief column that measures the height of the flooding of the Tiber
The worst
flooding reported here is the one in 1598 with a record of 4 m (13 feet) above
the current level of road
In the
attached obstetrician hospital, now no longer extant, were accepted pregnant
women who wanted to remain anonymous: they entered veiled, their beds were
separated by curtains and were identified by numbers
They were
therefore described as the celate di S. Rocco (concealed of St. Roch).
Their children ended up in an orphanage
The
hospital was abolished in the late nineteenth century but this activity
continued in the Ospedale S. Giovanni (St.
John's Hospital)
VAULT OF
THE CENTRAL NAVE
“Christ,
St. Peter and other saints” by Achille Scaccioni
(active 1858/65)
DOME
Painted by Vincenzo Pasqualoni (1819/80),
a pupil of Tommaso Minardi
Dome and
vault were carried out in the artistic period defined purist
Above the
entrance organ of 1721
COUNTER
FAÇADE
“Tomb of
the master builder Vitelli” (patron of the façade by Valadier) by Giuseppe De Fabris (1790/1860)
1st
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS OF PAOLA
Above the
altar “Ecstasy of St. Francis of Paola” 1719 by Antonio
Amorosi (1660/1738)
2nd
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. JOSEPH
Above the
altar “St. Joseph” 1912 by Giovanni Gagliardi
(1838/1924), grandson of Pietro Gagliardi
3rd
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the
altar “St. Julian and St. Nicholas” by an unknown
artist influenced by Carlo Maratta
TO THE
RIGHT OF THE PRESBYTERY - CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF GRACE
1655
masterpiece by Giovanni Antonio De Rossi for
Urban VIII Barberini (1623/44) with influences Borromini
“The visitor
can detect a likeness with the space of San Carlino by Borromini (the
inspiration is evident even if this chapel is much smaller): the side walls
constrict and dilate, the intricate design is repeated on the perimeter of the
frame that has a strong overhang” (Rosanna Barbiellini Amidei)
In the dome
“Assumption” by Giovanni Antonio Carosi (about
1600/about 1656)
ALTAR OF
THE CRUCIFIX
Paintings
by Ernesto Ballarini (1845/1922)
MAIN ALTAR
“St. Roch
in glory with the Redeemer” 1674 by Giacinto Brandi
(1621/91)
On the
sides “St. Roch visit the plagued” and “St. Martin gives his cloak to the poor”
1885 by Cesare Mariani (1826/1901)
3rd
LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. ANTHONY OF PADUA
Above the
altar “St. Anthony of Padua” about 1650 by Gregorio
Preti (active in the seventeenth century), brother of Mattia Preti
Frescoes “Stories
of St. Anthony” by the Genoese Francesco Rosa
(active since 1674/d. 1687)
2nd
LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY
Above the
altar “Nativity” second decade of the 1500s by Baldassare
Peruzzi (1481/1536) badly damaged also by a restoration of the
eighteenth century by Giovanni Odazzi
1st
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the
altar “St. Vincent Ferrer” 1721 by Antonio Gregolini
(1675/1736)
SACRISTY
In the
ceiling “Our Lady appears to St. Roch” maybe by Francesco
Cozza (1605/82)
“Virgin
Mary with Sts. Anthony Abbot and St. Roch and the Plague Victims” about
1660/65, first Roman masterpiece by G.B. Gaulli aka
Baciccio (1639/1709)
“In
the painting by Gaulli dominates the neo-venetian lesson of Nicolas Poussin.
The vivid color range, the representation of 'feelings', even the poses of the
characters, refer to prototypes common in the works by Poussin and Andrea
Sacchi of the third decade of the century, as if the painter was trying
independently to draw directly to the sources of Carlo Maratta” (Rosanna
Barbiellini Amidei)
S. ROBERTO BELLARMINO
Piazza Ungheria 4
1931/33 Clemente
Busiri Vici (1887/1965)
It was one
of the first attempts to simplify Roman religious architecture
It was
dedicated to the Jesuit saint Robert Bellarmine (1542/1621) director of the
Vatican Library, famous for his participation in the trials against Giordano
Bruno and Galileo Galilei
At the end
of the thirties it was the Roman church of the fascist elite who resided in the
Parioli neighborhood, including Galeazzo Ciano and his wife Edda Mussolini, son
and daughter of Benito Mussolini
Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the titular cardinal of this church before becoming
Pope Francis in 2013
INTERIOR
“Stations
of the Cross” by Corrado Vigni (1888/?)
STAINED
GLASS WINDOWS
“Events in
the life of St. Robert Bellarmine” designed by Alessandra
Busiri
APSE,
TRANSEPT AND DOME
Mosaics by Renato Tomassi (1884/1972): in the apse “St. Robert
Bellarmine praying” and in the spandrels “Symbols of the four Evangelists”
The
MAIN ALTAR was donated by the great tenor Beniamino Gigli
S. RITA DA CASCIA
Via Montanara 8 - Sconsacrata
1665 Carlo Fontana
(1634/1714)
It was
built over a former church dating back to the eleventh century
Until 1929,
when it was dismantled piece by piece, the church stood under the stairs of S. Maria in Aracoeli (St. Mary
the Altar of Heaven), in the area of the pre-existing medieval church of San
Biagio in Mercatello
It was
rebuilt on the current site only in the years 1938/40
In 1963,
repairs and water drainage were carried out funded, among others, by John F.
Kennedy, as the inscription on the left mentions
Since
1990 it belongs to the City of Rome which uses it for temporary exhibitions,
concerts and events
S. RITA
Via delle Vergini 21
1615 as S.
Maria delle Vergini (St Mary of the Virgins) over a small preexisting
church
Rebuilt in
the years 1634/36 by Francesco Peparelli (active
since about 1626/d. 1641) for Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese (1577/1633)
who had ordered the nuns to move here from the Quirinal Hill for the
construction of his palace, which later became Palazzo Pallavicini Rospigliosi
FAÇADE
1696 maybe
by Mattia De Rossi (1637/95)
Reconsecrated
in 1904 as St. RITA after the church of St. Rita of Cascia was deconsecrated
and moved from the Capitol Hill
St. Rita,
after having prayed to share the sufferings of Christ on the Cross, was given a
thorn from the crown of Christ, which she held stuck in her forehead for no
less than fifteen years
The church
is also known as S. RITA DA CASCIA
ALLE VERGINI (St. Rita of Cascia at the Virgins)
INTERIOR by
Francesco Peparelli
COUNTERFAÇADE
Choir organ
on “Shelves with female heads” carved in wood
ALTAR ON
THE RIGHT
“St. Augustine
and St. Monica” about 1695 by Pietro Locatelli
(about 1637/1710), a pupil of Pietro Da Cortona
PRESBYTERY
Renovated
1681/82 by Mattia De Rossi
Vault of
the presbytery “Trinity” maybe by Ludovico Gimignani
(1643/97)
MAIN ALTAR
“St. Rita” 1911 by Arturo
Ferretti
DOME
Breathtaking
fresco “Glory of Paradise” about 1695 maybe by Michelangelo Ricciolini (1654/1715)
Stucco and
statues on the right “St. Joseph” and on the left “St. Augustine” 1682/83 by Filippo Carcani (active
1670/91)
LEFT ALTAR
“Christ and
Mary Magdalene” 1639 by G.B. Mercati (1591/about 1645)
CHAPEL
OF THE GROTTO OF LOURDES built in 1912
S. PRISCA
Via di S. Prisca 11
According
to tradition, it was the house of Aquila and Priscilla, parents of Prisca who
was beheaded in the period of Emperor Claudius (41/54). Aquila and Priscilla
would have housed here St. Peter and St. Paul
Oratory of
the third century which became a church in the fifth century, when there is the
first mention of the TITULUS PRISCAE
Restored in
772 by Adrian I (772/795) and at the time of Paschal II (1099/1118)
Shortened
in 1456 by Callistus III Borgia (1455/58)
In the
years 1599/1600 Carlo Lambardi (1545/1619) for
Clement VIII Aldobrandini (1592/1605) reduced the size of the preexisting
building, restored nave, chancel and confession, rebuilt the façade and
enlarged the square
“The brick
curtain and the planned simplification of forms with the portal flanked by
Ionic columns supporting a simple triangular pediment, reflect the character
'as an oratory' (Antinori) of the church, which is also to be found in the
pictorial decoration of the building, carried out by the Florentine Anastasio
Fontebuoni” (Enrico Parlato - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
In 1728
Clement XIII Rezzonico (1758 /69) restored the interior
In 1935
restoration at the behest of the Augustinians monks to whom the church had been
assigned
A fragment
of the Forma Urbis, the marble map of the beginning of the third century
AD, shows the presence of the BATHS OF LICINIUS SURA located west of St. Prisca
Licinius
Sura was a friend of Emperor Trajan (98/117)
WALLS OF THE CENTRAL
NAVE
frescoes “Saints and angels with instruments of the Passion of Christ” and
WALLS OF THE APSE “Stories of the martyrdom of St. Prisca” of the beginning of
1600s by Anastasio Fontebuoni (1571/1626)
ON THE
RIGHT
“Composite
capital” of the Antonine period mistakenly believed the baptismal font used by
St. Peter to baptize St. Prisca, placed here in 1948 with clasp and bronze
group “Baptism of Jesus” by Antonio Biggi (1904
/66)
MAIN
ALTAR
Altarpiece “Baptism
of St. Prisca” about 1600 by Domenico Crespi aka Passignano
(1559/1638)
Above the
door of the tower “Annunciation” of the fifteenth century
SACRISTY
“Immaculate
Conception and Angels” maybe by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731)
Mithraeum
of St. Prisca
Building
dating back to about 95 AD to the north of the church, converted into a house
in about 110 with a great apsidal nymph to the south
Maybe it
was the HOUSE OF LICINIUS SURA friend of Trajan (98/117)
At the end
of the second century a building with two aisles was added in the south (maybe
the titulus) and the mithraeum that would be violently destroyed in
about 400, probably by Christians intolerant to the cult of Mithras
Discovered
in 1934 and excavated in the years 1953/66 by Dutch archaeologists
DIFFERENT
PHASES OF THE BUILDING:
1) House of
the first century AD with a four-sided portico
2) Apsidal
nymphaeum of the time of Trajan (98/117)
3) Building
with two naves of the second century AD, where was the original titulus
4)
Rooms adapted at the end of the second century AD to the cult of Mithras with
frescoes showing the “Seven degrees of initiation” and “Image of Mithra with
Saturn lying” in stucco, where the stucco was applied over some amphorae
S. POLICARPO
Piazza Arulio Celio Sabino 50 -
Tuscolano
1964/67
masterpiece by Giuseppe Nicolosi (1901/81)
St.
Polycarp lived between the first and second century AD in Turkey. He was a
disciple of St. John the Evangelist and was bishop of Smyrna in the period of
Emperor Trajan (98/117)
This church
is one of the most successful among the religious buildings built in Rome in
the Sixties
The
hexagonal plan determines a giant Star of David also explicitly quoted by the
interior beams of the ceiling
“The
internal bricks arranged in parallel and crossing rows intend to refer to the
situation of human reality, in which lives and destiny of men and women
intersect with one another, and in which each person, as each brick, is useful
and necessary to support each other” (Official website of S. Policarpo Church -
www.sanpolicarpo.it)
Internal
height of about 40 m (131 feet)
The
architect has cleverly managed to quote, with the color and the treatment of
the materials used, the nearby and remarkable ancient Roman ruins of the
adjacent Park of the Aqueducts
At the end
of the sixties this was the first church ever to be directly involved in the
political turmoil of that period. It was even occupied by slum dwellers who
lived nearby
“Extraordinary
synthesis between figurative tension and geometric rigor. The research for a
form figurative and timeless at the same time finds here its expressive peak. The
building features an architectural design based on the shape of the hexagon,
which ends up invading all areas, from the plan of the floor, to the volume of
the building, to its structural pattern” (Giorgio Muratore)
“The
whole play of volumes that some authors have described as animated by a
'telescopic dynamism' is indeed very innovative and it is a work of great
maturity, especially in a period in which architectural experiments followed
each other without apparently leading to unequivocal results. The complex
system of layers of the roof highlights, from a first glance, a design quality
of high profile, both structurally and in terms of form. (...) In short, we
face a church where are happily married advanced architectural solutions and
liturgical requirements, formal aspects and social commitment, demonstrating
that a sacred building to be 'alive' must be a creature of its time
participating in what is the social life of the community, so as to penetrate
into it with the power of the Christian message” (Massimo Alemanno)
S. PIO X
Piazza della Balduina 5
1957/61 Alberto Ressa (1902/?)
St. Pius X
Sarto (1903/14) was canonized in 1954 and he was the last pope to be declared a
saint until John Paul II and John XXIII in 2014
“Terracotta
panels of the Stations of the Cross” 1963 by Raul
Vistoli (1915/90)
CHAPEL OF
St. PIO OF PIETRELCINA
Painting “St.
Pio of Pietrelcina” 2003 by Ulisse Sartini
(1943) popular painter of very realistic, almost photographic portraits
MAIN ALTAR
“Bronze
Crucifix” by Publio Morbiducci (1889/1963), the
sculptor of the statue of the Bersagliere (the running soldier) opposite Porta
Pia
Huge organ
made in 1969 by the Tamburini firm
In 1964 in
this church was shot the final scene of the sci-fi movie The Last Man on
Earth with Vincent Price from the novel by Richard Matheson I Am Legend
which also inspired the eponymous movie starring Will Smith in 2007
The
Last Man on Earth is considered a cornerstone of the horror genre in
Italy
S. PIO V
Largo S. Pio V
1952 Tullio Rossi (1903/97)
“St. Pius V
is a church considered horrible by the architectural culture of the majority of
its parishioners because too mercilessly essential. (...) The architect (...),
according to them, has the duty to be a veritable whimsical creator. But what
to ask of him, none of the critics desiring whimsicalness knows exactly:
decorations in Renaissance style? Plastic movement of space? I think that
Tullio Rossi could only design serious architecture, simply and plainly
serious, trying, nevertheless, to achieve very high results. (...) The
seriousness of his architectural creations reaches, for general and detailed
consistency, a high poetic level. Had he tried, contrary to his attitude, to be
whimsical, the result would have been well vulgar” (Giancarlo Galassi - Website
Archiwatch - archiwatch.it/2010/11/16/una-chiesa-e-una-chiesa)
St. Pius V
Ghislieri (1566/72) promoted a Holy League against the Muslims which achieved
victory in the naval battle of Lepanto in 1571
He was
canonized in 1712
“St. Pius V,
a Dominican theologian and inquisitor, when he was elected pope, applied with
intransigence the decrees of the Council of Trent and founded in 1571 the
Congregation of the Index. He devoted all his energies to the implementation of
three ideals: the reform of the Church, the implementation of the decrees of
the Council in all countries, the crusade. (...) Equally uncompromising in
foreign policy, based primarily on the defense of Catholicism from heresy, and
aiming at expanding the jurisdictional rights of the Church, he provoked
dangerous tensions in the states of Philip II: in an attempt to promote the
accession to the English throne of the Catholic Mary Stuart, he excommunicated
Elizabeth, with serious consequences for English Catholics” (Enciclopedia
Treccani)
FAÇADE
Coat of
arms of Pius XII Pacelli (1939/58) and mosaic on the portal “St. Pius V, Virgin
Mary with Child, Christian soldier and the Battle of Lepanto in the background” by Franz
Josef Strachota (1911)
INTERIOR
“Stations of the
Cross”
by Angelo Biancini (1911/88)
Ceramic
statue with “Christ showing the
Sacred Heart” also by Angelo Biancini
COUNTER
FAÇADE
Above the
portal statue of “Angel” in plaster by Duilio
Cambellotti (1876/1960)
On either
side of the portal statues “St. Francis of Assisi” by Alessandro
Monteleone (1897/67) and “St. Anthony of Padua” by Michele Guerrisi (1893/1963)
APSE
At the
center of “Crucifix” in bronze by Francesco Nagni
(1897/1977) and on the sides “Angels holding candles” also in bronze by Goffredo Verginelli (1911/72)
In the side
altars there are sixteen other “Angels holding candles” also by Goffredo Verginelli
LEFT AISLE
Baptistery
with the bronze statue of “St. John the Baptist” by Goffredo
Verginelli
CHAPEL OF
St. CATHERINE
Bronze
statue of “St. Catherine of
Siena”
by Antonio Berti (1904/90)
It is
flanked by two large terracotta tiles coated in gold “St. Dominic between Sts.
Peter and Paul and the Palio of Siena” by Aniellantonio
Mascolo (1903/79) from Ischia
1st
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Fresco “Baptism of Christ” by Igino
Cupelloni (1918/2008)
Here
was originally located the baptistery now moved ahead in the left aisle
S. PIETRO IN MONTORIO
Piazza S. Pietro in Montorio 2
Originally
built maybe in the eleventh century
Mentioned
by the sources in the twelfth century
It was
built on the site where St. Peter was believed to have been killed, halfway
between the Meta
Romuli (Via della Conciliazione) and the Meta
Remi (Pyramid of Cestius)
Rebuilt in
the years 1481/1500 maybe by Baccio Pontelli
(about 1450/92) for the Spanish King Ferdinand II of Aragon
The two
ramps in front of the FAÇADE were added in 1605
Restored
after the damage of the French bombardment of 1849 (in 1995 it has been
embedded in a wall outside a cannonball fired by
the French) and restored again in 1957 and 1963
ON THE LEFT
AFTER THE ENTRANCE
“Monument of Giuliano
da Volterra” 1510 by artists of the school of Andrea Bregno
(1418/1503)
1st
RIGHT - BORGHERINI CHAPEL
Above the
altar “Flagellation of
Jesus”
with on the sides “St. Francis of Assisi” and “St. Peter” 1518 by Sebastiano
Luciani aka Sebastiano Del Piombo (1485/1547),
maybe from a design by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475/1564)
In the
apsidal basin “Ascension” and outside the arc “Prophets” also by Sebastiano Del Piombo
“Several
works by Sebastiano Del Piombo were made on the basis of drawings by
Michelangelo, or under his influence. Gorgeous single figures, groups often
well-drawn (as in the Flagellation in S. Pietro in Montorio, and colors tones a
bit dark even if with a sensitivity always typically Venetian, combined with
beautiful atmospheric scenery, but never the creations of a free and radiant
genius. Occasionally, however, there is a certain tragic force, a lean
greatness, reflecting the intimate bond of the Venetian painter with the spirit
of Rome” (Hermann Voss)
2nd
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the
altar “Madonna of the
Letter”
by Niccolò Circignani aka Pomarancio (about
1520/98)
In the apse
frescoes “Coronation of the Virgin” maybe by Baldassare
Peruzzi (1481/1536)
3rd
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
“Presentation
in the Temple”, “Immaculate Conception” and “Annunciation” by Michelangelo Cerruti (1663/1748)
On the
external arch “Sibyls” maybe by Baldassare
Peruzzi
4th
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Ceiling
frescoed by Giorgio Vasari (1511/74). On the
left there is a self-portrait of Vasari in a black dress
5th
RIGHT - DEL MONTE CHAPEL
1552 by Giorgio Vasari, by
whom is also the altarpiece with “St. Paul and Ananias”
“It's one of
the few scenes deeply felt by Vasari. The figure of Paul, struck by blindness
and rescued by Ananias, has something touching and extraordinarily great in his
complete annihilation. (...) The background consists of a row of columns in a
semi-circle that goes in depth, a valid ingenious pattern, cleverly exploited.
It is instead comic the bunch of people with no specific function wandering in
the background in front of the row of columns, with the sole purpose of
enriching the scene” (Hermann Voss)
On the
sides “Funerary monuments
of Antonio and Fabiano Del Monte”, statues “Justice”, “Religion” and cherubs on the
balustrade by the Florentine Bartolomeo Ammannati
(1511/92)
MAIN ALTAR
The steps
in front of the altar are conventionally regarded as the burial place of Beatrice Cenci
She was
actually buried somewhere in this church but without inscription, as was common
for anybody who had been executed
In the LEFT
NAVE are buried very important Irish men of political and military
significance of the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century:
Hugh, Baron
of Dungannon (d. 1609), eldest son of Hugh O'Neill, The O'Neill, second earl of
Tyrone
A single
grave shared by Rory O'Donnell (1575/1608), first Earl of Tyrconnell, and his
brother Cathbharr (1583/1609), both younger brothers of Red Hugh O'Donnell
They fled
from Ireland in 1607 and died in Rome as well as the more famous Hugh O'Neill
(about 1550/1616) leader in the Nine Years War (1594/1603) or Tyrone Rebellion
fought between the Gaelic Irish forces against the English government of
Elizabeth I in Ireland
APSE
“Crucifixion
of St. Peter” copy by Vincenzo Camuccini
(1771/1844) from the original by Guido Reni
5th
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Designed by
Daniele da Volterra (1509/66)
Above the
altar “Baptism of Jesus” 1568 and frescoes maybe by Giulio Mazzoni (about 1525/after 1589)
“Statues of
Sts. Peter and Paul” and balustrade by Leonardo Sormani
(before 1530/after 1589)
4th
LEFT - MUTI CHAPEL
“Deposition” 1617 and “Christ Carrying the
Cross”
by Dirk Van Baburen (about 1595/1624)
Three
paintings “Stories of Christ” by David de Haen (1585/1622)
Stuccos by Stefano Maderno (1560/1636)
3rd
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the
altar “St. Anne sitting in
a throne with the Virgin Mary and Child” and other frescoes by an unknown pupil of Antonio Aquili aka Antoniazzo Romano
(about 1435-40/1508)
2nd
LEFT - RAYMONDI CHAPEL
1640/47,
first example of MARAVIGLIOSO COMPOSTO (marvelous compound) first
experiment with hidden light shining on sculptures by Gian
Lorenzo Bernini (1598/1680) for the Marquis Marcello Raymondi
Above the
altar bas-relief “Ecstasy of St. Francis” a masterpiece by Francesco Baratta (about 1590/about 1663)
On the
sides “Funerary Monuments of Girolamo Raymondi and Francesco Raymondi“ by Andrea
Bolgi (1606/56)
“The
tendency to execute works as a group with an artist primus inter pares (first
among equal) typical of the period 1585/1621 was reversed under Urban VIII
Barberini (1623/44). Chapels as the Raymondi and Cornaro absolutely show the
imprint of Bernini; employees were assistants rather than autonomous artists”
(Rudolf Wittkower)
“The role of
the viewer is mediated by the busts on the side walls of the tombs overlooking
the scene from small balconies, speakers' balconies reserved in churches for
important personalities, and that, in the case of the chapels by Bernini, are
often mistaken by art historians as theater boxes, architectural elements which
at the time did not yet exist” (Francesco Galluzzi)
1st
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the
altar “Stigmata of St.
Francis” and other paintings by Giovanni De Vecchi
(about 1537/1615)
SPANISH
ACADEMY OF HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY AND FINE ARTS
It is
housed in a wing of the convent
Lunettes “Stories
of St. Francis” maybe by Niccolò Circignani aka
Pomarancio (about 1520/98)
Small Temple by Bramante
Masterpiece
probably built in the years 1502/07 by Donato Bramante
(1444/1514)
In 1605 the
roof was modified
In 1628 Gian Lorenzo Bernini changed the crypt
“The
architectural elements are systematically drawn from the vocabulary of ancient
architecture, according to choices not guided by subjective aesthetic
preferences of the artist, but by a strict organizational and symbolic logic:
the classical round peripteral temple is quoted in the body of the building, in
absolute eurhythmy and syntactic coherence of the various elements of the
building that is a symbol of universal harmony. But the metaphysical ideas and
the historical dignity of the classical language are loaded here with further
religious and political meanings: built to commemorate the Crucifixion of the
Apostle founder of the Church of Rome, it celebrates, at the same time, the
universal authority of the city of Rome already established by the ancients,
and affirms the universality of the architecture of the Renaissance” (Carlo
Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
“Bramante
is one of the most powerful and original personality of the Renaissance. He was
part in Milan of the Lombard tradition imbued of late-Gothic and Tuscan
elements, but he overcame it soon for his keen sense of monumentality achieved
through the unified rhythm and articulation of architectural masses, modeled with
a refined sensibility for coloristic and atmospheric values. This tendency of
his for wide and serene breathing space, of which one can find significant
advances in the Mantua buildings by Leon Battista Alberti, deepens, in Rome, as
the artist is confronted with the classical buildings intensely studied by him
and culminates in the Temple of S. Pietro in Montorio, and especially in the
new church of St. Peter in the Vatican. Deep has been the influence exercised
by Bramante on the architecture of his time; to him is especially connected the
art of Sansovino, Sanmicheli and Palladio” (Enciclopedia Treccani)
S. PELLEGRINO
Via dei Pellegrini - Città del Vaticano
Mentioned
for the first time by sources at the end of the eighth century
Restored in
1590
Archaeological
excavations have uncovered paintings dating back to the ninth century
Alexander
VII Chigi (1655/67) officially gave it in 1657 to the Swiss Guards who later
abandoned it, so that it was transformed into a chicken coop
It was
later restored for the Swiss Guards and now it is the CHAPEL OF THE CORPS OF
POLICE OF THE STATE OF VATICAN CITY (Corpo della Gendarmeria)
“This
small sacred place unknown to most people is full of history and evokes
extraordinary impressions. First and foremost impressions of pilgrimages.
Peregrinus, a Roman priest who made Gaul a Christian land in the late third
century, is the titular saint of the chapel and one can easily understand why.
For those who came from the North in their penitential journey ad limina Petri
(to the threshold of Peter), the first encounter with Rome used to take place
here. (...) The walls are full of frescoes with the name and emblem of the
captains of the Swiss Guard, the armed corps in defense of the person of Pope
Julius II instituted in 1506. One of them hit me in a special way, dating back
to 1527. The mentioned person is the captain Gaspar Rost. And here suddenly the
terrible May 1527, the Sack of Rome is evoked. 14,000 lansquenets, in good part
Lutherans, led by Georg Frundesberg, gave the assault to the Apostolic Palace.
To defend it there are 147 Swiss. It was a fierce confrontation, spear against
spear, sword and dagger against sword and dagger. At the end of the atrocious
butchery all the Swiss Guards of the Pope had died. Among others, Captain
Gaspar Rost who was slain with his soldiers to allow Pope Clement VII to retire
with his court in the untakeable Castel Sant'Angelo” (Antonio Paolucci -
L'Osservatore Romano, May 30, 2010)
S. PATRIZIO
Via Boncompagni 31
1908/11 Aristide Leonori (1856/1928) for the College of the
Irish Augustinians who still officiate it
FAÇADE
Northern-European Romanesque
National Church of Ireland
AT THE END
OF THE RIGHT NAVE
Detached
fresco of the end of the thirteenth century “Our Lady of the Graces” formerly S.
Maria in Posterula, previous church of the Irish, destroyed in order to
build Ponte Umberto I (Humbert I Bridge)
APSE
Mosaic “St.
Patrick explains the mystery of the Trinity to King Laoghaire” 1936 by Rodolfo Villani (1881/1941)
ON THE LEFT
- ALTAR OF THE SACRED HEART
Mosaic “Last
Supper” 1942 by Silvio Galimberti (1869/1956)
COLLEGE OF
THE IRISH AUGUSTINIAN
In a CHAPEL
on the second floor “Madonna and Child or Virgin Mary of S. Maria in Campo”
about 1484 by Antonio Aquili aka Antoniazzo Romano
(about 1435-40/1508) and artists from his workshop
“The
setting of the image, clearly derived from the Florentine tradition, associates
this Madonna (...) to models sculpted by Verrocchio, exemplified by the Madonna
and Child of the Bargello Museum. Its simple frame is an integral element of
the board, and maybe it is the original one. (...) The fact that the execution
can be likely dated to 1484 and its quality level lead to put it in a context
of strict observance of Antoniazzo Romano's style, which does not exclude the
intervention of the painter himself” (Adriana Capriotti)
S. PASSERA
Via S. Passera 1 - Magliana
Probably
built in the fifth century AD on the ruins of a ROMAN MAUSOLEUM of the late
second/early third century AD, still visible
The church
is mentioned in the sources for the first time in the eighth century
The present
church dates back to the thirteenth century
Here were
kept the relics of the martyrs Sts. Cyrus and John, brought to Rome in
the year 407. They were two doctors from Alexandria in Egypt killed during the
persecution of Diocletian (284/305), which took place in the year 303
The
Catholic Church does not include any S. Passera in the lists of saints and,
according to historical sources, no saint has ever existed under the name
Passera
The curious
name Passera (sparrow) is mentioned in the sources only since 1317 and
it comes maybe from a contraction of S. Prassede (St. Praxedes), the saint to
whom the church was originally dedicated, and of whom a relic was preserved
here
The name
could also come from the phonetic corruption of the title Abbas Cyrus
(father Cyrus), from which S. Abbaciro, given to the church
Over the
centuries the term underwent a distortion in the popular language, becoming Appacero,
Pacero, Pacera and, finally, Passera
APSE
Two orders
of frescoes of the fourteenth century:
In the
upper part “Jesus and Sts. Peter, Paul and John the Evangelist”
In the
lower part “Virgin Mary and Child with Sts. Praxedes, Cyrus and John martyr
with two images of laymen, probably the patrons”
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EXPLORATIONS
The
underground of the church, buried after 1706, was rediscovered only in 1904
On the
north wall there are some faded frescoes “Cycle of Goddess Dike” with the
goddess holding a pair of scales, a bird and a boxer
On the
south wall “Sheep and red lines”
In the
vault “Large six-pointed and eight-pointed star and decorative motifs”
There are
some unrecognizable images in the counter façade
At the
end of the thirteenth century a “Virgin Mary and Child” was painted here, but
it was stolen in 1968
S. PASQUALE BAYLON
Via S. Francesco a Ripa 20
1123
Callistus II (1119/24) with the name of Sts. Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
According
to Christian tradition, the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste were Christian Roman
soldiers who refused to recant their religion and were left freezing to death
in the year 320, during the persecution of Licinius (306/324)
It was
rebuilt in 1486 and restored in 1608
Rebuilt
1744/47 by Giuseppe Sardi (1680/1753) with new
dedication on the FAÇADE to St. Paschal Baylon (1540/92) the
Spanish saint protector of spinsters. The church is in fact also known as the
church of spinsters
St. Paschal
Baylon is also the patron saint of pastry chefs, and of women married to men
who encountered difficulties in fulfilling their conjugal duties
For this
reason perhaps the legend has it that a woman who wanted to awaken the dormant
passion in her husband prayed St. Paschal Baylon and she dreamed him
recommending a very thick cream, made with sugar, eggs and Marsala wine, which
would have restored sexual desire
The thick
cream was first named S. Bayon, then Sanbaion and finally Zabaione
or Eggnog in English
The church
belongs to the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Spanish
“A
significant variation of the longitudinal type is that which shapes here the
main nave as a hall, rounding the corners. The common aspiration is to create
an illusory perspective depth with a studied arrangement of light sources”
(Paolo Portoghesi)
VAULT “Glory
of St. Peter of Alcantara” and DOME “Glory of St. Paschal” about 1754 by Matteo Pannaria
MAIN ALTAR
“Martyrdom
of the Forty Martyrs” by Arturo Tosi (1871/1956)
1st
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Altarpiece
“Holy Family” by Francisco Preciado (1713/89), a
pupil of Sebastiano Conca
