S. SALVATORE ALLE COPPELLE
Piazza
delle Coppelle 72b
Mentioned
for the first time by the sources in 1195
It is
called alle coppelle (at the barrels) from the name of the wooden
barrels with a capacity of about 5 liters (1.3 gallons) made in this area until
the sixteenth century
From 1300s
to 1500s it was also known as S. Salvatore de Pietate
Restored
about 1738/43 by Carlo De Dominicis (1696/1758)
“In his
first two decades of activity De Dominicis fully adhered to the Rococo style,
but in 1743 it seems he underwent a change of inclination because the simple
façade 'as a temple' of the small church of S. Salvatore alle Coppelle in its
cold classicism is remarkably prophetic of the imminent neoclassical style.
It's not to be excluded, on the other hand, the possibility that the appearance
of the church was changed in a later but not documented restoration” (John
Varriano - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
Restored
again 1858/60 by Giacomo Monaldi (1819/1905) and
in 1915 when the iconostasis was added
“The formal
façade that we see today was the result of 'corrections' made in the purist
style in the general restoration of 1858/60, similar to what was done in those
years at S. Maria dell'Umiltà (in both cases misleading art historians).
Giacomo Monaldi (...) had built a few years before S. Giovanni della Malva in
Trastevere, whose façade has a pattern almost identical to this one” (Federico
Antonio Caiola)
BELL TOWER
About 1195,
the period of Pope Celestine III Orsini (1191/98). The bell dates back to 1664
On the
outside wall of the church there is perhaps the most ancient inscription in
vernacular Italian: CHIA DEL S. SALVATORE DELLA PIETÀ ALER DELLE CVPELLE
1195. The font, however, appears modern and some scholars believe, with
good arguments that it was made during the eighteenth-century restoration
On the
outside wall of the church there is also a “Marble mail box” of 1749
It was used
to post news of illness of guests in hotels and inns in Rome. The Confraternity
of the Blessed Sacrament and of the Divine Perseverance, which was approved
in 1663, had its headquarters here and worked for two centuries precisely to
help the sick pilgrims
Romanian National Church of Byzantine Catholic
Rite since 1914
INTERIOR
Left wall
of the entrance room “Funerary memory of Filippo Boschetti, lawyer of the Roman
Rota (the highest appellate tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church)” 1740 maybe by Carlo
De Dominicis
RIGHT NAVE
Fresco “Virgin
Mary with Jesus on her lap” maybe by the school of Antonio Aquili aka
Antoniazzo Romano (about 1435-40/1508), who had his own workshop and house in
this area of Rome
TEMPLON
(Iconostasis)
Painted in
1915 by Alessandro Pigna (1862/1919)
“The
iconostasis, which separates the nave from the chancel area was added after the
assignment to the Romanian clergy, around 1915, and painted by Alessandro Pigna
who illustrated the canonical subjects with academic expertise, enlivened by
hints of Art Nouveau” (Antonio Federico Caiola)
LEFT NAVE -
SPINOLA CHAPEL
“Tomb
of Cardinal George Spinola, Bishop of Palestrina, D. 1739” 1744 masterpiece by Bernardino Ludovisi (about 1713/49)
S. SALVATORE AI MONTI
Via
Madonna dei Monti 38
Mentioned
for the first time by the sources in 1192
It was
completely destroyed by fire during the sack of Rome in 1527
Rebuilt in
the second half of the sixteenth century
Restored in
1625 and in 1762 by Antonio Asprucci (1723/1808)
for Cardinal Odescalchi
Last
renovation in 1904 for Pius X Sarto (1903/14)
INTERIOR
In the
counter façade “Wooden choir” of 1762
Lunette
above the MAIN ALTAR “Saviour between two Neophytes” 1904 by Wolfgango Conti
On the
right wall “Tomb of the painter Agostino Masucci (1691/1758)” with a portrait
of the painter maybe by his son Lorenzo Masucci (?/1785)
COLLEGE
OF THE NEOPHYTES
To the left of the church
1635 Gaspare De Vecchi (active 1628/1643)
The
neophytes were Jews or Muslims who had converted to Christianity
S. SABA
Piazza S. Saba/Piazza Gian Lorenzo
Bernini 20
645,
monastery dedicated to St. Sabbas (439/532), head of Eastern monasticism,
founded by monks from the monastery of St. Sabbas in Judea, which had been
occupied by the Muslims
It was
built over ancient Roman structures, maybe the barracks of the IV Coorte dei
Vigili (Fourth Cohort of the Firefighters Brigade)
According
to tradition, this eventually became the site of the house of St. Silvia,
mother of St. Gregory the Great (590/604)
The monks
of the monastery, under the auspices of the popes, became promoters of a
significant diplomatic activity and became a veritable link between East and
West
In the year
768 here was imprisoned the antipope Constantine II. His eyes were gouged out,
his tongue cut out, and then he was killed on the orders of Pope Stephen III
(768/772)
Second
phase of construction of the church in the eighth century
The PRESENT
CHURCH was built in the first half of the twelfth century
The MONASTERY
was assigned in the thirteenth century to the Monks of Cluny, then to
the Regular Canons, to the Cistercians and finally was entrusted
by Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572/85) to the Hungarian German College run
by the Jesuits
Restoration
in the years 1932/33, after years of decline
The body of
St. Sabbas was returned to the hermitage of St. Sabbas in Palestine after the
Second Vatican Council
PROTHYRUM
Remodeled
in the thirteenth century
PORCH WITH
GALLERY AND LOGGIA
1463 for
Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini, restored in the late eighteenth century by Pius
VI Braschi (1775/99)
Ancient and
medieval archaeological remains including:
Ancient “Fluted
sarcophagus with dextrarum iunctio”
Relief with
“Knight with falcon” of the eighth century
PORTAL
Marble
frame 1205 by Jacopo di Lorenzo di Cosma (first
half of the thirteenth century)
The
paintings in the upper part were executed on the occasion of the Jubilee of
1575
FLOOR
1205 Jacopo di Lorenzo
di Cosma. It was
restored in 1907
14 COLUMNS
TAKEN FROM ANCIENT ROMAN BUILDINGS
CIBORIUM,
ALTAR AND CHAIR
Rebuilt at
the beginning of the twentieth century with ancient pieces
APSE
Frescos “Christ
between Sts. Andrew and Sabbas”, below “Mystic Lamb and lambs in lines”, “Virgin
Mary and Child with the twelve apostles”, further below “Gregory XIII and
saints canonized during the Jubilee of 1575” by anonymous
painters of the late sixteenth century who perhaps remade in fresco the
decoration that was previously in mosaic
Above the
chair “Crucifixion” of the fourteenth century
FOURTH
AISLE
On the left
frescos “The Legend of St. Nicholas of Bari and the three spinsters”, “Pope
enthroned between two saints”, “Virgin Mary between Sts. Andrew and Sabbas” end
of 1200s/beginning of 1300s by the Master of St. Sabbas
CORRIDOR IN
FRONT OF THE SACRISTY
Fragments
of votive panels including “Faces of three monks” of the twelfth century
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EXPLORATIONS
In 1900 the
remains of the so-called Oratory of St. Silvia were found under the church,
including a small chapel in the north-west corner with remains of frescoes from
the first half of the tenth century:
“Three
panels with the anagram signing of one Sergius Pictor, another painted
inscription with enigmatic meaning and the representation of one Martinus
Monachus Magister”
“The
perimeter walls of the ancient church are preserved today only to a height of
about a meter and a half, having been reused as stylobates of the colonnades of
the medieval church. The rest of the building was demolished and obliterated by
the new constructions. Certain portions of masonry and a large number of
fragments of painted plaster returned to light during the excavations, as they
had been used in the foundation fill of the church, over which was laid the
cosmatesque floor of the new foundation. The building, according to my
reconstruction, starting from the late fourth-early fifth century was affected
by seven decorative campaigns, identified on the basis of the mapping and
analysis of the stratigraphy of the painted plaster” (Giulia Bordi - Opera ·
Nomina · Historiae 1-2009 - Journal of the artistic culture of the Scuola
Normale Superiore in Pisa)
