Via dei Pettinari 51
Mentioned for the first time by the sources in 1127
It was originally dedicated to S. Salvatore and S. Cesareo (St. Saviour and St. Cesareus)
The official name is Chiesa della Trasfigurazione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo (Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ)
Maybe it was called S. Salvatore in Onda for the frequent floods of the nearby river or for a now lost old painting which used to be visible in the church with “Saviour walking on water”
In 1445 it was given to the Franciscans who remained here for about 400 years
In the adjacent CONVENT Francesco Della Rovere lived before he became Pope Sixtus IV (1471/84) and also Felice Peretti before becoming Pope Sixtus V (1585/90)
In 1684 it was restored and reduced in size
Restored again in the years 1725/29 for Benedict XIII Orsini (1724/30) and in 1845 for St. Vincent Pallotti (1795/1850) to whom the church had been entrusted as the seat of the Congregazione dell'Apostolato Cattolico (Congregation of the Catholic Apostolate) founded by him in 1835
“After the tornado of the French Revolution and Napoleon, bishops, priests, clergy, scholars, acted generously in defense of the faith. And Vincent Pallotti saw and appreciated that. But he said that it was not enough: the real problem was not to protect the fence of the believers. No, at that time one had to conquer other believers still, everywhere, knocking down fences. He added: this is the task of all, because every Christian has the duty to keep the faith and to spread it where there is no more faith or not yet. This was a program of attack. Vincenzo respected the apostolic mandate peculiar to the Pope, bishops, clergy, but then spoke of 'Catholic apostolate' as a duty and responsibility for every Christian, because 'God has commanded everyone to help getting eternal salvation for his neighbor' (...) Pius XI proclaimed Vincent 'real worker of the missions', 'provident and valuable collaborator and forerunner of the Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action)'. Pope John XXIII proclaimed him a saint in 1963” (Domenico Agasso - Famiglia Cristiana - www.santiebeati.it)
It is currently officiated by the Pallottines Missionaries
FAÇADE 1845
INTERIOR
1877/78 Luca Carimini (1830/90) who restored the church, revealing the “Twelve ancient columns”, and raised the level of the floor
CEILING 1876
CLERESTORY
Entablature also in the apse with faux gold mosaic representing on the right “Symbols of the Old Testament” and on the left “Tools of martyrdom and symbols of the Evangelists” maybe by Alessandro Palombi (active late nineteenth/early twentieth century)
Alternating in between the windows “Characters of the Old Testament” by Filippo Prosperi (1831/1913) a pupil of Cesare Mariani
IN THE RIGHT NAVE - CHAPEL OF THE VIRGO POTENS
1863 Luca Carimini
On the altar “Virgo Potens” (Powerful Virgin Mary) of the end of the eighteenth century. It belonged to the Blessed Elisabetta Sanna who is buried here
Canvases “Immaculate Conception”, “St. Francis or Bonaventure”, “St. Anthony of Padua”, “Annunciation”, “Judith and Holofernes” and “Esther and Ahasuerus” 1875/76 by Cesare Mariani (1826/1901)
WALL AT THE END OF THE RIGHT NAVE - ALTAR OF Sts. JOSEPH, COSMAS AND DAMIAN
“Apparition of St. Joseph and Christ Child to Sts. Cosmas and Damian” by Massimiliano Seitz
MAIN ALTAR
1950 by Luigi Fracassini with, inside, the body of St. Vincent Pallotti
“Virgin Mary and Child” 1878 by Cesare Mariani
APSE
In the apsidal basin “Transfiguration” by Filippo Prosperi
Wall of the apse “Sts. Peter, Paul, John of Nepomuk and Filippo Neri” by Cesare Mariani
WALL AT THE END OF THE LEFT NAVE - ALTAR OF St. ALEXIS
Marble relief “Apparition of the Virgin Mary to Sts. Alexis and Euphemian” late 1700s by an anonymous eighteenth-century artist
CONVENT OF THE PALLOTTINES
Museum on the first floor and rooms where St. Vincent Pallotti lived
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS
Under the apse there is the CRYPT with three small naves
In the level further below there are ruins of ancient Roman storage rooms and shops of the second century AD. They are accessible from the crypt through a trap door
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