Piazza S. Salvatore in Lauro 15
Mentioned for the first time by the sources in 1177
Rebuilt in 1449
It was rebuilt in 1594 by Ottaviano Nonni aka Ottaviano Mascherino (1524/1606) after a fire that had destroyed it in 1591
It is his architectural masterpiece
“The space of the single nave is dramatically shaped by a rhythm of paired columns detached from the wall, fastened at the top by protruding ribs, a solution of exceptional force (...). It is as if the drum with double columns of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica would be led in an interior space and would generate tension between the plastic frame and the space as well as a chiaroscuro vibration so intense to give a clear and authoritative alternative both to the interiors by Andrea Palladio in Venice, and to the Church of the Gesù. It was an alternative that would be echoed only in the Trinità dei Pellegrini church by Paolo Maggi, who introduced the motif of the free-standing columns in the pillars supporting the dome with a marked dramatic effect” (Paolo Portoghesi)
Completed only in the years 1727/34 by Ludovico Rusconi Sassi (1678/1736)
FAÇADE
1857/62 late purist architecture by Camillo Guglielmetti (pupil of Luigi Poletti) with bas-relief “Transport of the Holy House of Nazareth” by Rinaldo Rinaldi (1793/1873)
The square was enlarged in 1939 and the proportions of the façade in relation to the square itself were inevitably altered
The name probably derives from a forest of laurels in the Portico of Europe that maybe was once in this area
It is the National Church of the Piceni and of the Marche region
INTERIOR
Marble floor of the nineteenth century
COUNTER FAÇADE
On the right “Monument of Cardinal Gaspare Bernardo Pianetti” by Luigi Poletti (1792/1869) sculpted by Ignazio Jacometti (1819/83)
On the left “Monument of Cardinal Antonio Matteucci” d. 1868 by Luigi Fontana (1827/1908)
1st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE PIETÀ
Designed by Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri (1655/1721)
Above the altar “Christ dead in the arms of the Virgin Mary” 1628/30 by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721) who also painted “St. Nicholas of Tolentino” and “St. Anthony of Padua” on the sides
Giuseppe Ghezzi was born in Ascoli Piceno and was buried in this church in which, from 1687 onwards, he was responsible for the exhibition of paintings held in the cloister every December 10, on the anniversary of the translation of the Holy House of Loreto
This art exhibition was the most important one of the whole seventeenth century in Rome
“The Pietà was entirely designed over diagonal lines, the grey background tone contrasting with the dazzling clarity of Christ's body in the foreground which seems almost to slip towards the viewer. The two saints on the sides are considered 'among the most beautiful and stirring works in Roman Baroque painting at the end of the century' (Martinelli)” (Rossella Faraglia - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
In the upper part there are sculptures of “Angels” by Camillo Rusconi (1658/1728)
2nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. CHARLES
Above the altar “Virgin Mary appears to St. Charles Borromeo” by Alessandro Turchi aka l'Orbetto (1578/1649)
On the RIGHT SIDE OF THE CHURCH there is a modern statue, considered very kitsch by many, with “Jesus and St. Padre Pio” of whom there are a few relics on the left side of the church
3rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY
Above the altar “Nativity of Jesus” about 1625, early work and first public commission of Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona (1597/1669)
“This first group of paintings already clearly states the beginning of a new expression, differing substantially, regardless of any qualitative consideration, from contemporary artistic manifestations. In this group of paintings one notices first of all the conscious intention to exclude from the scene and from the characters any realistic hint and any relationship with the sentimental individuality of the viewer. Without further indulging in the visual illusion of the details, Pietro da Cortona diffuses light, impartially, to the entire surface of the painting, creating that atmospheric likelihood that anticipates the Neo-Venetian style of paintings of the following decades” (Giuliano Briganti - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
ALTAR OF St. EMYGDIUS
“St. Emygdius between St. Nicholas of Tolentino and St. James of the Marca” 1863 by Pietro Gagliardi (1809/90)
On the right “Tomb of Cardinal Nicola Grimaldi” about 1846 by Filippo Gnaccarini (1804/75)
On the left “Monument of Canon Gaspare Fatati” about 1852 and “Monument of Cardinal Raniero Simonetti” 1751 by Girolamo Theodoli (1677/1766) sculpted by Carlo Monaldi (about 1690/1760)
MAIN ALTAR
1792 Antonio Asprucci (1723/1808) who maybe replaced an altar by Andrea Palladio
On the altar “Glory of Angels” in stucco by Vincenzo Pacetti (1746/1820) surrounding a seventeenth-century copy of the Madonna of Loreto
“Angels” on the pediment 1721 by Pietro Paolo Campi (active 1702/40)
SPANDRELS OF THE DOME
“David, Moses, Ezekiel and Isaiah” 1862 by Luigi Fontana (1827/1908)
ALTAR OF THE CROSS OF SIROLO
Copy the wooden Crucifix venerated in Sirolo (Ancona) 1713 by Francesco Bellucci
ABOVE THE DOORWAY TO THE SACRISTY
“Tomb of Cardinal Prospero Marefoschi” 1751 by Girolamo Theodoli (1677/1766) sculpted by Carlo Monaldi (about 1690/1760)
4th LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. LUTGARD
Above the altar “S. Lutgard exchanges her heart with that of the Redeemer” and on the sides “Stories from the Life of St. Lutgard” 1679 by Antonio Mascherotti
2nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. JOSEPH
Decorated in 1773
Above the altar “Sts. Joseph, Joachim and Anna” 1731 by Pier Leone Ghezzi (1674/1755) who was buried in this church as his father Giuseppe Ghezzi
1st LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. PETER IN CHAINS
Above the altar “Liberation of St. Peter” 1624 by Antiveduto Grammatica (about 1572/1626)
On the sides “Liberation of St. Peter” and “St. Peter Baptizing the Centurion” 1731 by Domenico Corvi (1721/1803) from Viterbo
CONVENT or PALACE OF THE PICENI
Beautiful Renaissance cloister of the end of the fifteenth century; the second order was added in the sixteenth century
FOUNTAIN OF THE PICENI and TWO PORTALS of the late fifteenth-century
REFECTORY
On the wall “Wedding at Cana” 1550 by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati (1510/63)
On the left “Tomb of Pope Eugene IV Coldumer (1431/47)” 1450/55 by Isaia da Pisa (active 1447/64)
In the middle of the wall “Tomb of Maddalena Orsini” maybe by Giovanni Duknovich aka Giovanni Dalmata (about 1440/1510)
Canvas “St. Emygdius and other saints from the Marche region” by Pier Leone Ghezzi (1674/1755)
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