SMALL TEMPLE OF MOUNT CARMEL

TEMPIETTO DEL CARMELO
Piazza Costaguti

Built in 1759 as a small church with the name of S. MARIA DEL CARMELO used for Christian sermons forced on the Roman Jews who often would fill up their ears with wax so not to hear

1825 restoration for the rich Fratellini family, grocers who lived near the Ghetto

“It is inspired by the portico of S. Maria della Pace. It represents an evolution of the monumental shrines that besides being an object of devotion, ensured the night lighting because they were provided with lights that were kept always on. The image of the Virgin Mary is, in this case, placed in a chapel that would have the function of a church” (Alessandra Bartomioli)

It was a member of the Order of Carmelites, the Englishman St. Simon Stock, to create the feast of Our Lady, which was called del Carmine (of Mount Carmel), the most common form of the term Carmel, the mountain range of Palestine where monks following the example of the Prophet Eli used to live

Tradition has it that on the Carmel mountain range Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251

“For years, the agency Italia Nostra is fighting for its recovery, but every attempt of the Superintendent was blocked by the impossibility to access the building. The last occupant was a shoemaker, who was renting it from a mysterious owner. Before he died, in the seventies, he left the keys to a un unknown person. Now the temple has its rusty iron door tightly closed. There are two people who say they are renting it from a mysterious owner who had emigrated to Israel. But research conducted in Israel by the Superintendent to find him came to nothing. In the solution of the mystery, is now engaged the architect Arianna Cajano, who is about to begin a procedure called in legal jargon 'intervention in place', whereby the restoration of the monument will proceed and then the costs will be charged to the owner. If he will not turn up, the Temple will become public property” (Lauretta Colonnelli - Corriere della Sera - 16 January 2001)
The restoration was actually executed and the temple was entrusted to the Jewish community in Rome