St. MARY IN THE LITTLE TEMPLE

S. MARIA IN TEMPULO

Via di Valle delle Camene 3/5 - Deconsecrated

End of the sixth century, mentioned by the sources as S. Agata 

Maybe built on the ruins of a temple, from which the name probably derives

Two sides of the BELL TOWER of about 1155 remain

Here was the Fons Camenarum, spring sacred to the Muses (the Camenae were goddesses identified with the Greek Muses): the waters, believed to be miraculous, were used by the Vestal Virgins for their worship 

Attached to the church was a Benedictine monastery until 1222, when it was abolished by Honorius III Savelli (1216/27)

The icon of the Virgin Mary with the Child which used to be here is now preserved in the church of S. Maria del Rosario a Monte Mario 

The church has therefore been deconsecrated for almost 800 years 

Over the centuries it was occupied by private households, used as a barn or even as a studio for artists

Now it belongs to the City of Rome and it is used for civil weddings

St. AGATHA OF SICILY

S. AGATA

Largo S. Giovanni de Matha 91

The first mention of the church in any of the sources dates back to 1121

Rebuilt in 1671 but only completed in the years 1710/11 by Giacomo Onorato Recalcati (?/1723)

Restored in 1821

VAULT

“Assumption” and apse by Girolamo Troppa (1630/after 1710)

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

“Our Lady of the Rosary” by Biagio Puccini (1673/1721) from Lucca, student, as well as Troppa, of G.B. Gaulli aka Baciccio

MAIN ALTAR

“Martyrdom of St. Agatha” by Biagio Puccini

Very dramatic and explicit painting with the representation of the torture that, according to tradition, the poor saint from Catania in Sicily suffered in the third century AD: her breasts were eradicated with pliers

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

“Crucifixion” by Biagio Puccini

At the altar there is the venerated statue of “Our Lady of Carmel” better known as Madonna de Noantri (Our Virgin Mary) carved in cedar wood and carried in procession during the summer festival in the Trastevere district known as FESTA DE NOANTRI (Festival of Ourselves)

It was a member of the Order of Carmelites, the Englishman St. Simon Stock, who created the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, after the mountain range in Palestine where monks lived following the example of the prophet Elijah, and where tradition has it that there the Virgin Mary appeared to Stock on July 16, 1251

It is said that the statue was found by some fishermen after a storm near the mouth of the Tiber. The “Madonna Fiumarola” (Virgin Mary of the River) was given to the Carmelites (hence the name Lady of Mount Carmel) in Trastevere

Having become the protector of Trastevere, the statue was placed in a chapel, built in 1600 by Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese (1577/1633), specifically to shelter it

The chapel was demolished in 1890 for the construction of the Viale del Re (Avenue of the King), today's Viale Trastevere and, after a few decades in S. Giovanni Battista dei Genovesi, the statue was placed in the church of St. Agatha of Sicily

From here, every year on the first Saturday after July 16th (day of the apparition of Our Lady on Mount Carmel) during the Festa de Noantri, the statue, covered with jewels and precious clothes, is carried in procession through the streets of the district to the Church of S. Crisogono where it remains for eight days before returning to the church of St. Agatha of Sicily

Originally some bold young men, also known as cicoriari for being collectors of chicory in Campoli, near Frosinone, in two processions used to carry on their shoulders the heavy structure with the statue. Later it was established a special brotherhood, the so called carriers

Today in addition to religious events there are also shows, cultural events and walks among stalls selling sweets, toys and crafts