St. MARY OF THE PRAYER AND DEATH

S. MARIA DELL'ORAZIONE E MORTE

Via Giulia 262

Originally built in the years 1575/76

Formerly known as S. Maria della Morte for the Arciconfraternita della Morte (Confraternity of Death) founded in 1538 that gave burial to the poor

It was rebuilt in the years 1733/37 by Ferdinando Fuga (1699/1782) with the help of Giuseppe Sardi (1680/1753) who was master builder at the time

Ferdinando Fuga asked, as only reward, the right for free burial for himself and his heirs

Golden decorations and other works in the interior done in 1867

Restored in 1975

Since 1992 it has been dedicated to people who had died at work

“For the façade Fuga conceived initially a convex shape and later changed his project, because of the limited space available toward the street and also for his personal stylistic evolution, to a rectilinear structure but with strong visual contrasts” (Daniele Ferrara)

“Ferdinando Fuga demonstrates that he thoroughly studied Borromini, Bernini and Rainaldi regarding the history of this type of building, almost proposing to fix himself a type which would be the synthesis and, at the same time, the adjustment of the different solutions. He does not alter substantially the structure of the Baroque image of space, but, in summarizing it, he almost involuntarily brings the elements to the firmness preached by the classical treatises of 1500s” (Giulio Carlo Argan)

On the walls FRESCOS DETACHED:

Among the chapels to the right

“St. Anthony Abbot and St. Paul of Thebes”

Among the chapels on the left

“St. Simeon Stylites” about 1605 by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582/1647), his first independent works from the Camera degli Eremiti (Room of the Hermits) of the destroyed Palazzina Farnese (Farnese Small Palace)

Above the entrance there is a third fresco covered. The three murals were placed here in 1734

“In this first cycle Lanfranco shows that he was already following a relatively free pictorial line, immune, rather strangely, to the severity of the Roman style of Annibale Carracci” (Rudolf Wittkower)

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA

On the altar “Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine” by unknown artist of the end of the sixteenth century probably from the old church

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. MICHAEL

1741 Paolo Posi (1708/76)

On the altar “St. Michael the Archangel” about 1740/50 copy by an unknown artist from the original by Guido Reni in the church of S. Maria della Concezione (St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception)

MAIN ALTAR

On the altar “Crucifixion” about 1680 by Ciro Ferri (1634/89), a pupil of Pietro da Cortona, who was here clearly influenced by the painting with the same subject by Guido Reni in in the church of S. Lorenzo in Lucina

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. JULIANA FALCONIERI

Above the altar “St. Juliana Falconieri receives the dress from St. Philip Benizi” about 1740 by Pier Leone Ghezzi (1674/1755)

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY FAMILY

Above the altar “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” mid-1700s by Lorenzo Masucci (?/1785), son of Agostino Masucci

“The curvilinear and jutting pediments out of the chapels have a slight concavity in contrast with the convexity of the entablature above the choruses and the confessionals: this alternation of form suggests a swaying motion that ends at the chorus, where the arc breaks up the attic on which the dome rests. The undulating outline of the interior is an original design by Ferdinando Fuga, never seen before even considering the interiors of Borromini's churches” (Daniele Ferrara)

SACRISTY

Canvas:

“St. Michael the Archangel defeats the devil” about 1576 maybe by Raffaellino Motta aka Raffaellino da Reggio (1550/78)

“Deposition of Christ” by an unknown seventeenth-century artist

“St. Michael the Archangel save the souls of Purgatory” and “St. Michael the Archangel, the devil and the passing of a dying man” about 1660/70 by Giacinto Brandi (1621/91), originally located in the church at the sides of the altar of St. Michael

UNDERGROUND CEMETERY

Large room originally built in 1762 but resized during the works for building the walls by the River Tiber

For three centuries, from 1552 to 1896, about 8,600 corpses were buried here, with an average of one every two weeks

The decorations with skeletons of people belonging to the Confraternity of Death were very macabre, similar to those in the cemetery of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception

St. MARY OF SUFFRAGE

S. MARIA DEL SUFFRAGIO

Via Giulia 59

1662/80 Carlo Rainaldi (1611/91) for the Confraternity of Suffrage

“There is a plan dating back to 1662 that demonstrates the existence of an original design for the church with an elliptical layout, which was never executed. (...) The Roman architect experimented then some of the most innovative ideas of the Roman architectural culture of the mid-seventeenth century, but they were rejected by the confraternity in favor of a more traditional scheme. (...) The simplicity of the interior is also reflected on the outside, in one of the simplest façades of Rainaldi's repertoire” (Federica Maria Papi)

Restored in 1868 by Tito Armellini

VAULT

“Coronation of the Virgin”, “Coats of arms of the Archconfraternity of the Banner and of Pius IX” above the arches of the central nave “Heroines of the Old Testament prefiguring the Virgin Mary” 1868 by Cesare Mariani (1826/1901)

LUNETTE IN THE COUNTER FAÇADE

“Two Saints” 1868 by Cesare Mariani

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY

Above the altar “Adoration of the Magi”

On the right “Dream of St. Joseph” and on the left “Adoration of the Shepherds” by G.B. Natali (1630/96)

On the right “Funerary memory of the painter Pietro Neri” d. 1678 and on the left “Tomb of the engraver Gaspare Moroni” d. 1678 maybe by Pietro Paolo Naldini (1619/91)

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF MARIA CONSOLATRIX AFFLICTORUM (Virgin Mary consoling the afflicted)

Designed by Carlo Rainaldi

“Holy image” of the eighteenth century brought from Mexico by the Jesuit Father Ximines

On the right “Jacob's Dream” by Giacinto Calandrucci (1646/1707) a pupil of Carlo Maratta

On the left “Sacrifice of Isaac” by Girolamo Troppa (1630/after 1710)

3^rd RIGHT - MARCACCIONI CHAPEL

1674 G.B. Contini

Altarpiece “Madonna and Child” sixteenth century painting on board

On the right “Adoration of the Magi” and on the left “Birth of Mary” by Giuseppe Chiari (1654/1727), a pupil of Niccolò Berrettoni (a pupil of Carlo Maratta) who had begun the pictorial decoration

MAIN ALTAR

1674 Carlo Rainaldi

Above the altar “Our Lady of Suffrage with souls of the Purgatory” first public commission of Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721)

Lunette frescoes and vault about 1675 “Assumption in Glory” and “The Lord among the angels” by G.B. Beinaschi (1638/88) follower of Lanfranco's Baroque opposed to Maratta's Classicism. Apparently Maratta visited this church and when he saw these paintings he went out without saying a word

“Beinaschi shows a distinct similarity to paintings by Lanfranco. Even if he could not have been for obvious chronological reasons (Lanfranco died, in fact, in the year 1647) a direct student, he was in fact among his most loyal follower. Lanfranco's influence persisted and was even enriched with new ideas during Beinaschi's stay in Naples. (...) He was able to recall the teachings of the art of Lanfranco without being restricted to being a slavish and late imitator, but rather with a certain expressive propriety, sometimes even intelligently expanding on the Correggio's components of Lanfranco's art” (Oreste Ferrari - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE CRUCIFIX

“Wooden crucifix” first half of the eighteenth century

On the sides “Gravestones of the Mazzetti family”

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. JOSEPH CALASANZ

Altarpiece “St. Joseph Calasanz with the Child” first half of the eighteenth century by an artist of the Roman School

On the sides “Miracle of St. Joseph Calasanz” and “Death of St. Joseph Calasanz” by Sebastiano Ceccarini (1703/83)

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE Sts. HYACINTH AND CATHERINE OF SIENA

1685 formerly of the Oliva and later of the Armellini family

Above the altar “Virgin Mary and Child with Sts. Catherine of Siena and Hyacinth” by Daniele Seiter (1649/1705)

ORATORY

“Our Lady of the Rosary among the angels and Sts. Joseph and Dominic” by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721)

Two paintings formerly in the presbytery and moved here in 1868: “Resurrection of Lazarus” and “Daniel in the lions' den” by G.B. Beinaschi

St. CATHERINE OF SIENA

S. CATERINA DA SIENA

Via Giulia 152

1526 maybe by Baldassarre Peruzzi (1481/1536) for Cardinal Giovanni Piccolomini and  the banker Agostino Chigi (1466/1520) on the Castrum Senense (Siena's camp), the area where since the Middle Ages the Sienese carried out their business activities

Rebuilt 1766/75 by Paolo Posi (1708/76) with the help, as foremen, of Luca Sardi and Giuseppe Sardi (1680/1753)

Oval panels in stucco on the FAÇADE “Seno and Aschio with the wolf and the writing S.P.Q.S.” 1770 by Wander Elsken

According to legend, Seno and Aschio were the twin sons of Remus who, having escaped from their uncle Romulus who wanted to kill them as well as he did with their father, took refuge in Tuscany, where Seno would found the city of Siena and Aschio the town of Asciano

Marble decorations on the façade (heraldic shield, flaming pots) and stoups inside the church by Francesco Antonio Franzoni (1734/1818)

It is the regional church of the Sienese people

“The church stands as one of the most interesting monuments produced by the Roman artistic culture of the late-eighteenth-century during the transition from the last stage of the Baroque to that of the nascent Neoclassicism. A formal unity of intent involves both the architectural structure and the pictorial, from the stuccos to the church vestments, that would complement a thematic decorative unity almost entirely devoted to the glorification of the Sienese saint” (Federica Papi)

VAULT

“Angel Musicians” by Ermenegildo Costantini (1731/91)

“The collaboration of Costantini with Kuntz, which was renewed later also in the church of St. Stanislaus of the Polish people, shows an affinity of style between the two artists which is indicative of the formal scope in which Costantini operated. Kuntz is in fact the painter who 'definitively concluded the Roman rococo' (Schleier). So, while working in St. Catherine alongside artists such as Lapis, Monosilio, Corvi, La Piccola, transitional painters who were making their first neoclassical experiences, Costantini did not draw from this closeness any incentive for a formal updating of his style, remaining an isolated representative of a decorative language substantiated by the Rococo grace” (Marina Coccia - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

Monochrome figures giving the optical illusion to hold the frames by the Polish Tadeusz Kuntze aka Taddeo il Polacco (1732/93)

NAVE

Stucco decorations 1770 by Wander Elsken

OVAL PANELS ON THE WALLS

The first on the right “St. Catherine receiving the Stigmata” is by Giovanni Sorbi (1695/about 1764), the one in front “Christ gives his heart to St. Catherine” is by Tommaso Maria Conca (1734/1822)

Above the confessionals on the right “Christ gives to St. Catherine a pectoral cross” and on the left “St. Catherine communicated by Christ” by Etienne Parrocel (1696/1774)

Above the doors by the presbytery, on the right “St. Catherine as a young girl in prayer” and on the left “St. Catherine's renunciation of the golden crown for that of thorns given to her by Christ” by the classicist painter from Bologna Pietro Angeletti (about 1737/98)

1^st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Altarpiece “Preaching of St. Bernardino” about 1770 by Salvatore Monosilio (active from 1744/d. 1776)

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT

Altarpiece “Apparition of Christ to the Blessed Bernardo Tolomei” 1774/76 by Niccolò La Piccola (1727/90)

“He reveals, in the search for an intense luministic weft, his openness towards the new chromatic experimentation by Domenico Corvi” (Federica Papi)

PRESBYTERY

On the high altar “Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine” 1768/69 by Gaetano Lapis (1706/76), a pupil of Sebastiano Conca

Oval panels on the doors of the presbytery on the right “Christ carrying the Cross appears to St. Catherine in penance” and on the left “Christ shows to St. Catherine the wound in his side” 1768/69 also by Gaetano Lapis

“These works are carried out in a language that, filtered through the work of Maratta, refers to the seventeenth-century Bolognese classicism, hence the nickname 'Carraccetto' given to the painter” (Federica Papi)

APSE

“St. Catherine welcomes Gregory XI Beaufort (1370/78) on his return to Rome from Avignon on January 17th, 1377” 1773 by Laurent Pécheux (1729/1821)

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Altarpiece”Assumption” 1768/70 by Tommaso Maria Conca (1734/1822) who was a pupil of his uncle, the great Sebastiano Conca

1^st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT

Altarpiece “Gregory VII (1073/85) puts out the fire set by the troops of Henry IV in the Vatican” 1769/70 by Domenico Corvi (1721/1803) from Viterbo

“For this painting the customary reference is to the work with the same subject painted by Raphael in the Stanze. It appears built on the recurring scheme of the diagonals and on the strong chiaroscuro contrasts that accentuate the dynamism of composition” (Federica Papi)

On the left wall “Memorial plaque with bust of the architect Paolo Posi” 1778 by his pupil Giuseppe Palazzi

SACRISTY

Vault “Angels with liturgical objects” by the Polish Tadeusz Kuntze aka Taddeo il Polacco (1732/93)

ORATORIO

“Resurrection of Jesus” about 1530 by Girolamo Genga (about 1476/1551). It was formerly on the high altar of the previous church built by Peruzzi

“View of Rome” in the antechamber and decorations with “Fake windows with views” by G.B. Marchetti

“Plaster Statue of St. Catherine” 1662 by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86). It was the prototype for the statue to the Chapel of the Vow in the Duomo of Siena

St. BLAISE OF THE LOAF OF BREAD

S. BIAGIO DELLA PAGNOTTA

Via Giulia 64

Earlier than the tenth century and maybe built on an ancient temple dedicated to Neptune

Restored in 1072 for Alexander II (1061/73)

Rebuilt 1730 by Giovanni Antonio Perfetti (?/1754)

Dedicated to the saint from Sabaste, modern Sivas in Turkey. In the fourth century AD it was part of Armenia

According to tradition, St. Blaise was martyred in 316 AD, although this date contrasts with the Edict of Constantine (306/337) which had proclaimed freedom of worship in 313. Perhaps he was the victim of local persecutions carried out at the behest of Licinius (306/324), who was co-emperor first and rival of Constantine later

Before being beheaded he was tortured with iron combs used for carding wool

He is the protector of diseases of the throat for one of his miracles: he saved a child who was choking on a fish bone

Armenian national church from the sixteenth century when Armenian priests, every 3 February, feast day of the saint, used to distribute here small loaves of blessed bread

INTERIOR

Renovated in 1832 by Filippo Navone (active first half of the nineteenth century) who raised the floor and built a semicircular apse as well as the arch on the two Ionic columns

CEILING rebuilt in 1933

Reliquary with throat fragment of St. Blaise

RIGHT ALTAR

“St. Gregory baptizes Tiridates III, the first Christian king of Armenia” by an anonymous of the nineteenth-century moved here in 1832 from the church of S. Mary of Egypt built in the Temple of Portunus

Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity and declare it as state religion in 301

MAIN ALTAR

“Miracle of St. Blaise who saves the child choking on a fish bone” by an eighteenth-century anonymous artist

On the right “St. Blaise child” and on the left “St. Blaise supported by an angel” by an anonymous artist of the nineteenth-century