TEMPLE OF PORTUNUS

TEMPIO DI PORTUNUS
Piazza Bocca della Verità

Built in the fourth or third century BC
Rebuilt in the second half of the second century BC with renovations in the first century BC

Mistakenly believed to be the Tempio della Fortuna Virile (Temple of Manly Fortune)

It is a temple pseudoperipteral, ionic and tetrastyle
Travertine columns, half-columns and wall of the cella in tuff of the Aniene River with bases and capitals in travertine
It was originally completely covered with stucco

It became a church in the year 872 with the name of S. Maria Egiziaca (St. Mary of Egypt), the patron saint of prostitutes, and it was granted to the Armenians

It was commonly called S. Maria ad Gradellis (S. Mary at the Steps) for the staircase that used to connect this area with the River Tiber
It was deconsecrated in 1924 and the copy of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, which was kept in it, was moved to St. Nicholas of Tolentino

MAIN ALTAR
“St. Mary of Egypt” by Federico Zuccari (about 1542/1609)

St. STEPHEN OF THE CACCO

S. STEFANO DEL CACCO
Via di S. Stefano del Cacco 26

Built in the early ninth century at the time of Paschal I (817/824) on the site of the TEMPLE OF ISIS (Iseum Campense)

The name of the church comes from the statue of the dog-headed god Thoth found here, now in the Egyptian Museum at the Vatican and mistaken for a macacco or a macaque monkey

Also known as S. Stefano in Pinea (St. Stephen in Pinea) from the pigna (pine cone) symbol of the district represented on top of the bell tower

 Restorations at the beginning of the twelfth century at the time of Paschal II (1099/1118)

Romanesque BELL TOWER with a bell dating back to 1480 and PORCH added about 1160 at the behest of the brothers Nicola and Quinzio Papareschi, nephews of Pope Innocent II Papareschi (1130/1143)

Restorations in the years 1607/17 and 1638/43 by Antonio Canziani who maybe designed​​the FRONT and Matteo Riva for the Sylvestrine monks to whom the church had been assigned in 1563 by Pope Pius IV Medici (1559/65)

PORTAL in travertine maybe by Paolo Marucelli (1594/1649)

Other restorations in 1725 and 1865

FLOOR
1865 with marble pieces from the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, destroyed by fire in 1823

VAULT
Ornamental reliefs and fresco “Trinity and St. Sylvester in glory” 1857 by an unknown nineteenth-century artist

TO THE RIGHT OF THE ENTRANCE
“Tomb of the architect Ludovico Rusconi Sassi” d. 1736

NAVE
Twelve ancient columns reused here maybe from the Temple of Isis
Organ dating back to 1642

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE GUARDIAN ANGEL
Above the altar “Guardian Angel” eighteenth-century copy from the original by Pietro da Cortona exhibited in the National Gallery of Ancient Art at the Barberini Palace

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. JOSEPH
Above the altar “Death of St. Joseph” by an unknown eighteenth-century artist

ON THE RIGHT WALL AFTER THE 2nd CHAPEL
Fresco “Pietà” 1519 by Pietro Bonaccorsi aka Perin del Vaga (1501/47) heavily restored also with the addition of the landscape that surrounds it

It is the first extant solo work by Perin del Vaga and it was executed soon after his collaboration with Raphael in the Vatican Loggia

“Here Perino, apart from the obvious inspiration from the group by Michelangelo in St. Peter's, is showing the narrative and dramatic power of Raphael and Giulio Romano not in the sense of emotional expression but mainly in grace and ornament” (Antonio Vannugli)

AT THE END OF THE RIGHT AISLE
Altar with devotional picture “Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted” in wood dressed with silk dress, maybe dating to the seventeenth century. Tradition has it that this image wept on July 9, 1796 shortly before the invasion of the French soldiers of Napoleon

APSE
Originally there were mosaics dating from the time of Paschal I (817/824), destroyed in 1607 and replaced by the current decoration
At the center “Martyrdom of St. Stephen” about 1585 by Cesare Nebbia (1536/1614)
On the sides “St. Charles Borromeo” and “St. Frances of Rome” about 1610 by Cristoforo Casolani (1587/1629), a pupil of Cristoforo Roncalli aka Pomarancio
“Golden stuccos” 1608 by Rocco Solari
“Choir in walnut wood” 1668 by the Cecconali brothers

AT THE END OF THE LEFT AISLE
“Wooden Crucifix” beginning of the seventeenth century and ruined fresco “Saints” maybe by Cristoforo Casolani (1587/1629)

3^rd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “St. Matthew” and frescoes on spandrels and dome by Cesare Mariani (1826/1901)

2^nd CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar “St. Benedict delivers the rule to St. Sylvester” maybe by Carlo Maratta (1625/1713)
On the left “Miraculous healing by St. Sylvester” and on the right “St. Sylvester receives communion from the Virgin Mary” by Cesare Mariani
Frescoes on the lunettes and on the side walls by Cesare Mariani

1^st CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the altar modern “Holy Face”
Stuccos by G.B. Ferrabosco
On the left “Sts. Charles Borromeo and Filippo Neri” and on the right “Sts. Stephen and Paul the First Hermit” 1639 two late works by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643)

SACRISTY
Altar piece “St. Nicholas” 1695 by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731) formerly in the third chapel on the left
Oval panel “St. Aurea taken to martyrdom” by Luigi Garzi (1638/1721)
Preparatory sketch “Birth of the Virgin Mary” maybe by Sebastiano Conca (1680/1764)

MONASTERY
General Curia (headquarters) of the Sylvestrine Fathers
“St. Stephen” by Giovanni De Vecchi (about 1537/1615)
“Adoration of the Magi” by the painter from Antwerp Jan Miel (1599/1663)

St. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO

S. NICOLA DA TOLENTINO

Salita di S. Nicola da Tolentino 17

St. Nicholas of Tolentino (1245/1305) was born in the Marche region and lived most of his life in Tolentino, where he also died. He was canonized in 1325

The church was built in 1599 for the Discalced Augustinians

Rebuilt in the years 1619/51 by Bonaventura Cherubino da Spoleto and Martino Longhi the Younger (1602/60)

Completed in the years 1651/54 maybe by Giovanni Maria Baratta (active since 1644/d. after 1679) under the guidance of Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654) for Prince Camillo Pamphilj nephew of Pope Innocent X Pamphilj (1644/55)

The identity of the main architect is not clear and it seems that the prince Camillo Pamphilj himself actively participated in the design of the church, being, as the scholar Passeri wrote, intendentissimo di architettura (extremely knowledgeable in architecture)

With the completion of the church the union of the families Pamphilj and Barberini was sealed. Olimpiuccia Giustiniani, nephew Camillo Pamphilj, married Don Maffeo, heir of the Barberinis

The church was consecrated in 1685

Since 1883 it belongs to the Pontifical Armenian College. Here mass is officiated with the Armenian rite

Restorations in the years 1938/42

FAÇADE

1653/70 by Giovanni Maria Baratta

To the left of the façade, above the entrance of the College, ovate with relief “Glory of St. Nicholas” 1664 by Giovanni Francesco De Rossi (active 1640/77)

COUNTER FAÇADE

Next to the window “Religion” and “Charity” 1665 by Andrea Baratta (about 1595/1666), brother of Giovanni Maria

CEILING

“Octagons with figures of saints”, starting from the entrance:

“St. William of Aquitaine” 1663 by Pietro Paolo Naldini (1619/91)

“Blessed Clare of Montefalco” 1664 by Giovanni Francesco De Rossi, who also sculpted the “Angels” in the counter façade and near the windows

“St. Augustine”, “St. Thomas of Villanova” and “St. Agnes” 1661 by Pietro Sassi

“St. Nicholas of Tolentino” 1656 by G.B. Ferrabosco

Stuccos in the vault by Stefano Roncaglia and Pietro Sassi

PILLARS BETWEEN 1^st AND 2^nd CHAPELS

“Stoups” in marble 1664/65 by Andrea Baratta

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. NICHOLAS OF BARI

Above the altar “Miracle of St. Nicholas of Bari who resurrected a child” 1710 by Filippo Laurenzi (active in the eighteenth century)

On the sides “Nativity of the Virgin Mary” and “Coronation of the Virgin” 1680 by Giovanni Ventura Borghesi pupil of Pietro da Cortona

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR (first Armenian Patriarch of the third century)

Above the altar “Meeting between Pope Sylvester and St. Gregory” 1908 by Giovanni Gagliardi (1838/1924), grandson of Pietro Gagliardi

On the right “Tomb of Patriarch Antony Peter IX Hassun” d. 1884

On the left “Tomb of Cardinal Gregory Peter XV Agagianian”

3^rd RIGHT - LANTE DELLA ROVERE CHAPEL

Above the altar “Sts. Lucretia and Gertrude” old copy from the original by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri aka Guercino (1591/1666) now at the Savoy Gallery in Turin

Walls and dome “Stories of the Sts. Lucretia and Gertrude” 1645/48 by Pietro Paolo Ubaldini (about 1614/about 1684) a pupil of Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona

On the right “Tomb of Cardinal Federico Lante Della Rovere” 1775 by Virginio Bracci

RIGHT TRANSEPT

Altar by Giovanni Maria Baratta

Above the altar “St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness” 1668/70 by G.B. Gaulli aka Baciccio (1639/1709) for the prince G.B. Pamphilj

At the center of the vault stucco “St. Thomas of Villanova” by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86) by Camillo Pamphilj

On the sides of the altar “Gravestones of Giuseppe and Nicola Oregi” 1669 for Cardinal Agostino Oregi

MAIN ALTAR

1651/55 Giovanni Maria Baratta (active since 1644/d. after 1679) under the guidance of Alessandro Algardi (1598/1654)

Marble altarpiece “Virgin Mary and Child with Sts. Augustine and Monica appearing to St. Nicholas of Tolentino” before 1654 by Domenico Guidi (1625/1701) and Ercole Ferrata (who executed St. Nicholas) designed by Alessandro Algardi

In the upper part marble relief “Eternal Father and Angels” by Ercole Ferrata

Above the pediment “Angels” maybe by Francesco Baratta (about 1590/about 1663)

Gilded stucco in the apse 1656/57 by G.B. Ferrabosco

“In 1654 Algardi was dead and Ferrata, who had become a successful sculptor (...), seemed about to take his place as representative of Baroque classicism. His style formed in contact with the naturalism of Neapolitan artists and later of Bernini, always showed classical cadences, already appreciated by him in Naples with Duquesnoy (admired certainly with interest in his Roman works), and almost imposed on him by the attendance to Algardi's school. The influence of Bernini, inevitable, in Ferrata is, however, always limited, often only episodic” (Gerardo Casale - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

DOME

“Glory of St. Nicholas of Tolentino” 1670/72 by Giovanni Coli (1636/81) and Filippo Gherardi (1643/1704), the first Roman work of these two inseparable friends from Lucca

“In 1669 they were called to Rome by Pietro da Cortona to paint the dome of S. Maria in Campitelli, but when they arrived they found not only that the old master was dead, but also that they had lost most of their possessions, money, and paintings - they used to own works even by Tintoretto and Veronese - on a ship that was attacked by pirates. Moreover, to add insult to injury, it all came to nothing of S. Maria in Campitelli. The two, however, placing themselves under the protection of Cardinal Spada, managed to get the commission of the dome of St. Nicholas of Tolentino. Their fresco (...) although it derives directly, both in the overall composition and in the details, from the fresco by Berrettini in the dome of S. Maria in Vallicella (...), in its lightness, airiness and ease it anticipates the later Baroque style which Baciccio would adopt in the dome of the Gesù church” (Robert Enggass - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

SPANDRELS

“Vows of the Augustinian Order: Humility, Chastity, Obedience and Poverty” 1643 by Pietro Paolo Ubaldini (about 1614/about 1684)

TO THE LEFT OF THE MAIN ALTAR - CHAPEL OF Sts. MATTHEW AND CECILIA or BURATTI CHAPEL

Above the altar “Apparition of the Virgin Mary to Sts. Matthew and Cecilia” and frescoes in the rest of the chapel with “Stories of Sts. Matthew and Cecilia” 1638/40 by Pietro Paolo Ubaldini

Canvas on the sides “Agony of St. Cecilia” and “Martyrdom of St. Matthew” maybe by an unknown French artist of the early seventeenth century pupil of Guido Reni

LEFT TRANSEPT

On the altar “Preaching of the blessed Gomidas” 1929 by Mario Barberis (1893/1960)

The Armenian priest Gomidas Keumurgian, a native of Constantinople, was martyred in 1707 and was beatified in 1929, the same year in which this painting was executed

Stucco on the vault and “St. Agnes” in the octagon by Ercole Ferrata

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL

Altar designed by Pietro Camporese the Elder (1726/81)

On the altar “Our Lady of Good Counsel” by Cristoforo Unterberger (1732/98)

Stucco decoration around the painting by Vincenzo Pacetti (1746/1820)

On the right “Holy Family” 1790 by Giuseppe Cades (1750/99)

On the left “Annunciation” 1789 by the Capuchin Father Raffaele Minossi

In the lunettes “Sibyls” in monochrome and in the dome “God the Father in Glory” by Ermenegildo Costantini (1731/91)

2^nd LEFT - GAVOTTI CHAPEL

1668/77. Begun by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona (1597/1669), completed after 1674 by his pupil Ciro Ferri (1634/89) for G.B. Gavotti

“To the typical chromatic chords of Bernini, Pietro da Cortona adds, in contrast with the marble, gilded bronze which, in the ribs, ligaments and finials, has its discontinuous light intertwined with the darker colors of the stone to reach in the Gavotti Chapel an effect of funeral wealth” (Paolo Portoghesi)

Marble altarpiece “Apparition of the Virgin Mary to Antonio Botta” by Cosimo Fancelli (1620/88)

On the right “Statue of St. Joseph” by Ercole Antonio Raggi (1624/86) over the “Tomb of Carlo Gavotti” m. 1690

On the left “Statue of St. John the Baptist” by Ercole Ferrata (1610/86) over the “Tomb of G.B. Gavotti”, uncle of Carlo Gavotti

Medallion in the upper part “St. Charles Borromeo” maybe by Ercole Antonio Raggi

Fresco in the dome “Glory of Angels” begun by Pietro Berrettini aka Pietro da Cortona and finished by Ciro Ferri after the master's death

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

“The Holy Sepulchre” 1679, exact copy of the one in Jerusalem, formerly in the church of St. Mary of Egypt and moved here in 1921, after it was desecrated to show the Temple of Portunus

It is an important copy because the original in Jerusalem was destroyed by fire in 1808 and rebuilt two years later in a different style

On the altar “St. Filippo Neri in ecstasy in the Church of Minerva” 1728 by Cristoforo Ceo

St. MARY MAGDALENE

S. MARIA MADDALENA

Piazza della Maddalena 53

At first it was just a small chapel built in the fourteenth century

It was given in 1586 to St. Camillus De Lellis as the seat of the Ministers of the Sick

In 1621 room was cleared for a new square in front of the church

It was rebuilt in the years 1631/34 by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606/80) from Bologna, who especially worked for the convent

The works continued with this sequence of architects:

1673 Carlo Fontana (1634/1714) (dome and vault)

1680/82 Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri (1655/1721)

1695 Giovanni Antonio De Rossi (1616/95)

Completed in 1699 by Giulio Carlo Quadri and Francesco Felice Pozzoni

FAÇADE

Designed in gorgeous Rococo style

1735 attributed to Giuseppe Sardi (1680/1753) but more likely by the engraver Domenico Barbiani and the Portuguese Emanuel Rodriguez Dos Santos

It is a unique example in Rome of application of the repertoire of ornamental Rococo to exterior architecture

Statues in the lower order “S. Filippo Neri” and “St. Camillus De Lellis” maybe by Paolo Campana

Statues in the higher order “S. Martha” and “St. Mary Magdalene” 1760 by Joseph Canard

It is the Church of the Abruzzo Region

ABOVE THE ENTRANCE

Exceptional ORGAN 1736 by Hans Conrad Wehrle (beginning XVIII century/1771), German organ builder designer of numerous organs for churches in Rome and in the Lazio region

Wooden gilt choir 1729/35 and stuccos done in 1740

VAULT

“Resurrection of Lazarus” and “Six stories of Mary Magdalene” 1730/32 by the Roman Michelangelo Cerruti (1663/1748)

On the walls niches “Statues of the Virtues” in stucco:

On the right “Verecunda”, “Fidelis” and “Lacrimabilis” maybe by Paolo Morelli (active from 1712/d. 1719)

On the left “Humilis” by Carlo Monaldi (about 1690/1760), “Secreta” and “Simplex” 1696 by Giuseppe Raffaelli

1^st RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. FRANCIS OF PAOLA

It was rebuilt in 1837 by Antonio Cipolla (1822/74)

Above the altar “St. Francis of Paola Resuscitating a Child” 1720 by Biagio Puccini (1673/1721)

2^nd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE SALUS INFIRMORUM

Decoration 1718 by Francesco Ferruzzi

Venerated image of “Our Lady of Health” by an unknown sixteenth-century artist

Above the altar “Angels in flight and the Holy Spirit” maybe by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634/1721)

3^rd RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE RELICS OF St. CAMILLUS

1757 Francesco Nicoletti (?/1776)

Above the altar “St. Camillus has the vision of the Cross” 1749 by Placido Costanzi (1702/59)

Urn under the altar 1770 by Luigi Valadier (1726/85) with relics of St. Camillus De Lellis

Vault “Glory of St. Camillus” 1744 by Sebastiano Conca (1680/1764)

Passage between the two chapels “Wooden statue of Mary Magdalene” by an unknown fifteenth-century artist

TO THE RIGHT OF THE MAIN ALTAR - CHAPEL OF THE CROSS

1764 Francesco Nicoletti (?/1776)

On the altar “Wooden cross” of the end of the fifteenth century which, according to tradition, he spoke to St. Camillus De Lellis

MAIN ALTAR

1757 Francesco Nicoletti

Above the altar “St. Mary Magdalene in prayer” 1698 by Michele Rocca (about 1675/1751) from Parma

On the sides bas-reliefs: on the left “The three Marys at the Tomb” and on the right “Noli Me Tangere” by Francesco Gesuelli

Sculptural group on the pediment “Angels supporting the cross” by Pietro Pacilli (1716/after 1769)

APSE

“Preaching of Jesus” 1732 by Aureliano Milani (1675/1749)

ARC BETWEEN APSE AND DOME

“Dinner at the Pharisee's house” 1730/32 by Michelangelo Cerruti (1663/1748)

“Cerruti could not be part of the Academy of St. Luke. He opposed it in fact when, for the approval of a new statute that introduced a rigid and binding control of the members of the Academy on all the most important works in the field of fine arts, a dispute arose for the defense of the rights of the artists not belonging to the Academy. (...) Integration and adaptation of figurative painting with the real architecture of the church can be seen in the decoration of the ceiling and the arch of the tribune in St. Mary Magdalene, carried out in 1732 at the behest of father Costantini, provincial of Rome, with a wealth of inventions and innovations. We mention, among other things, the solution of fresco in the tribune in which the Supper in the Pharisee's house is represented as if it were the figuration of a tapestry held and expanded by angels in flight” (Michele Cordaro - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

DOME

“Holy Trinity in Glory” and spandrels “Doctors of the Church” 1739 by Etienne Parrocel (1696/1774)

TO THE LEFT OF THE MAIN ALTAR - CHAPEL OF THE RELICS

Above the altar “Death of St. Joseph” by Antonio Gagliardi

3^rd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. NICHOLAS OF BARI

1673 Carlo Fontana

Covered in marble in 1696 by Mattia De Rossi (1637/95) and Francesco Carlo Bizzaccheri (1655/1721)

Above the altar “Christ, Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas of Bari” 1698 by G.B. Gaulli aka Baciccio (1639/1709)

“Using the brightness of Veronese, Baciccio cleared out Roman painting of the seventeenth century, opposing his terse and brilliant color solutions not only to the anachronisms, but also to whatever more advanced one could see in Rome at that time. It would suffice to enter today in any Roman church where there is an altar piece or a fresco by Gaulli to notice the incredible difference in terms of values of light and colors compared to what one could see around. This quality of light and colors, mind you, is not the one of the Thirties, from the Veneto region, inspired by Titian's bodied and dense matter that dissolves the form, but it is substantiated by smooth and unwrinkled surfaces designed with drawing, which, for their uniformity of matter, are even more vivid” (Francesco Petrucci)

On the sides “Miracles of St. Nicholas” by Bonaventura Lamberti (about 1653/1721)

2^nd LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. LORENZO GIUSTINIANI

Above the altar “St. Lawrence Giustiniani adoring the Child” 1704 by Luca Giordano (1634/1705), his last masterpiece

“The speed with which he produced his great improvisations was proverbial, and he was soon nicknamed 'Luca fa presto' (Luca is quick). He considered the whole past an open book for his own purposes. He studied Dürer as well as Lucas Van Leyden, Rubens as well as Rembrandt, Ribera as well as Veronese, Titian as well as Raphael and he was able to paint in any way he chose, but he never copied. He was inspired by all traditions rather than being tied to one and his personal style is always unmistakable. Evidently the purpose of painting for him was fun. In Rome and Venice his influence became extraordinarily strong, and on an international scale the effect of his art cannot be overstated” (Rudolf Wittkower)

Above the pediment of the altar fresco “Angels in Flight” by Girolamo Pesci (1679/1759)

On the left “Tomb of Maffeo Farsetti” 1704 by Giuseppe Mazzuoli (1644/1725)

1^st LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE ASSUMPTION

Above the altar “Assumption” by Girolamo Pesci who also painted the angels on the ceiling

SACRISTY

1739 Francesco Rosa (active from 1674/d. 1687) in rococo style, one of Rome's most beautiful

Closets at the corners 1740 by Domenico Barbiani

In the vault “Glory of Sts. Camillus and Filippo Neri” by Girolamo Pesci

On the first floor CHAPEL OF St. CAMILLUS with his relics 1732 by Emanuel Rodriguez Dos Santos, in the place where St. Camillus died

St. MARY IN TRIVIO

S. MARIA IN TRIVIO

Piazza dei Crociferi 49

Built in the first half of the sixth century by Belisarius, the general of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527/565), to make amends for the deposition of Pope Silverio (536/537), after having freed Rome by the Goths in the year 537 during the Greek-Gothic war (535/553)

This piece of news is reported on a plaque of the twelfth century on the outside of the church

Rebuilt in the eleventh century and again in the years 1573/75 by Jacopo Del Duca (about 1520/1604), assistant of Michelangelo Buonarroti, who also designed the FAÇADE

Formerly known as S. Maria in Xenodochio or S. Maria in Sinodo. The current name was introduced in the fourteenth century

It is now entrusted to the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood

VAULT

Spectacular paintings “Circumcision”, “Presentation in the Temple” and “Assumption”

Frescoes in the spandrels “Life of the Virgin Mary”

In the lunettes “Angels”

In the triumphal arch stucco relief “Triumph of the Cross” all masterpieces of the years 1669/70 the great painter from Rieti Antonio Gherardi (1638/1702), probably helped for the lunettes by Giacinto Calandrucci (1646/1707)

“Within a deliberately archaic compositional scheme, Gherardi gives life, through many cultural references, to a complex pictorial synthesis in which he mixes the Lombard culture, in particular echoes the art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio filtered through the interpretation of Mattia Preti, the art of the early masters, Pier Francesco Mola and Pietro da Cortona, the study of the great Venetian painting style of the sixteenth and the Bolognese one of the seventeenth century; to this he added his interest for the work of Giuseppe Coli and Filippo Gherardi, pupils of Pietro da Cortona and responsible, in 1665, for the decoration of the ceiling of the library of S. Giorgio Maggiore in Venice” (Ivana Corsetti - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

2^nd ARCH ON THE RIGHT - ALTAR OF OUR LADY OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD AND OF THE MISSIONS

In the arch seven small paintings “Tales of Christ and of the Virgin Mary” by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606/80) from Bologna

3^rd ARCH ON THE RIGHT - ALTAR OF THE CRUCIFIX

“Painted wooden Crucifix” Venetian work of the sixteenth century

In the arch five small paintings “Scenes of the Passion of Christ” by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi

4^th ARCH ON THE RIGHT

On the altar “Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, Sts. John and Mary Magdalene” by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi

MAIN ALTAR

“Virgin Mary and Child” first half of the fifteenth century by an unknown artist maybe from Umbria or Marche

SIDE DOORS OF THE PRESBYTERY

Frescoes on the right “Pope St. Liberius (352/366)” and on the left “St. Cletus (76/88)” the legendary third pope after St. Peter and St. Linus

4^th ARCH ON THE LEFT

Above the altar “Martyrdom of St. Cletus” end of the sixteenth century by the Capuchin friar Paolo Piazza aka Cosimo Piazza

3rd ARCH ON THE LEFT - ALTAR OF St. GASPAR DEL BUFALO

Above the altar “St. Gaspar in glory” 1939 by Guido Francisi (1886/1945)

Under the altar urn with the relics of St. Gaspar del Bufalo

“Gilded bronze statue of St. Gaspar del Bufalo” 1954 by Aurelio Mistruzzi

2nd ARCH ON THE LEFT

Above the altar “St. Mary Magdalene receives communion from the angel” 1672 by Luigi Scaramuccia (1616/80) from Perugia

ANTI-CHAMBER OF THE SACRISTY

“S. Camillo heals a sick member of the Crescenzi family” by Antonio Gherardi

GARDEN

Tree under which S. Filippo Neri loved to retire in prayer

St. MARY IN COSMEDIN

S. MARIA IN COSMEDIN

Piazza Bocca della Verità 18

Sixth century AD over the ARA MAXIMA OF HERCULES (Hercules' High Altar) an extremely ancient temple, rebuilt in the second century BC

Enlarged in 782 by Adrian I (772/795) and called Kosmidion (adorned) for the beautiful decorations: to make building material for the extension, a large marble temple, which used to be behind the church, was burned for an entire year

Restored in about 860 by Nicholas I (858/867), who also built the adjacent building known as the PALACE OF NICHOLAS I which he used occasionally as his dwelling

“He built it as a large and spacious house where, when necessary, the popes could take refuge and settle comfortably with their families. He fortified it and supplied it with ramparts and with a ring of walls and battlements. It was built over previous constructions by Hadrian and over the Ara Massima” (Giuseppe Massimi)

Restored further in about 1119 by Gelasius II (1118/19), who raised up to two meters the floor level, and in 1123 by Callistus II (1119/24) who consecrated it and transformed the Palace of Nicholas I in PALAZZO DIACONALE (Diaconate Palace). It was later changed profoundly and it is currently known as PALAZZO DELLA PANTANELLA

In 1719 the FAÇADE of the church was rebuilt by Giuseppe Sardi (1680/1753)

In the years 1893/99 it was restored to the Romanesque style by G.B. Giovenale (1849/1934)

It is officiated with the Greek-Melkite Rite

BELL TOWER

Twelfth century. Bell dating back to 1289 still working

PORTICO

“Monument of the prelate Alfano” about 1120, camerarius (assistant of the pope and administrator of the church's assets) of Callistus II, perhaps the promoter of the renewed Roman classicism of the early twelfth century

In an ARCH there are traces of paintings with “Annunciation” and “Nativity” of the fifteenth century

Opposite the main door two fragments of a jaw of a large toothed whale are hung, maybe a sperm whale

“Nothing can be said for sure about their provenance. They are well preserved and not fossilized. It will not be out of place to mention here that close by there was the large inland port of the Emporium and the Forum Piscatorium (fish market), and that in the latter, precisely in the walls of the church of S. Angelo in Pescheria, is still stuck a Roman tombstone which reads in Latin: 'The heads of fish longer than this marble are given to the Conservatives until the wee fins'. Will there be any relation between these facts and the bones?” (Giuseppe Massimi)

Famous “Mouth of Truth” placed here in 1632

It weighs about 1,300 kg (1.4 tons)

It is a marble manhole cover of the classical age representing the face maybe of a river god or of Okéanos (ocean). It is connected to the famous legend according to which the hand would be cut to the liars who would introduce it into the slot representing the mouth

Recently it has been convincingly suggested that this famous manhole cover was originally placed in the center of the floor of the Pantheon. Others believe it comes from the nearby Temple of Hercules Victor or Olivarius

BARBARIC PORTAL

Maybe of the ninth century with sculptures “Evangelists and decoration with plants and animals” signed by Johannes de Venetia

FLOOR

Eighth century in opus sectile (inlaid marble), one of the best preserved in all of Rome

NAVE

Remains of frescos of the centuries VIII, IX and XII

“The cycle of the twelfth century overlaps a previous decoration, comprising heads of prophets within medallions, which appear also on the right wall, dated by G.B. Giovanale at the time of Nicholas I (858/867). Hélène Toubert, in her fundamental study of the early Christian revival in Roman painting of the twelfth century, judged the cycle of S. Maria in Cosmedin as the most extraordinary demonstration of the ability of Roman workshops to borrow from the classical repertoire: this is revealed especially in the compositional idea that unifies the levels and the individual stories in an ornamental texture of an absolutely antique flavor” (Serena Romano)

“Ten columns” of the Flavian period (69/96) inserted into the central and left naves, believed to have belonged to the Statio Annonae (the seat of the prefect), but more likely to a SHRINE IN CONNECTION WITH THE ALTAR OF HERCULES

ALTAR TO THE LEFT 

In a glass case is visible a “Skull attributed to St. Valentine”, a Roman priest, who was martyred in Rome, not to be confused with the patron saint of lovers, who lived during the same period and whose relics are kept in the city of Terni 

In the church there are plenty of other bones believed to be relics of saints

CANOPY

1294 by Deodato Cosma the Younger, signed Deodatus me fecit on the left side of the base of the front pediment

MAIN ALTAR

1123 in red granite

CHAIR

Dedication to the Virgin Mary, engraved for camerarius Alfano

APSE

Frescoes of the eleventh century, much restored

CHAPEL OF THE CHOIR ON THE RIGHT

1687 Tommaso Mattei

“Madonna and Child” fifteenth century, known as Theotókos (Mother of God), much restored

SACRISTY

“Epiphany” one of the fragments of mosaic with gold background of about 705 from the destroyed chapel of Pope John VII (705/707)

The Chapel of John VII was also known as Oratory of the Virgin Mary and it used to be in the right part of the ancient Basilica of St. Peter, near the entrance

This is the best preserved fragment. The others are in the Vatican Grottoes, in the church of S. Marco in Florence and in the Duomo of Orte

“It survives in it all the finesse and excellence of Roman art from the best times of the empire. This finesse and excellence survived the centuries and ignoring the rigidity of Byzantine forms, in the heydays of that stiff style, it gave us this masterpiece” (G.B. Giovenale)