San Silvestro (Santi Quattro Coronati)
| Oratorio di San Silvestro | |
|---|---|
 Interior of the oratory |
|
| Start of building: | 1246 |
| Inauguration: | 1246 |
| Client: | Cardinal Stefano Normandis |
| Location: | 41 ° 53 '18 " N , 12 ° 29' 48.7" E |
| Location: |
Rome Rome , Lazio , Italy |
| Purpose: | roman catholic chapel |
The San Silvestro Oratory is a chapel inside the Augustinian Convent of Santi Quattro Coronati . Access is via the portico of the first outer courtyard of the basilica. According to Rendina, it is “an exceptional setting, a niche from the Middle Ages, better preserved than the church itself”.
history
The oratory was founded in 1246 at the behest of Cardinal Stefano de Normandis dei Conti, the cardinal priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere and nepot of Innocent III. , built and consecrated in the same year by the Bishop of Ostia Rinaldo dei Conti di Segni , as recorded on the plaque . Later (1248) decorated by Byzantine masters, it became the oratory of the guild of sculptors and stonemasons (called Marmorari ) in the 16th century .
description
In the lunette above the entrance door there is a fresco depicting Christ the Judge, Mary, John and the Apostles .
The interior of the oratory has a rectangular floor plan with a barrel vault. The floor is kept in the style of the cosmats . The vault is decorated with star and cross motifs, in its center there are five original majolica , which form a Greek cross . The base of the vault is decorated with a leaf frieze. On the entrance wall is a Last Judgment with the enthroned Christ , the Virgin Mary , St. John the Baptist , the apostles and two angels, one of whom folds the firmament.
Under this fresco there is a fresco cycle of eleven scenes on the left, right and entrance walls. Armellini reported in 1891 an inscription from which the date of origin 1248 could be seen: AD MCCXLVIII hoc opus divitia fieri fecit . This cycle of images is taken from Actus Silvestri and relates to the legendary life of Emperor Constantine I.
The motifs of the 11 scenes are:
- Entrance wall:
- Constantine fell ill with leprosy;
- In a dream Peter and Paul appear to the sick Constantine and ask him to bring Pope New Year's Eve back to Rome;
- The Imperial Envoys go to Monte Soratte to meet New Year's Eve.
- Left wall:
- The messengers of Constantine climb Mount Soratte;
- New Year's Eve returns to Rome and shows Constantine the pictures of Peter and Paul;
- Constantine is baptized on New Year's Eve;
- New Year's Eve sits on a throne in front of Constantine, who has been healed from leprosy;
- A New Year's Eve procession on horseback is accompanied by Constantine.
- Right wall:
- New Year's Eve revives the bull killed by a Jewish priest;
- Helena , Constantine's mother, finds the true cross ;
- New Year's Eve frees the Roman people from a dragon.
“ Gli affreschi costituirono una“ propaganda ”politica della falsa“ donazione di Costantino ”, sfruttata dal papato nelle lotte di prestigio contro l'imperatore fino a tutto il medioevo. "
"The frescoes are political" propaganda "of the falsified" Constantine Foundation ", which the papacy used in the prestige struggles against the emperor until the end of the Middle Ages."
“ Questi dipinti dovevano diventare un mezzo di propaganda per dimostrare la superiorità del potere della Chiesa di Roma su quello imperiale; a volerli fu papa Innocenzo IV., all'epoca in lotta con imperatore Federico II. "
“These paintings were to become a means of propaganda to demonstrate the superiority of the power of the Church of Rome over the imperial. Pope Innocent IV , who was in a power struggle with Emperor Friedrich II , wanted it. "
Cardinal Stefano Conti, who was elected the Pope's deputy during the Pope's flight to France, lived in this palace. So there is no better place than this oratory to remember that the Pope is not only the successor of St. Peter, but also the successor of Constantine and the Roman emperors.
In the 16th century the small, raised presbytery with three steps was added. The frescoes from 1574 refer to the martyrdom of the four Crowned and are the work of Raffaellino da Reggio.
credentials
- ↑ Rendina, op.cit., P. 320.
- ↑ The list of scenes comes from the website: Roma Medievale .
literature
- Mariano Armellini: Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX . Roma 1891, p. 500 (Italian, uchicago.edu ).
- C. Villa: Rione XIX Celio . In: I Rioni di Roma . Newton & Compton Editori, 2000, pp. 1124-1125 (Italian).
- C. Rendina: Le Chiese di Roma . Newton & Compton Editori, Milan 2000, p. 320-322 (Italian).
