Santa Maria dei Sette dolori
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Patronage : | St. Mary |
| Consecration day : | November 16, 1670 |
| Address: | Via Garibaldi, 27 00153 Roma |
Santa Maria dei Sette dolori is a church in Rome . It essentially comes from the 17th century and is a monastery church . It is known for the unusual and incomplete facade as well as for the architectural parts inside, which are probably based on ancient models.
location
The church is in the XIII. Roman Rione Trastevere about 100 meters north of the church of San Pietro in Montorio with the famous Tempietto di Bramante .
Building history
The wife of the Duke of Latera , Camilla Virginia Savelli Farnese , founded the Order of the Augustinians - Oblates of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin in 1641 . The church also got its nickname from the name of the order. The new order was confirmed by Pope Alexander VII in 1663. In the year it was founded, the Duchess acquired the land for the construction of the church and monastery, and later inherited other houses at this point. The monastery complex was built from 1642/43, and Francesco Borromini was commissioned to build it . However, he only delivered the drafts, the actual construction on site he handed over to Antonio del Grande . The first phase of construction under his direction was carried out by 1649. The church was completed except for parts of the vestibule, the portals and the right cylinder of the facade; the stucco work had also already been carried out inside. Two drawings of Borromini's designs have survived. They are now in the Albertina in Vienna - inventory numbers 645 and 642. The second construction phase is dated from 1658 to 1665. The master builder for this section was Francesco Contini . With the exception of the façade, which has not yet been completed, the missing components were added to it. The church was consecrated on November 16, 1670. The first major restoration was carried out in the middle of the 18th century. More followed in 1845, 1928 to 1929 and 1949 and 1958 to 1960. During the restoration in 1845, the interior of the church was repainted. The clear white monochrome of the interior, which is typical for Borromini, was lost.
facade
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There is still a design drawing for the facade, but only for the lower part, so that it is not possible to understand how Borromini had planned the upper part of the facade. There is now hardly any doubt that the facade should be plastered . The brick masonry facade is divided into seven axes and has two floors. The two outer axes contain convex "turrets", it is not known of the right one whether this was originally planned by Borromini. Its portal does not lead into the church or the vestibule , but into the cloister building of the monastery . The two outer of the middle three axes are raised in the basement and placed concave from the wall. They are separated from one another by simple pilasters , the surfaces are further structured by niches . The facade is strongly emphasized vertically, the small cornices add little emphasis to the horizontal structure. The middle part of the facade contains the portal, a window covered by a segment arch with the door below. This design can possibly be traced back to Borromini; he did not execute the portal, but only in 1665 by Francesco Contini's son, Giovanni Battista Contini . However, the portal is only hinted at on the surviving sketch.
The upper part of the facade remained without any design, only the two outer ones, the corner pilasters, which are twisted by 90 degrees due to the concave design of the basement, are continued. Borromini originally planned only two windows, that of the central axis and the left tower. All other windows are later additions that run counter to the original purpose of the facade design, namely to emphasize the severity of the order in the facade. Walter Buchowiecki comments on the facade as a whole: “ Pietro da Cortona's solution in Santa Maria dell Pace ... and Bernini's in Sant'Andrea al Quirinale take this element of a convex shape (note: the left“ tower ”is meant) against a concave background . .. more than a decade ahead ”.
Interior
The actual church interior is located, there are two other examples in Rome - the oratory of St. Filippo Neri and Re Magi , the chapel of the Palazzo di Propaganda Fide - parallel to the facade. Therefore, the portal of the central axis first leads into the vestibule. The basic shape of this room is an octagon , four sides are exits to the church or other rooms, the other four sides are designed as semicircular niches. Borromini evidently took the central hall of the so-called small thermal baths of Villa Adriana as a model for this design. He was probably familiar with the mapping of Francesco Conti from 1634 onwards. The vestibule contains a ceiling fresco , it depicts angels with banners, in the sides are cupboards made of walnut.
The church interior has a single nave and is constructed over an elongated rectangle, the corners are, typical for Borromini, semi-rounded. The room is covered by a flat barrel vault and contains a side chapel and the choir chapel on each side. The room is divided by three-quarter columns with composite capitals . The entablature is remarkable . Borromini does not allow the side chapels or exits to interrupt it, but rather folds it upwards at the appropriate places like a “Syrian arch” and lets it run through. There may also have been ancient models for this, the Canopus of Hadrian's villa, but also the Hadrian temple of Ephesus or the triclinium of Diocletian's Palace in Split . The effect of the entablature is that of a bracket of the room and is seen as a model for the design of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane .
The original pure white and white stucco design of the room was "fatally" completely lost in the 19th century due to the painting and marbling of the beams and the cladding of the columns with a kind of marble substitute. The original lighting is also very different due to the additional windows.
The left altar contains the image of the Holy. Augustine with a child on the beach , it was used by Carlo Maratta created around 1655, is called a period between 1652 and 1657. It is unique in that it is the only previously known representation of the saint, in which he is not shown in the regalia of a bishop, but in simple monk clothing.
The high altar contains the relics of St. Caesarius , a Christian who may have come from Terracina . He is said to have suffered his martyrdom under Emperor Nero .
On the left side of the church there is still the grave monument for the donor and her husband, a sarcophagus made of red stucco marble , which is supposed to imitate porphyry . It contains a portrait of the Duchess.
opening hours
Since the church is a monastery church, it is usually not open to the public.
literature
- Walter Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. 1st volume. Hollinek brothers, Vienna 1967.
- Stefan Grundmann (Ed.): Architectural Guide Rome. Menges, Stuttgart, London 1997, ISBN 3-930698-59-5 .
- Ursula Verena Fischer Pace: Art Monuments in Rome. 2 volumes. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1988.
Web links
- Chiesa e Monastero di S. Maria dei Sette Dolori , romeartlover.it (en)
Individual evidence
- ^ Fischer Pace: Kunstdenkmäler in Rom , p. 389.
- ↑ a b c Grundmann (Ed.): Architekturführer Rom , S. 214.
- ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 683.
- ↑ a b Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 684.
- ↑ a b Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 685.
- ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 686.
- ↑ a b c d e Grundmann (ed.): Architekturführer Rom , p. 215.
- ↑ a b Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 687.
- ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbuch der Kirchen Roms , p. 689, which assumes, however, that it has not been proven whether Borromini knew these buildings.
- ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 689.
- ^ Fischer Pace: Art Monuments in Rome , p. 390.
- ↑ a b Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 692.
- ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 691.
Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 23.8 " N , 12 ° 27 ′ 58.7" E