Santa Maria della Vittoria (Rome)

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Basic data
Patronage : Mary (mother of Jesus)
Consecration day : 1620
Cardinal priest : Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley ,
Archbishop of Boston
Address: Via XX Settembre, 17
00187 Roma
Facade of Santa Maria della Vittoria
Fresco in the apse
Ceiling fresco nave
The rapture of Saint Theresa , Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini

Santa Maria della Vittoria ( Latin : Sanctae Mariae de Victoria ) is a Baroque church in Rome . It is located on Via XX Settembre in the north of the old town, approx. 500 m east of the Quirinal Palace and 150 m north of the Piazza della Repubblica . The church is the titular church of Seán Patrick O'Malley .

The church was built by the builder Carlo Maderno in the years 1608–1620 for the Order of the Discalced Carmelites . The facade made of Roman travertine from Tivoli was added in the years 1624–1626 by Giovanni Battista Soria (1581–1651) on behalf of Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese .

The church dedicated to Mary of Victory replaced a chapel that bore the patronage of the Apostle Paul .

The image of Mary

On November 8, 1620, the Catholic League defeated the Protestants in the Battle of White Mountain . According to legend, the Carmelite brother Dominicus a Jesu Maria carried a picture of the Holy Family from the castle chapel in Strakonice into battle, the eyes of which were gouged out by Protestants in all figures except for the baby Jesus. This angered the Catholic soldiers so much that they stormed the hill of the Bohemian army with the battle cry Santa Maria and took it by surprise. On May 8, 1622, the image that sparked the victory on the White Mountain was carried to the new church in Rome and attached to the main altar, which was then named Santa Maria della Vittoria (Holy Mary of Victory) .

Furnishing

The church building consists of a single-nave room with eight side chapels. The interior decorations of the church follow the typical baroque style, i.e. stucco , frieze and colored marble . The ceiling fresco in the apse shows the arrival of the miraculous image in Prague and is by Luigi Serra . The ceiling fresco in the nave Triumph of the Blessed Virgin over Heresy comes from the brothers Giuseppe and Andrea Orzi. The chapels contain numerous works of art, including three paintings by Domenichino , the last works that the artist executed in Rome. The most famous works, however, are in the last two chapels in front of the choir.

In the Cappella San Giuseppe a group of sculptures by Domenico Guidi depicts the dream of St. Joseph . The work of art represents the thematic counterpart to St. Theresa. Under the altar are the relics of the Roman martyr Victoria .

In the Cornaro Chapel you will find one of Bernini's most beautiful statues , the rapture of St. Theresa , which was executed around 1646. The chapel was donated by the Venetian Cardinal Federico Cornaro . On the sides, members of the Cornaro family are depicted as in theater boxes.

In the sacristy there is a painting of the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, and other paintings commemorating the battles of Christian armies against the Ottomans , in particular Lepanto 1571 and Peterwardein 1716 , from which the Rosary Festival is derived.

Some of the furnishings in the apse and the original Madonna picture were destroyed in a fire in 1833. The glass windows date from 1955–1956.

Others

In Vienna and Prague there are churches consecrated to the same patronage with contemporary copies of the miraculous image of the White Mountain.

Trivia

The church, in particular the famous sculpture by Bernini, plays a central role in the novel Angels & Demons by Dan Brown . However, the author wrongly places them in Piazza Barberini, about 500 meters west of the actual location .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Štěpán Vácha: The ruler in the sacred image at the time of the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque: An Iconological Study of the Representation of Emperor Ferdinand II. In Bohemia , Prague 2009, pp. 262–269. ISBN 978-80-86890-23-4
  2. ↑ Anton Henze u. a., Rome and Latium (= Reclams Art Guide Italy Vol. V). 1981 p. 247

literature

Web links

Commons : Santa Maria della Vittoria  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ′ 16.9 "  N , 12 ° 29 ′ 39.2"  E