Santa Maria in Aquiro

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Basic data
Patronage : St. Mary
Consecration day : April 11, 1728
Cardinal Deacon : Angelo Amato SDS
Address: Piazza Capranica

00186 Roma

Facade on the Piazza Capranica
Interior of the church

Santa Maria in Aquiro , also Santa Maria in Cyro, is a church in Rome . It is also the title diakonia of the Roman Catholic Church , parish church and monastery church of the Somaskians . It is also the Roman center of devotion to Mary of Lourdes . It received its current external appearance essentially in the late 16th century, while the interior was largely designed in the 19th century in the neo-baroque style.

location

The church is in the III. Roman Rione Colonna right next to the Palazzo Capranica on the Piazza Capranica named after it , about 130 meters northeast of the Pantheon .

History and building history

View of the main altar
Facade, frontal

A church that was already on this site was built in the 8th century under Pope Gregory III. newly built. It probably got its name (its origin was disputed for a long time) from a corruption of the name of an abbot Cyrus or Abbacyrus; the name in Aquiro is documented for the first time in 1143. After a suggestion by Ignatius Loyolas , the church was opened by Pope Paul III. 1540 Seat of a society that cares for orphans (Pia Opera degli Orfanelli) , the orphanage and a hospice were set up in the neighboring monastery. A bull by Pope Pius V of 1571 united the parish with that of Santo Stefano dell Trullo . After the church of the same name belonging to this parish had been profaned and abandoned in the late 17th century, numerous spoils and other objects came into the possession of the church, including ancient Roman reliefs that are now in the courtyard of the Conservator's Palace. From 1590 the church was completely rebuilt, initially according to plans and under the supervision of Francesco da Volterras . After his death in 1594 Carlo Maderno took over the further work, but it was interrupted in 1602 after the death of the donor Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati . Construction work was not resumed until 1681 and the apse was completed under the direction of Mattia de Rossi . The previously missing upper floor of the facade with the bell towers was built in 1774. After a fire in 1845, the church was thoroughly rebuilt in the neo-baroque style from 1856 to 1866.

The new holder of the title, Angelo Cardinal Amato, took possession of the Church on Friday, February 11, 2011.

facade

The facade is two-story and five-axis. Flat pilasters with a Baroque variant of Ionic capitals are presented on either side of the main portal . The outer pilasters of the central axis are stepped towards the side portals, the side portals carry segmental arches , the main portal is designed as an aedicule portal with a triangular gable. The program of the central axis is repeated on the upper floor, with the pilasters now bearing Corinthian capitals. Above the arched window of the upper floor, flanked by two small full columns and decorated with a balustrade, a simple triangular gable completes the facade, crowned by a cross with flame vases and a pedestal. The two bell towers, which are rather unusual for Roman churches, have Tuscan-style capitals on the corner pillars , the balustrades below the open acoustic windows are convexly curved, the windows themselves are spanned by segmental arches.

inner space

Today the church presents itself as a three-aisled pillar basilica. Side chapels were added to the side aisles, the crossing is spanned by a dome, followed by a choir and a round apse . The vaults were designed as barrel vaults with stitch caps. The windows of the upper aisle are rectangular and finished with a segmental arch at the top. The dome drum is broken through by eight simple windows.

Most of the frescoes in the nave are by Cesare Mariani from 1865 and 1866. They depict Fathers of the Church on the pillars and scenes from Mary's life on the walls. The stucco angels of the central nave are by Luigi Fontana , those of the crossing by Luigi Simonetti . The frescoes on the crossing, the dome pendants and the dome itself are also by Mariani. The choir is decorated with pilasters with capitals of the Tuscan order, the marble paneling of the walls is painted. The design for this comes from Luca Carimi . The painting on the high altar depicts the Visitation of Mary and is said to come from Giovanni Battista Buoncore from the 17th century. Or maybe it's a copy from the 19th century.

The first chapel on the right contains a representation of St. Sebastian ; it is a Lombard work from the beginning of the 17th century.

The third chapel on the right is still in its original condition from the beginning of the 17th century, the frescoes were made by Carlo Saraceni . It also contains two oil paintings by the founders of the chapel, an Orazio Ferrari and Erminia Sordi.

The right transept contains (like the left one) a pulpit donated by Cardinal Pietro Vidoni in 1626. In this side aisle are the almost identical tombs of Lelio Virili (d. 1701) and Cardinal Luca Antonio Virili , who died in 1634. In the left transept there are two oil paintings with scenes from the life of St. Hieronymus Ämiliani , the founder of the Somaskan people . The grave of Cardinal Domenico Savelli, who died in 1864, is also located here .

The second chapel in the left aisle contains the main sights of the church: three frescoes by Giovanni Battista Speranza from the beginning of the 17th century. They represent an angel with a cross in the middle , carrying the cross on the left and nailing to the cross on the right . The altar painting is by Gerrit van Honthorst and depicts the Lamentation of Christ . The other two paintings in the chapel on the are also by this Dutch artist Side walls, on the left the depiction of the flagellation of Christ , on the right the crowning of thorns of Christ . Opposite the chapel is the tomb of Archbishop Carlo de Montecatini , who died in 1699.

The bishop of Foligno and humanist Blosio Palladio, who died in 1550, is buried in the church . His tomb is in the front yoke, his grave bust, created by an unknown artist, is based on a learned, antique style. Nevertheless, the work is considered “less demanding”.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On this in detail: Buchowiecki, Handbuch der Kirchen Roms , p. 472.
  2. ^ A b Rosendorfer, Kirchenführer Rom , p. 146.
  3. ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 470.
  4. ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 471.
  5. ↑ Vatican Information Services, VIS 20110201 (190)
  6. ↑ Wundram (Ed.): Reclams Kunstführer , p. 297.
  7. ↑ Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 474.
  8. ↑ a b Buchowiecki: Handbook of the Churches of Rome , p. 475.
  9. ↑ Wundram (Ed.): Reclams Kunstführer , p. 297.
  10. ↑ Bussagli (Ed.): Rom - Art & Architecture , p. 432.

literature

Web links

Commons : Santa Maria in Aquiro  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 59.9 "  N , 12 ° 28 ′ 41.4"  E