Santa Maria in Cappella

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Santa Maria in Cappella
Patronage : St. Mary
Consecration day : March 25, 1090
Medal: Vincentians (FdC)
Parish: San Crisogono
Address: Vicolo di Santa Maria in Cappella, 6

00153 Roma

View from the forecourt to the facade and the bell tower

Santa Maria in Cappella , also Santa Maria della Pigna , is a church in Rome . Parts of it date back to the 11th century and, among other things, served as a hospital. Its history has been closely linked to the history of the Doria-Pamphilj since the 17th century . In the church, the later Pope Pius IX. ordained a priest. Today it is, mostly not open to the public, the church of a neighboring old people's home run by the Vincentian Sisters.

Location and naming

The church is in the XIII. Roman Rione Trastevere on the Vicolo di Santa Maria in Cappella named after her , about 300 meters south of the Tiber Island .

The history of the name and surname is complicated and not entirely clear. The patronage of St. Mary has been secured since the 11th century, before that the church is said to have been consecrated to Jesus Christ as Salvator Mundi , which is unclear and controversial, possibly because it was confused with the early history of San Salvatore delle Coppelle . The derivation of the epithet in Cappella is also unclear. There are three theories about this: The simplest is that the church was actually a chapel before, which is rejected. The next says that it is a blurring of Cuppella , which is a derivation of the trade of the guild of cooper ( Cuppella = small barrel), which is also called Barilari in Italian . The church was in their possession, but only since 1540, so this option is ruled out due to the nickname, which has been proven since the 12th century. The most likely theory derives the epithet from a misread and so passed on, still preserved, dedicatory inscription from 1050. It says in one sentence: QV (A) E APPELL (ATVR) AD PINEA (M) . From E APELL A of Beinamenswechsel of to ad Pineam to in Cappella arise.

History and building history

An early Christian inscription from the second half of the 4th century was found under the church during construction work in the 19th century , but so far there are no further indications of the existence of a church building from this period at precisely this point. According to the inscription still preserved in the church, concerning the consecration on March 25, 1090, the building was a foundation of a Damasus , but the church is possibly a little older. The appearance of the original building is not entirely clear either, it may have been built with three naves at that time. In 1113 an altar was consecrated in the church by four bishops. The church is mentioned in various medieval catalogs, for example 1230 and 1320.

A hospice for the poor and a hospital were added as early as 1391 , both foundations by the in-laws of St. Francis of Rome , who also worked here, intensively from 1401 onwards. The architect was the saint's brother-in-law, Andreozzo Ponziani. The first hospital ward was probably set up in the right aisle, which was then separated. After Franziska's death in 1440, the Oblates of the Tor de'Specchi monastery , which she founded, took over the church and the charitable institutions. However, the facilities and the church fell into disrepair afterwards, so that from 1540 the guild of Fassbinder , the Compagnia de 'Barilari , was given the church, restored and partially refurbished. The left aisle was temporarily used as a hay store. The hospital was only reopened in the first quarter of the 17th century, it was used specifically for Bohemian pilgrims. The reopening was arranged by Cardinal Giangarzia Millini before 1629. A testamentary decree of Cardinal Antonio Barberini from 1645 stipulated that bread should be distributed here every month to the needy.

Pope Innocent X handed the church over to his sister-in-law Olimpia Maidalchini on January 23, 1653 , who had previously bought land right next to the building and had a pleasure garden and a villa built. A restoration of the church was carried out by Olimpia Maidalchini's son, Camillo Pamphilj , in the 17th century. After that, despite a facade construction from the 17th or 18th century, the church and building again fell into disrepair, at least the hospital still remained in function. In 1760, due to the extinction of the Pamphilj, the area came to Giovanni Andrea IV. Doria , eight years later the Doria adopted the double name Doria-Pamphilj . His son Giorgio Andrea IV. Doria-Pamphili-Landi transferred the church to the brotherhood Pia Unione di S. Paolo Apostolo delle Genti in November 1796 and donated liturgical implements. In 1857 Filippo Andrea V. donated Doria Pamphilj money to set up a hospital for the chronically ill, after which construction work began. The Doria-Pamphilj family had the church extensively restored in 1858, and from that year on, the Vincentians took over the church and monastery. However, the mediaeval frescoes that can still be seen on a watercolor by Achille Pinelli disappeared . From 1880 to 1881, also financed by the Doria-Pamphilj, the church was completely restored by the architect Andrea Busiri Vici , decorated with frescoes and the dilapidated right aisle restored and rebuilt. From 1891 to 1892 the left aisle was rebuilt. In 1971 the Santa Francesca Romana retirement home was set up, the church of which is under construction today. Due to severe static problems, a restoration was started in the 1980s, but it had to struggle with considerable financial problems.

Facade and campanile

Main nave

The simple facade in its current form comes from the renovations at the end of the 19th century, but still contains some older parts. It is uniaxial and single-storey. Above the simple portal there is a prothyrus , in its lunette there is a figure of Mary with a child between two pine trees , as a reminiscence of the old name. The work is modern and was done in 1966. The arched window above, however, has been in this location since 1754 at the latest. It has been suggested that the cornice was still medieval which turned out to be wrong, it is also a 19th century work. Behind the cornice visible today, however, there may still be remains of the original.

The campanile to the right behind the facade is still medieval, it dates from the 11th century, a source named the 12th century, but has been refuted by analyzes. The two floors contain biforic windows , but the floors are not separated by a ceiling, the interior runs from the floor to the top. A medieval capital has been preserved.

Interior

Apse dome
Cross Urban VIII

Today the church is a three-aisled columned basilica . Today it has been restored to the way it looked in the Middle Ages. The rows of columns do not run parallel to the choir, but slightly apart. The width at the entrance is 12.50 meters, the last row of columns in front of the choir is 13.15 meters apart. The columns themselves in all column shafts are antique, as are the capitals of the right column row, they follow the Corinthian order . The capitals of the left row, following those on the right, were made in the 19th century. The straight architrave for a medieval church instead of the arcade arches to be expected is rare . Even before the construction of San Crisogono , this type of building was in the tradition of Santa Maria Maggiore .

The church is not covered in the central nave, so that the roof structure is visible, the cross vaults of the side aisles are of later date and were not in their original state. On the right-hand side of the entrance room is the aforementioned dedicatory inscription from 1090, opposite another centuries-old inscription, the exact age of which as well as that of the incised drawing are unknown. It reads: ABSCONDITE ELEMOSINAM / IN SINV PAVPERVM / & IPSA ORABIT PRO VOBIS , probably a reference to Franziska von Rom.

The gallery above the entrance dates from the 16th century with additions from the 19th century. The pilasters of the triumphal arch follow the Tuscan order . The apse and altar niche were rebuilt in 1858 and painted in the same year. The high altar is a work from the late 19th century, behind it is the statue of the Immaculate Conception from 1858. The base of the figure is a Spolie , a column drum.

The right aisle contains various oil paintings with depictions of saints from the 20th century, and another ancient column is walled up in the inner wall. In the aisle in front there is a sarcophagus with an altar, in it are the relics of St. Aurelia .

The left aisle is decorated with marble , an inscription commemorates the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius IX as a priest. Under the fourth yoke there is a painting depicting Mary with the child and St. Charles Borromeo and Gregory the Great . It dates from 1727 and was commissioned by a Spanish officer. In the side aisle, on the second yoke, there was a fresco from the Pietro Cavallini school until about 1966 ; it is no longer there today.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Diocese of Rome
  2. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. Pp. 575-576.
  3. ↑ With reference to sleeves, possible errors in Armellini, s. Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 575.
  4. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 576.
  5. ↑ a b c Claudio Rendina: Le Chiese di Roma. P. 235.
  6. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 576.
  7. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 581.
  8. ^ Rejected by the majority of authors, reference from Kuhn-Forte: Handbuch der Kirchen Roms. P. 576.
  9. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 577.
  10. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 579.
  11. ↑ Both spellings are possible: Pamphilj as well as Pamphili , cf. with the Doria family - The Princes of Melfi .
  12. ↑ Picture on Flickr .
  13. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 582.
  14. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 582.
  15. ^ Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. P. 584.
  16. ^ Inscription first mentioned in 1664, Kuhn-Forte: Handbuch der Kirchen Roms. P. 585.

literature

  • Brigitte Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. Founded by Walther Buchowiecki. 4th volume, Verlag Brüder Hollinek, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-85119-266-4 .
  • Claudio Rendina: Le Chiese di Roma. Newton Compton, Rome 2007, ISBN 978-88-541-0931-5 .

Web links

Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 14.4 "  N , 12 ° 28 ′ 41.3"  E