Santa Maria in Via

Facade of the building

Coat of arms of Cardinal Antonio José González Zumárraga ( Ecuador ) on the far right at the entrance

The Basilica Santa Maria in Via ( Latin: Sanctae Mariae in Via ), also Madonna del Pozzo , is one of several hundred Catholic churches in Rome . It was built in its current baroque form from 1491 to 1513 and is located on Via del Tritone about 30 meters north of the Trevi Fountain in the Roman district of Trevi .

The church building , which like many in Rome does not have a steeple , consists of five chapels next to the nave and has a marble altar from 1758.

history

From the 9th century on there was a small church on the site. In 1165 the name Santa Maria in Via is first mentioned in a document. In Via means on the way and refers to the nearby Roman road Via Flaminia .

The domicile of Cardinal Pietro Capocci was located there . According to legend, water leaked on the night of September 26, 1256, whereupon a picture of Mary , the mother of Jesus , was seen on the water shortly afterwards . When he took it, the water immediately disappeared. Pope Alexander IV declared this incident to be a miracle and caused a chapel to be built, which is still preserved today (today the first on the right). The depression is still there.

Pope Innocent VIII had the building rebuilt in the late 15th century. The facade was designed by Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602).

In 1551 Pope Julius III declared. the church to the titular church Titulus Sanctae Mariae in Via ; first cardinal priest was Giulio della Cornea , briefly this was also Saint Robert Bellarmin SJ . The Ecuadorian Cardinal Antonio González Zumárraga was the owner until his death in October 2008 . The current cardinal priest is Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga from Ecuador . The church serves as the national church in Rome for the Ecuadorian congregation.