San Vitale (Rome)
| Santi Vitale e Compagni martiri in Fovea | |
|---|---|
| Patronage : | Hll. Vitalis and Valeria |
| Rank: | Basilica minor |
| Cardinal priest : | Adam Joseph Cardinal Maida |
| Parish: | Santi Vitale e Compagni martiri in Fovea |
| Address: | Via Nazionale 194 B 00184 Roma |
The church of Santi Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio , with the full name Santi Vitale e Compagni martiri in Fovea or San Vitale for short , is a church in Rome . It is parish church , station church and title church of the Roman Catholic Church and has the rank of a minor basilica .
location
The church was originally located on the vicus longus , today's Via Nazionale in the 1st Roman Rione Monti , about 300 meters east of the Quirinal Palace .
Building history
Under Pope Innocent I (401–417) a new parish church was built between 408 and 412 under the direction of Presbyters Ursicinus and Leopardus together with the deacon Livianus. The funds for the acquisition of the property and for the church building came from a donation from the prominent Roman Vestina ( illustris femina Vestina ), as reported in the Liber Pontificalis . For this purpose, Hugo Brandenburg out that it was remarkable that the construction of the church building at the time was already in the hands of clerics who on behalf of the bishop to administer Rome the means to plan the buildings and and had to perform. This early Christian church is a new building that did not emerge from a previous parish hall ( ecclesia domestica ). It was a three-aisled basilica with an apse to the west and a porch to the east.
As can be seen in the Liber Pontificalis , Pope Leo III. (795–816) replace every third of the total of 14 columns in the central nave with a pillar . After further restorations in the 12th and 13th centuries, the church was in 1475 under Pope Sixtus IV. (1471-1484) in a single-nave hall church rebuilt.
At the beginning of the 17th century it received a new interior in the style of that era. In 1859 it was restored and in 1958 the vestibule was returned to its original state.
The church was under the control of the Jesuits for almost three hundred years, from 1598 to 1880 .
Naming and patronage
Both the name of the church and the church patron have changed several times.
Pope Innocent I consecrated the church around 412 as basilica sanctorum Gervasi et Protasi , i.e. St. Gervasius and Protasius, and elevated it to the title church with the name Titulus Vestinae . Both names were in use side by side until 499. In 595 the name Titulus sancti Vitalis , which is still common today, was used for the first time . The term Sancti Vitalis in Vico Longo is also used in the Einsiedeln catalog (end of the 8th century) .
The Patrozinium of from Milan derived martyrs gervasius and protasius and the final Patrozinium Martyr Vitalis can be explained by the fact that Bishop Ambrose of Milan (339-397) 386 initially raise the bones of the brothers gervasius and protasius in Milan and in the basilica Today's name S. Ambrogio was transferred, and that in 396 in his presence the relics of Vitalis were found in the Jewish cemetery in Bologna and were also transferred to Milan. The connection of the names of the brothers Gervasius and Protasius with Vitalis is therefore purely coincidental "and partly due to the fact that Galla Placidia had the relics of all three saints transferred from Milan to Bologna in 409, whereupon they were always mentioned in close connection." Cult of the martyr Vitalis spread rapidly from the end of the 4th century, as the examples in Ravenna and Rome show.
Exterior
Today the church is about 6 meters below the street level of Via Nazionale , from where 35 steps of a wide stone staircase lead to the small forecourt.
The three-aisled pillar basilica with a semicircular apse, built around 410, was approx. 51 m long. 14 granite columns each with Corinthian capitals supported arcades and ceilings with arched windows under an open roof. The central nave and vestibule were separated by five arcades. Originally, the church is said to have had its own baptistery .
Under Pope Sixtus IV. (1585–1590), the early Christian basilica was converted into a single-nave large hall church (around 1475) while retaining the nave and apse. After the two aisles were torn down, the walled arcades of the nave formed the new outer walls with three tall rectangular windows each.
From the early Christian building are still visible today: On the right outside the nave wall with the arcade arches walled up in 1475, columns and capitals of the former central nave, the mighty apse walls , now secured by buttresses, as well as the vestibule with the granite columns and the lower parts of the facade.
The portal vestibule each had four granite columns with specially made composite capitals both on the outside and in the originally open access to the nave. The marble capitals are adorned with acanthus leaves .
Since the beginning of the 17th century, the portal of the church has had double wooden doors with carved reliefs depicting scenes from the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola and scenes of torture are depicted, including those of Gervasius, Protasius and Vitalis.
Interior
The longitudinal space of the former central nave merges into the presbytery, which has been raised by two steps, and ends in a semicircular apse, which was reinforced and narrowed by an inner wall during the redesign at the end of the 16th century. The coffered ceiling with paintings was drawn in around 1600. On the left and right of the walls there are two side altars in aedicule shape from the beginning of the 17th century.
The frescoes on the walls depict scenes of martyrs in landscapes and pseudo-architecture . According to recent research, they were executed between 1595 and 1610 by Tarquinio Ligustri from Viterbo and Annibale Priori; the older literature attributed the wall paintings to Gaspard Poussin and Cavalier d'Arpino . The frescoes in the chancel by Agostino Ciampelli depict the stoning and torture of St. Vitalis das (Tuscan mannerism from the early 17th century).
Cardinal priest
List of cardinal priests from Santi Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio
The current owner of the title is Adam Joseph Maida .
literature
- Hugo Brandenburg : The early Christian churches in Rome from the 4th to the 7th century . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, pp. 163–164 and 323.
- Walther Buchowiecki / Brigitte Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. The Roman sacred building in history and art from early Christian times to the present. Volume 4, Hollinek, Vienna 1997, pp. 201-226.
- Marco Bussagli (Ed.): Rome - Art & Architecture. Könemann, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-8290-2258-1 .
- Anton Henze u. a .: Art guide Rome . Reclam, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-15-010402-5 , p. 274.
- Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - A Vademecum . Herder, Freiburg 2016, pp. 186–188.
- Johann M. Wiesel: Rome. Kohlhammer art and travel guide . 7th edition, Stuttgart 1980.
Web links
- Ss. Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed January 30, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ^ Parrochia Santi Vitale e Compagni martiri in Fovea , Diocese of Rome, vicariatusurbis.org
- ↑ Hugo Brandenburg: The early Christian churches in Rome from the 4th to the 7th century , Regensburg 2013, p. 163.
- ↑ Anton Henze u. a .: Art guide Rome . Stuttgart 1994, p. 274.
- ↑ Walther Buchowiecki / Brigitte Kuhn-Forte: Handbook of the Churches of Rome. The Roman sacred building in history and art from early Christian times to the present. Volume 4, Vienna 1997, p. 202.
- ↑ Lexicon for Theology and Church (LThK), Volume 4, Herder, Freiburg 2006, Sp. 541f. and Volume 10, Col. 826f.
- ^ Lexicon of Christian Iconography (LCI), Volume 6, Herder, Freiburg, 2004, Sp. 408ff. and Volume 8, Col. 578.
- ↑ Hans Georg Wehrens: Rome - The Christian sacred buildings from the 4th to the 9th century - A Vademecum . Herder, Freiburg 2016, pp. 186ff. with floor plans of the early Christian basilica and the hall church from the 15th century.
- ↑ Anton Henze u. a .: Art guide Rome . Stuttgart 1994, p. 274.
- ↑ Wiesel: Rome. An art and travel guide , pp. 203–204.
Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 59 " N , 12 ° 29 ′ 26.6" E