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This page displays exteriors of Nome di Maria and Santa Maria di Loreto at Trajan’s Forum, Santa Maria sopra Minerva (Rome’s only Gothic church), San Pietro in Vincoli (with St. Peter’s Chains and Michelangelo’s Moses), and a few images of other Roman Baroque church altars and exteriors.
Click an image to open a larger version. Use your back button to return to this page.
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Nome di Maria and Santa Maria di Loreto Nome di Maria and Trajan’s Column Twin Domes and Trajan’s Column Dome Detail: Nome di Maria Santa Maria di Loreto Dome Interior: Nome di Maria High Altar and Icon: Nome di Maria
Santa Maria sopra Minerva Gothic Apse and High Altar Maria Raggi and Urban VII The Tomb of Fra Angelico Michelangelo Christ the Redeemer
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San Pietro in Vincoli The Chains of St. Peter Michelangelo’s Moses The Tomb of Julius II
Santi Luca e Martina
Sant’Agnese in Agone Altar
Santa Maria in Campitelli Altar
Sant’Agostino Altar
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Rome Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Link to the Gallery with images of Rome: Assorted Churches
There are a number of images in this section that are not yet on the Photoshelter site. If an image you want is not yet uploaded, contact Ron Reznick (info at bottom of page).
There are 18 Galleries in the Photoshelter Rome Collection
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Santissimo Nome di Maria and Santa Maria di Loreto
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Nome di Maria Santa Maria Loreto Trajan's Column 6637 1500 x 1092 (544 KB)
Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano (or Nome di Maria), Santa Maria di Loreto, Trajan’s Column and the Quirinal Hill, from the Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II. These two similar looking churches stand across the street from Trajan’s Forum.
Nome di Maria was designed by Antoine Derizet (who also worked on San Luigi dei Francesi). The elliptical church sits on a chamfered square base not much larger than the drum of the dome. The church is essentially a dome with a tall drum and a small church used as a base for the drum.
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Thought Trajan’s Column Nome di Maria 6619 817 x 1290 (324 KB)
The dome from the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II. The foreground statue is Thought by Giulio Monteverde, and on the right is Trajan’s Column with the statue of St. Peter on top.
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Nome di Maria Trajan's Column 6636 M 1000 x 1600 (475 KB)
The first church on the site was built in the early 1400s and dedicated to San Bernardo. The church housed a 12th-13th c. icon of Mary which was transferred to Nome di Maria in 1741.
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Santa Maria Loreto Nome di Maria Trajan's Column 6614 1500 x 1125 (389 KB)
The two domes of Santa Maria di Loreto (left) and Nome di Maria, with Trajan’s Column.
After the power of the Ottoman Turks was broken at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Pope Innocent XI introduced the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary to celebrate the victory. A cult of the Holy Name was soon established by a Silvestrine (Benedictine) abbot (Dom Giuseppe Bianchi), who established a Confraternity (formally approved in 1688) known as Santissimo Nome di Maria, which moved to the church of San Bernardo in 1694. The congregation realized that they needed a new church as soon as they took over San Bernardo, so they commissioned Antoine Derizet (the French architect) to design and build them a church (1736-41) in the plot next door which they acquired in 1694.
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Nome di Maria Dome 6651 M 1000 x 1600 (394 KB)
Note the exceptional height of the drum of the dome. The balustrade atop the church walls (running around the dome) is adorned with Baroque statues of evangelists and prophets.
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Trajan's Column Nome di Maria 6642 960 x 1290 (331 KB)
Compare the design of the Baroque lantern of the dome of Nome di Maria with the “cricket cage” lantern of Santa Maria di Loreto shown below. The dome of Nome di Maria (and the lantern) were designed at the height of the Baroque period, but the dome of Santa Maria di Loreto was designed and built at the end of the Renaissance, 20 years before the Baroque period began. The cricket cage has many characteristics of the Baroque period even though it predated it by 20 years.
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Santa Maria di Loreto 6653 755 x 1290 (331 KB)
Santa Maria di Loreto was built in the early 16th century by the Guild of Bakers. The Renaissance church was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. Construction began in 1507 and the lower part of the church was completed in 1534.
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Santa Maria di Loreto Dome 6614c 800 x 1290 (332 KB)
The church was completed in 1682 by Giacomo del Duca, a pupil of Michelangelo (aka Jacopo), when he built the dome with its distinctive lantern known as the “cricket’s cage”. This lantern predated the Baroque period by almost 20 years, and its design has many Baroque elements. The dome (and the church) are both considerably smaller than Nome di Maria.
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Nome di Maria Trajan's Column 3749 1500 x 1092 (279 KB)
Trajan’s Column and the dome of Nome di Maria in the late afternoon from behind Trajan’s Forum.
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Nome di Maria Dome detail 6662 c1 960 x 1290 (523 KB)
Detail of the Baroque decoration on the interior of the dome. The dome has stucco medallions with scenes from the life of Mary, gilded leaves and branches in ornate patterns, a border of gilded stars within small medallions on the ribs, and a circle of stars around the lantern (inside of which is a gilded wreath).
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Nome di Maria Dome detail 6662 c2 1500 x 1092 (554 KB)
Detail of the opposite side of the dome, rotated for ease of examination.
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Nome di Maria Dome 6658 1500 x 1092 (642 KB)
The entire dome (less a portion at the top). Note the central “Coronation of Mary” medallion.
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Altar Nome di Maria 6657 795 x 1290 (523 KB)
12th-13th c. icon of Mary (painted on wood) on the High Altar.
The Baroque Gloria surrounding the icon was inspired by the Gloria behind the Cathedra Petri in St. Peter’s Basilica by GianLorenzo Bernini. A number of Glorias based on Bernini’s design were installed in churches after it was unveiled.
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Altar Nome di Maria detail 6657 M 1000 x 1600 (757 KB)
The icon of Mary was originally located in the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Lateran. It was given to the Confraternity of San Bernardo a Colonna Traiani in 1430, and moved from the church of San Bernardo in 1741 before it was demolished. The icon is carried in solemn procession from the site of the church of San Bernardo to Nome di Maria once each year.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Rome Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Link to the Gallery with images of Rome: Assorted Churches
There are a number of images in this section that are not yet on the Photoshelter site. If an image you want is not yet uploaded, contact Ron Reznick (info at bottom of page).
There are 18 Galleries in the Photoshelter Rome Collection
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Santa Maria sopra Minerva (St. Mary over Minerva)
The only Gothic church in Rome, this was the site of Galileo Galilei’s heresy trial in 1633. St. Catherine of Siena died and was buried here (except for her head, which is in San Domenica, Siena). The tomb of Dominican artist Fra Angelico is here as well. The name sopra Minerva refers to the erroneous thought that the church was built over the Temple of Minerva (it was the Temple of Isis). In the 8th century, there was a church on the site called Minervum, and the Delubrum Minervae was built in the area by Gnaeus Pompeius in 50 BC, but few details are known.
The church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva was built in 1280 near the Pantheon by Dominican architects Ristoro di Campi and Sisto Fiorentino, who previously worked on the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence (their model for this church).
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Santa Maria sopra Minerva 8472 737 x 1290 (415 KB)
The Gothic apse and vault over the high altar. Below the altar is the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena. The arched vault ribs are outlined in bright red and gold, and the vaults themselves are blue with gilded stars (restored in the 19th century). Note the Gothic arched and mullioned windows in the apse.
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Santa Maria sopra Minerva 8485 754 x 1290 (421 KB)
On either side of the apse are the tombs of the Medici Popes Leo X (by Baccio Bandinelli) and Clement VII (by Nanni di Baccio Bigio, at right). There are five Popes buried in the church. The church used to be the Florentine Church in Rome, which is why the Medici Popes and Fra Angelico are buried here. The Neo-Gothic altar was created in 1855.
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Maria Raggi Bernini 8479 795 x 1290 (371 KB)
GianLorenzo Bernini’s monument to Maria Raggi (1647-53) introduced portrait sculpture on tomb monuments. Maria Raggi was forced to marry at an early age, but was widowed at 18 when her husband was captured by Turkish forces. She became a nun the next year and moved to Rome, staying in a home near Santa Maria sopra Minerva. She supposedly performed numerous miracles, but Urban VIII was reluctant to canonize her after her death in 1600.
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Urban VII Tomb sopra Minerva 8491 841 x 1290 (341 KB)
Urban VII was Pope for a grand total of 13 days in 1590, dying of malaria before his coronation ceremony. He has the distinct honor of having the shortest papal reign in history. He also made his mark in another record category: he instituted the world’s first smoking ban. Soon after he was elected, he threatened to excommunicate anyone who used tobacco in the porchway or inside of a church. His tomb was created by Ambrogio Buonvicino in 1614.
Taking this image was like shooting in a cave.
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Tomb Fra Angelico 8468 959 x 1290 (289 KB)
The tomb of Fra Angelico (d. 1455), by Isaia da Pisa, a specialist in creating bas-relief sculptures such as this.
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Fra Angelico (b. Guido di Pietro, 1395-1455)
Known by Giorgio Vasari’s appellation Fra Giovanni Angelico (Brother John the Angelic) and to his brother Dominican friars as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole or “il Beato” (the Blessed One) for his skill in painting religious subjects.
Fra Angelico was an extremely talented early Renaissance painter. He was painting long before becoming a friar, and may have been an assistant of Gherardo Starnina (he was painting with Starnina at the Friary of Cortona between 1408 and 1418). From 1418 to 1436 he worked at the convent of Fiesole where he painted a number of frescoes and the altarpiece, and joined the Dominican order in Fiesole in 1423.
From 1436 to 1445 he moved to the new Friary at San Marco in Florence. This move placed him in the artistic capital of Europe during the Renaissance (see the Florence section), and while there he was lucky enough to gain the patronage of Cosimo de’ Medici, the foremost patron of the Renaissance who had a cell at San Marco to allow him to get away from the hustle of the Signoria and the Medici Bank. At Cosimo’s urging, he set about decorating the monastery and created some of the finest frescoes of the period, including a famous Annunciation, the Altarpiece of San Marco, and numerous small frescoes in each cell.
From 1445 to 1455, he was in Rome at the request of Pope Eugenius IV to paint the frescoes in the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament in St. Peter’s (later destroyed by Paul III). He also designed frescoes for the Chapel of Nicholas V, but died in 1455 and was buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
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Tomb Fra Angelico 8489 1500 x 1092 (306 KB)
The bas-relief of Fra Angelico on the tomb created by Isaia da Pisa (1455) depicts the friar’s effigy laying on a pillow as if asleep, but with his eyes open.
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Michelangelo Christ the Redeemer 8476 M 1000 x 1600 (335 KB)
Known as Cristo della Minerva (it is called the Risen Christ on the documentation in the church), this is the second version of Michelangelo’s Christ the Redeemer. He completed this in 1521 for the left of the altar (the original sculpture from 1516 is in the church of St. Vincent the Martyr in Bassano di Sutri). The original was abandoned when he found a black vein in the marble (he gave the first statue to the patron for his garden).
The bronze drapery was added after the Council of Trent and Pope Paul IV condemned nudity in religious art (while many bishops and cardinals maintained their personal collections of nude art). The funny thing is that the “fig-leaf” campaign was started by Cardinal Carafa after Michelangelo painted the Last Judgement with nude figures in the Sistine Chapel. This campaign finally resulted in Pope Paul IV’s decree that all nude statues and paintings had to be covered. The decision irreparably ruined a large number of superb works of art.
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John the Baptist Obici 8486 M 928 x 1600 (311 KB)
Giuseppe Obici sculpted his John the Baptist in 1858. It stands opposite Christ the Redeemer on the right of the Altar.
Obici must have been a bit dismayed to find that his work was to be placed opposite Michelangelo. What had to have been a major commission probably turned a bit sour. Obici’s statue is done in the Neo-Classical style, striking a dramatic pose which falls flat in comparison to the elegant contrapposto and relaxed pose of the Cristo della Minerva.
Michelangelo did not finish the statue. He gave the work to an assistant (Pietro Urbano), who damaged the toes, fingers, beard and one of the nostrils. Federigo Frizzi had to finish the work, and Michelangelo was never happy with the results. He actually had his friend Leonardo Sellajo at the unveiling, to let people know that Michelangelo had not done the finish work.
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— Return to the top of this page —
Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Rome Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Link to the Gallery with images of Rome: Assorted Churches
There are a number of images in this section that are not yet on the Photoshelter site. If an image you want is not yet uploaded, contact Ron Reznick (info at bottom of page).
There are 18 Galleries in the Photoshelter Rome Collection
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San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains)
Also called the Basilica Eudoxiana after the Empress Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of Theodosius II and wife of Valentinian III who founded the church in 442 at the Baths of Titus on the Esquiline to house the Chains of St. Peter. One of the tituli (early Roman parish churches) called Titulus Eudoxiana, it was built at the site of an earlier church called titulus Apostolorum. It houses Michelangelo’s statue of Moses (Monument to Julius II).
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Chains of St. Peter San Pietro in Vincoli 8426c 960 x 1290 (381 KB)
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The Chains of St. Peter
Housed in a reliquary on the Altar are the Chains of St. Peter. Licinia Eudoxia’s mother, Empress Aelia Eudocia (Athenais) Augusta, wife of Theodosius II, went to the Holy Land in 438. She returned with several relics, including the chains that were used to bind St. Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem, given to her by St. Juvenal (Iuvenalis), Bishop of Jerusalem (first Patriarch of Jerusalem after the Council of Chalcedon).
She gave these chains to her daughter Eudoxia, who in turn gave them to Pope Leo I. According to the legend, when Leo I compared these chains to the ones used to bind St. Peter when he was imprisoned in the Mamertine Prison (near the Forum Romanum), the chains miraculously fused together to form a single unbreakable chain.
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Chains of St. Peter San Pietro in Vincoli 8426 1500 x 1092 (271 KB)
The Chains of St. Peter are housed in a golden reliquary under the high altar, an exceptional ciborium in the apse of the church which was unfortunately in very deep shadow and proved to be impossible to shoot. You can see in the image above how dark the shadows were on the altar itself (which was lit internally). The shadows within the apse were like black ink.
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Moses 8409 791 x 1290 (257 KB)
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Moses 8409c 960 x 1290 (293 KB)
Moses was sculpted in 1513-1515. It was originally intended to be seen from below, surrounded by seven other massive figures). The horns resulted from a mis-translation by Jerome in the Vulgate (Latin translation of the Bible). Jerome translated the word karnaim as ‘horned’ instead of ‘radiant’.
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Moses 8429 788 x 1290 (249 KB)
Moses is holding the tablets of Law with his right hand, his left hand is resting on his lap. He stares with a stern expression that led to the coining of the word “terribilita” (terribleness).
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Moses detail 8429M 1200 x 1600 (314 KB)
The mark on Moses’ right knee is said to have been made by Michelangelo, who upon completion, struck the statue with his hammer and exclaimed “Perche mi guardi e non favelli!” (Why, look at me and he speaks! or Why do you not speak?).
Vasari said that after the unveiling, Rome’s Jewish population “flocked to the church like starlings every Sabbath”.
Moses is over eight feet tall, seated. A monumental work.
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Julius II Virgin and Child 960 x 1290 (292 KB)
The Madonna and Child, finished by Rafaello da Montelupo, was rough-hewn by Michelangelo. The Madonna and Child is the best of the sculptures on the top row, which were all either created or finished by Michelangelo’s assistants.
The statues on the top row are all finished to a far lower quality than the statues on the lower level (especially Moses). By the time they were created, Michelangelo had been involved in the project for about 40 years, and had seen the project changed from his original grand project to a simple wall tomb. He essentially handed off the upper level sculptures to assistants and got the project completed. The project, which was originally envisioned as Michelangelo’s defining work, ended up being the bane of his existence. The details on the vicissitudes of the project are discussed below.
The reclining statue of Pope Julius II wearing the tiara was carved in the Etruscan manner by Tommaso di Pietro Boscoli.
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Tomb Julius II 8401 780 x 1325 (267 KB)
The seven statues on the monument to Julius II are (clockwise from the top left):
• Sibyl (Raffaello da Montelupo, Domenico Fancelli) • Madonna and Child (Raffaello da Montelupo) • Julius II (reclining, Tommaso di Pietro Boscoli) • Prophet (Rafaello da Montelupo, Domenico Fancelli)
• Rachel (Michelangelo) • Moses (Michelangelo) • Leah (Michelangelo)
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Tomb Julius II detail 8401 M 1500 x 1200 (402 KB)
The lower section of the Monument to Julius II (his tomb is in an unassuming spot in St. Peter’s).
Rachel (left) is in a position of prayer, and represents the contemplative life, while Leah (right) represents the active life.
The Termini (busts on the piers) were carved by Giacomo del Duca, who did much of the carving and finish work on the monument itself (with Pietro Urbano). The bases below the piers were probably carved by Antonio da Passieve.
Michelangelo’s tomb for Julius II was originally intended to be a vast, free-standing monument in the Capella Maggiore of St. Peter’s Basilica, a three story structure of unparalleled grandeur that would have given Michelangelo the room he needed to create a number of his superhuman tragic sculptures (the design called for 40 sculptures), but it became what he called “the Tragedy of the Tomb”. After Michelangelo spent a year selecting and moving marble from Carrara, Pope Julius stopped work on the tomb. Michelangelo left Rome in anger and went to Florence. When Julius discovered he had left, he sent five riders after him, but they were unable to convince him to return. Michelangelo resumed work on other contracts in Florence, spurning Julius’ attempts to get him back to Rome, until Julius threatened war with the Florentine state unless he returned, at which point the city fathers convinced him to go back to Rome. It was at this point that Michelangelo was given the contract to paint the Sistine Chapel, and he used many of the ideas involved in the original plan for the Tomb in the frescoes he created for the ceiling.
In 1513 a second contract was drawn up which altered the original design by moving Moses to a secondary position on the tomb, and Moses was created under this contract. The two Slaves that are now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Dying Slave and Rebelling Slave) were also made under this contract, but were later abandoned when Julius died and Pope Leo X put a halt to the project. After the death of Julius II, the succeeding Popes put Michelangelo under considerable pressure to abandon the tomb in favor of their projects, and the heirs of Julius also pressured him to complete the contract, at one point accusing Michelangelo of embezzlement. Michelangelo again retreated to Florence.
In 1516, a third contract was drawn up with the heirs, and in the 1520s he completes Victory and 4 unfinished Slaves (now in the Accademia in Florence). In 1532 a fourth contract is drawn up that again redefines the project, then finally in 1542 a final contract was created that vastly reduced the scale (changing it to a wall tomb) and moved it to the Delle Rovere family’s church at San Pietro di Vincoli. Under this new contract, Michelangelo would supervise completion of the reduced design by his assistants Antonello Gagini and Giacomo del Duca (who helped Michelangelo sculpt the tomb structure).
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Santi Luca e Martina 3742 795 x 1290 (368 KB)
In the Forum Romanum, next to the Arch of Septimius Severus at the north end of the Forum between the Curia Julia and the Forum of Caesar is the Chiesa di Santi Luca e Martina. It was built atop the ruins of the ancient Secretarium Senatus (625). The 7th century church was first restored in 1256 during the reign of Pope Alexander IV. In 1577 the Accademia di San Luca was founded (the Guild of Painters, Sculptors and Architects) and in 1588 they were given the church in exchange for Ch. di San Luca (near Santa Maria Maggiore), which was then demolished to create Piazzale dell’Esquilino.
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Santi Luca e Martina 3707 795 x 1290 (326 KB)
The 7th century church was dedicated to St. Martina (martyred in 228 AD during the reign of Alexander Severus). The church was rededicated by the Accademia to St. Luke (who was a painter) and St. Martina. In 1634, Pietro da Cortona was elected president, and undertook a major restoration which started in the crypt, where remains were found which were attributed to St. Martina. Cardinal Francesco Barberini then donated funds (1634), which were used to rebuild the church. The coat of arms of Barberini’s uncle (Pope Urban VIII) and the Barberini Bees are on the facade due to his patronage.
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Santi Luca e Martina Facade detail 3741 M 1200 x 1695 (574 KB)
A large detail crop of the facade of Santi Luca e Martina.
Atop the dual-order convex facade is Urban VIII’s coat of arms (by Antonio Carton) held by two angels (Giuseppe Giorgetti). The upper church (and upper facade) is dedicated to St. Luke and the lower church (and lower facade) to St. Martina. Above the door on the entablature are the three Barberini Bees. The interior is considered a masterpiece of Baroque architecture.
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Santi Luca e Martina detail 3706 M 1200 x 1600 (459 KB)
A large detail crop of the facade and da Cortona’s Dome.
Pietro da Cortona, along with Bernini and Borromini, were the three major architects of the Baroque period. da Cortona was able to build the church exactly as he wanted to, as he had built the crypt at his own expense. The church is only open on Saturdays, so I was unable to get any images of the interior. The images I have seen make me wish I had been there on a Saturday... the altar is spectacular as is the marble crypt.
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Sant’Agnese in Agone High Altar 7890 LG 1000 x 1930 (494 KB)
The high altar of Sant’Agnese in Agone, which was begun by Alessandro Algardi in 1653, and completed by Ercole Ferrata and Domenico Guidi. The relief was installed in 1688 into a Baroque altar with four Corinthian columns and an ornate entablature whose sculpted pediment houses a radiant dove in the center with two busts of putti below, two angels on the sides, and a group of three putti above carrying a banner with inscription. The Baroque altar was created by Carlo Rainaldi and Cirro Ferri (Rainaldi, the original architect, was replaced by Borromini, reinstated, replaced by Bernini, and reinstated). The Ciborium tabernacle below the altar was created in 1123.
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Sant’Agnese in Agone Altar detail 7892 M 1000 x 1600 (488 KB)
The relief depicts the Miracle of St. Agnes’ Hair.
St. Agnes of Rome was a 13 year-old noble girl (born in 291) who was raised in a Christian family. Prefect Sempronius wanted her to marry his son, but she refused to renounce her faith and Sempronius condemned her to death. Roman law did not allow the execution of virgins, so he stripped her and dragged her to a brothel. The legend states that her hair miraculously grew to cover her body. She was then dragged out to be burned alive, but the fire either would not burn or the flames parted around her. She was then beheaded.
The church was built on the site of St. Agnes’ martyrdom in the Circus Agonalis of Domitian. Agonalis refers to the type of Greek Games the stadium was designed for (these games were only held for one season... the poor attendance caused Domitian to change to Gladiatorial Games thereafter).
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Santa Maria in Campitelli Altar 8188 M 947 x 1600 (457 KB)
Santa Maria in Campitelli is yet another church designed by Carlo Rainaldi, built by order of Alexander VII to honor an icon which by legend halted the plague of 1656. The icon is housed in a Baroque Gloria by Ercole Ferrata, Melchiorre Cafa and Giovanni Paolo Schor who all worked for Bernini. Inspired by Bernini’s Gloria for the Cathedra Petri (St. Peter’s) and built in 1667, less than a year after the Cathedra Petri was finished, Melchiorre Cafa’s Gloria had to be completed by Ercole Ferrata when Cafa was killed by falling materials in the Foundry at St. Peter’s while working on another altarpiece.
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Santa Maria in Campitelli Vision 8185 M 1000 x 1600 (374 KB)
Vision of the Holy Family by Beata Ludovica Albertoni, a 1708 relief by Lorenzo Ottoni in the Altieri family chapel built into an altar with lapis lazuli and polychrome marble.
The icon was originally in the church of Santa Galla Antiqua (Santa Maria in Portico), so named because it stood near the Porticus Octaviae built by Octavian c. 25 BC in the name of his sister to house temples of Jupiter Stator and Juno Regina. Dated by dendochronology and style to the 11th c., the icon is by legend supposed to have miraculously appeared in 524 at the table of Galla, a Roman woman who helped the poor, and carried in processions since 590. This requires time travel.
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Sant'Agostino High Altar 7944 M 1000 x 1600 (463 KB)
One of the first churches built during the Renaissance, Sant’Agostino was founded in 1286 in a convent built on land donated by a nobleman to the Augustinians. The church itself was started in 1296, but the construction took 150 years (services were first held there in 1446). Funds from Cardinal d’Estouteville allowed it to be rebuilt on a larger scale (1479-1483).
The high altar designed by Orazio Torriani was built by GianLorenzo Bernini in 1627. It houses the Madonna of St. Luke, an ancient Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Child which was moved to Sant’Agostino from Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in 1453 by Clement of Toscanella (removed when Byzantium fell to the Ottoman Turks).
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Rome Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Direct Link to the Gallery with images of Rome: Assorted Churches
There are a number of images in this section that are not yet on the Photoshelter site. If an image you want is not yet uploaded, contact Ron Reznick (info at bottom of page).
There are 18 Galleries in the Photoshelter Rome Collection
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