060608


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Typology: Non Parish Church

Address

Address: Via del Corso, 306
Zone: Rione Trevi (Quirinale-Tritone-Barberini) (Roma centro)

Contacts

Telephone: 06 69896373 (contatto telefonico della chiesa) - 06 69896465 (per prenotare le visite alla cripta)
Email: cestari@orpnet.org (per prenotare le visite alla cripta) - incoming@orpnet.org

Opening times

For the timetable of the masses and visiting conditions, please consult the contacts.

Description

The church
It was probably founded under Sergius I at the end of the 7th century, but we only have certain traces of it in 806. Demolished in 1491, it underwent numerous interventions throughout the 16th century. In 1639 the church was enlarged thanks to a donation by Olimpia Aldobrandini (who donated a portion of the nearby palace, later Doria Pamphili) and renovated for the 1650 Holy Year. The church is linked to the Pamphilj family. The Baroque façade (1658-62), by Pietro da Cortona, has two orders with an oval portico and four columns in the lower part while the upper part has a loggia between two niches. The bell tower, from the end of the 16th century, is the work of Martino Longhi the Elder. The atrium is characterised by two flattened apses from whose doors one descends to the underground rooms. The stuccoes of the barrel vault were made to a design by Pietro da Cortona. The interior has three naves, with twelve red columns of Sicilian jasper, and is rich in marble and gilded stuccoes. In the right aisle, on the second altar, is the painting 'St Joseph and St Nicholas and St Blaise', by Giuseppe Grezzi. The high altar is attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1636). In the left aisle, at the second altar, 'St Paul baptises St Sabina and children', by Pier Leone Grezzi. The church also houses the tombs of Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte and Zenaide Bonaparte. In the basement of the church, the remains of a vast Roman building dating back to the 1st century are visible.


The Roman building
In the basement of the church of S. Maria in Via Lata and the neighbouring buildings on Via del Corso, the remains of a vast Roman building dating back to the 1st century AD can be seen, consisting of a long portico divided into three naves, with the central one wider than the lateral ones. The building is formed by pillars made of squared travertine blocks, which support a cross vault. At the beginning of the 3rd century AD, the nave was divided by brick walls into a series of rooms; this transformation suggests that the portico was later used as a warehouse for storing goods. In the 7th century, the warehouse was converted into a church building, with the demolition of some dividing walls and the addition of an apse on the eastern side. The walls of the new church were decorated with frescoes depicting the stories of Solomon, the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus and the lives of saints.
Last checked: 2022-07-13 14:49