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Chiesa dei Santi Quaranta Martiri e San Pasquale Baylon

Typology: Non Parish Church

Address

Address: Via di San Francesco a Ripa, 20
Zone: Rione Trastevere (Gianicolo) (Roma centro)

Contacts

Telephone: 06 5881121

Opening times

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

Description

Built by Pope Callistus II in 1122, the church was later rebuilt in 1486 and restored in 1608 by the Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone. It was they who dedicated it to the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in Armenia.

In 1736, it was handed over to the Discalced Minor Fathers of St. Peter of Alcantara, who immediately undertook a complete reconstruction, building the convent in 1739 (probably also serving as a hospice and hospital) and the church between 1744 and 1747, to a design by Giuseppe Sardi. It was on this occasion that the church was dedicated to St Paschal Baylon, the Spanish saint belonging to the Order of Friars Minor. The church was placed under the Crown of Spain, with royal decrees by Philip V in 1738 and Isabella II in 1856, so that the Franciscan Order of Spanish Friars Minor still resides there today.

The church is also known as the church 'of the spinsters', as Saint Pasquale Baylon is the 'protector of maidens and women seeking husbands'. The saint was also considered to be the protector of women who were married to men who were manly and violent or who did not fulfil their marital duties.


The simple façade is set back from the street and is connected to the graceful adjoining convent building by a beautiful string-course cornice; with two orders, the ground floor has a central portal surmounted by the coat of arms of Philip V, while above the two side entrances are the coats of arms of the Franciscan order. A long inscription separates the two orders: "DEO IN HON SS XL MARTYRU AC S.PASCHALIS BAYLON DIC ANNO DNI MDCCXLV"; the upper order is dominated by the imposing oval depicting the saint.


The interior presents itself as a rounded-edged hall, preceded by a vestibule and followed by a transept with a dome, with three side chapels on each side, where many architectural and decorative elements are reused in a manner that appears to be derived from Borromini. On the high altar is the 'Martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs' by Arturo Tosi, while on the dome is a beautiful fresco depicting the 'Glory of St Paschal' by Matteo Pannaria.

Last checked: 2022-07-06 12:38