TheBasilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere(Italian:Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere) orOur Lady in Trastevereis atitularminor basilicain theTrasteveredistrict ofRome,and one of the oldestchurches of Rome.The basic floor plan and wall structure of the church date back to the 340s, and much of the structure to 1140–43. The first sanctuary was built in 221 and 227 byPope Callixtus Iand later completed byPope Julius I.The church has large areas of importantmosaicsfrom the late 13th century byPietro Cavallini.[1]
| Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere | |
|---|---|
Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere(Italian) | |
 Façade of Santa Maria in Trastevere at night | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°53′22″N12°28′11″E/ 41.88944°N 12.46972°E | |
| Location | Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere,Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Tradition | Latin Church |
| Website | santamariaintrastevere |
| History | |
| Status | Minor basilica,titular church |
| Dedication | Mary, mother of Jesus |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Carlo Fontana |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | 4th century |
| Completed | 1143 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 56 metres (184 ft) |
| Width | 30 metres (98 ft) |
| Navewidth | 16 metres (52 ft) |
| Clergy | |
| Cardinal protector | Carlos Osoro Sierra (2016) |
History
editThe inscription on theepiscopal thronestates that this is the first church in Rome dedicated toMary, mother of Jesus,although some claim that privilege belongs to theBasilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.It is certainly one of the oldest churches in the city.[2]
The predecessor of the present church was probably built in the early fourth century and that church was itself the successor to one of thetituli,early Christian basilicas ascribed to a patron and perhaps literally inscribed with his name. Although nothing remains to establish with certainty where any of the public Christian edifices of Rome before the time ofConstantine the Greatwere situated, the basilica on this site was known asTitulus Callisti,based on a legend in theLiber Pontificalis,which ascribed the earliest church here to a foundation byPope Callixtus I(died 222), whose remains, translated to the new structure, are preserved under the altar.[3]
Callixtus founded a house-church here about 220 on the site of theTaberna meritoria,a refuge for retired soldiers. The area was made available for Christian use by EmperorAlexander Severuswhen he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers, saying, according to theLiber Pontificalis"I prefer that it should belong to those who honor God, whatever be their form of worship." In 340, it was rebuilt on a larger scale byPope Julius I.[4]The church underwent two restorations in the fifth and eighth centuries and in 1140-43 it was re-erected on its old foundations underPope Innocent II.
The inscriptions found in Santa Maria in Trastevere, a valuable resource illustrating the history of the Basilica, were collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.[5]
Exterior
editThis sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(July 2016) |
The Romanesque campanile is from the 12th century.[4]Near the top, a niche protects a mosaic from the 13th century of theMadonna and ChildbyPietro Cavallini.It depicts the Madonna enthroned and suckling the Child, flanked by 10 women holding lamps. This image on the façade showingMary nursing Jesusis an early example of a popular late-medievalandrenaissancetype of image of the Virgin. The motif itself originated much earlier, with significant seventh-century Coptic examples atWadi Natrunin Egypt.
The façade of the church was restored in 1702 byCarlo Fontana.It is surmounted by a balustrade decorated with the statues of four popes. He replaced the ancient porch with a sloping tiled roof with the present classicizing one. The octagonalfountain in the piazzain front of the church (Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere), which already appears in a map of 1472, was restored by Fontana.[6]
Interior
editThe presentnavepreserves its original (pre-12th century) basilica plan and stands on the earlier foundations. The 22 granite columns withIonicandCorinthiancapitals that separate the nave from the aisles came from the ruins of theBaths of Caracalla,as did the lintel of the entrance door.[7]When scholarship during the 19th century identified the faces in the carved decoration of the capitals asIsis,SerapisandHarpocrates,a restoration underPius IXin 1870 hammered off the offending faces.[8]
Domenichino's octagonal ceiling painting,Assumption of the Virgin(1617) fits in the coffered ceiling that he designed.[4]
There are a number of 12th and late 13th-century mosaics in the basilica. The "Coronation of the Virgin"(1130–1143) sits atop an apse vault, and depicts Pope Innocent II holding a model of the church.[9]Below are mosaics on the subject of the "Life of the Virgin"byPietro Cavallini(1291).
In the Capella Altemps there is a unique icon of the enthroned Virgin and Child "TheMadonna della Clemenza",a panel painting in encaustic, dated between the 6th and 9th century CE, probably of the Byzantine origins. The Madonna della Clemenza is one of the five oldest existing Marian Icons from the medieval period. Its proximity to the rise of Christianity is one of the reasons it was believed to be a divine image.[10]
The fifth chapel to the left is the Avila Chapel designed byAntonio Gherardi.This, and his Chapel of S. Cecilia inSan Carlo ai Catinariare two of the most architecturally inventive chapels of the late-17th century in Rome. The lower order of the chapel is fairly dark and employsBorromini-like forms. In the dome, there is an opening oroculusfrom which fourputtiemerge to carry a centraltempietto,all of which frames a light-filled chamber above, illuminated by windows not visible from below. Complexively, four different types of direct and indirect lighting are placed into the borders of a small space of a "pre-built side-chapel facing south along the left side-aisle of the medieval church", producing a unique "instance of the scenic use of light in baroque architecture."[11] In the first chapel of the right nave there isSanta Francesca RomanabyJacopo Zoboli.
The church keeps a relic ofSaint Apollonia,her head,[12]as well as a portion of theHoly Sponge.Among those buried in the church arePope Callixtus I,Pope Innocent II,Antipope Anacletus II,CardinalPhilippe of Alençonand CardinalLorenzo Campeggio.[citation needed]
The titulus
editThe basilica has been atitular churchsince at least the 3rd century. Ancient sources maintain that thetitulus S. Mariaewas established byPope Alexander Iaround 112. Later traditions give the names of the early patrons of thetituliand have retrospectively assigned them the title ofcardinal.Thus at that time, the cardinal-patron of this basilica, these traditions assert, would have beenCalepodius.Pope Callixtus Iconfirmed thetitulusin 221. To honor him it was changed intoSs. Callisti et Iuliani.It was renamedS. Mariae trans Tiberimby Innocent II.[citation needed]
Among pastcardinal priestsholding the honorarytitulusof Santa Maria in Trastevere have been:
- Ioannes, son ofMarozia,who becamePope John XIduring theSaeculum obscurum
- Gabriele Condulmer who becamePope Eugene IV
- Giovanni Morone- played a vital role in the third period of theCouncil of Trent
- Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps- commissioned the Alltemps chapel in the basilica as well as thePalazzo Altemps
- Pietro Aldobrandini- commissionedDomenichinoto create the coffered wooden ceiling of the basilica
- Henry Benedict Stuart,whose coat of arms, topped by a crown (some hailed him as King Henry IX of England) rather than agalero(red hat), is visible over the screen to the right of the altar.
- Pietro Marcellino Corradini- namedvenerableon April 24, 2021. His tomb is in the basilica.
- Annibale della Genga who becamePope Leo XII
- James Gibbons- Archbishop of Baltimore, second American cardinal and author ofThe Faith of Our Fathers
- Stefan Wyszyński- beatified on September 21, 2021
- Józef Glemp
- Loris Francesco Capovilla
The incumbent titular holder isCarlos Osoro Sierra,Archbishop Emeritis of Madrid.
Significant events
editIn 38BC a gush of oil from underground occurred, as mentioned by Dio Cassius and St. Jerome. This mysterious event was given the Latin name fons olei. It was interpreted by Jewish people who lived concentrated in Trastevere as the announcement of the Messiah. This legendary event is depicted in the Cavallini mosaic of Christ's birth.
In 1634, the icon of the Madonna di Strada Cupa which was then placed at the foot of theJaniculum Hillwascanonically crowned.It was the third image to receive a canonical coronation.
In 1659, the icon ofMadonna della Clemenzawascanonically crowned.It was the second image inside the church to be crowned.
On March 25, 1887, CardinalJames Gibbonstook possession of this titular church and "delivered a powerful sermon defending the American constitutional model of church-state relations."[13]
In July 2014, the wedding ofPrince Amedeo of Belgium, Hereditary Archduke of Austria-Este,and Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein was held at the basilica.[14]
On March 11, 2018,Pope Franciscelebrated mass at the basilica to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of theCommunity of Sant'Egidio.[15]
Gallery
edit-
The square before the basilica is a centre of Trastevere nightlife. -
-
Madonna and Child at the top of the campanile -
12th and 13th-century mosaics in the apse -
Mosaic of the Annunciation by Cavallini (1291) -
Close-up of ceiling
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Rome attractions: Rome Churches and Basilicas Guide".
- ^"Santa Maria in Trastevere", Fodor's Travel
- ^Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)..Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^abc"The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere", Turismo Roma
- ^V. Forcella,Inscrizioni delle chese e d' altre edifici di Roma, dal secolo XI fino al secolo XVIVolume II (Roma: Fratelli Bencini, 1873), pp. 335-379.
- ^Maurizia Tazartes, Fontaines de Rome, (French edition translated from Italian), Citadelles & Mazenot, Paris, 2004, p. 48
- ^Dale Kinney, "Spolia from the Baths of Caracalla in Sta. Maria in Trastevere",The Art Bulletin68.3 (September 1986: 379–397).
- ^Rodolfo Lanciani noted that they had been "martellati e distrutti"(Lanciani," L'Iseum et Serapeum del Regione IX ",Bolletino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma11(1883:35, corroborated in nineteenth-century German and English guidebooks before and shortly after the restoration, noted in Kinney 1986: 380, note 6.
- ^"Santa Maria in Trastevere – Rome, Italy".Living Mosaics.Mozaico.Retrieved6 November2018.
- ^Noreen, Kirstin (2016). "Time, Space, and Devotion: The Madonna della Clemenza and the Capella Altemps in Rome".Sixteenth Century Journal.XLVII/4.
- ^Bülau, Anna; Daniela Mondini; Daniela Mondini,i (2014). "Directed Light in Antonio Gherardi's Avila Chapel".Manipulating Light in Premodern Times. Architectural, Artistic, and Philosophical Aspects(PDF).ISA-stituto di storia e teoria dell’arte e dell’architettura (in English, Italian, and German). Medrisio Academic Press. p. 141.OCLC908153128.Archived(PDF)from the original on April 13, 2019.
- ^William S. Walsh,Curiosities of Popular Customs And of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities,1897.
- ^Winters, Michael Sean (June 25, 2009)."Freedom and Catholicism".National Catholic Reporter.
- ^"Belgium's Prince Amedeo marries Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein in Rome".Hello Magazine.6 July 2014.
- ^Bordoni, Linda (March 11, 2018)."Pope Francis calls for a 'globalization of solidarity'".Vatican News.
External links
edit- "Titulus" article,Catholic Encyclopedia(1908)
- "Roman Monographies: Fountains Part III"Fountain in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere
- "Church Location on the Map and more info"
- "3D model of the balisica in Sketchfab"
- High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images ofSanta Maria in Trastevere | Art Atlas
Media related toSanta Maria in Trastevereat Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Santa Maria sopra Minerva |
Landmarks of Rome Santa Maria in Trastevere |
Succeeded by Santa Maria in Via |