Jump to content

San Marcello al Corso

Coordinates:41°53′55.25″N12°28′54.34″E/ 41.8986806°N 12.4817611°E/41.8986806; 12.4817611
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
San Marcello
Church of Saint Marcellus on the Corso(in English)
S. Marcelli(in Latin)
Facade.
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view.
41°53′55.25″N12°28′54.34″E/ 41.8986806°N 12.4817611°E/41.8986806; 12.4817611
LocationPiazza di San Marcello 5,Rome
CountryItaly
DenominationRoman Catholic
TraditionLatin Church
Religious orderServite Order
History
StatusTitular church
General Curia of theOrder of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary(Servites)
Foundedbefore 418 AD
DedicationPope St. Marcellus I
Cult(s)present
Relicsheld
Architecture
Architect(s)Jacopo Sansovino,Carlo Fontana
Architectural typeChurch
StyleBaroque
Groundbreaking1592
Completed1697
Clergy
Cardinal protectorGiuseppe Betori

San Marcello al Corso,is an ancienttitularandconventualchurchinRome,Italy.It has been served byfriarsof theServite Ordersince c. 1375 and is the headquarters of their General Curia. Thecardinal-protectorof the church is normally of the order ofcardinal priests,currentlyGiuseppe Betori.

There has been a church dedicated toPope Marcellus I(d. AD 309) on the site since at least the year 418 whenPope Boniface Iwas reportedly crowned there. It was rebuilt in its present form in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It is located near thePiazza Veneziaon theVia del Corso,in ancient times calledvia Lata,which now connectsPiazza VeneziatoPiazza del Popoloand stands diagonal from the church ofSanta Maria in Via Lataand two doors from theOratory of Santissimo Crocifisso.

History

[edit]

While the tradition holds that the church was built over the prison ofPope Marcellus I(d. 309), it is known that theTitulus Marcelliwas present no later than 418, whenPope Boniface Iwas elected there. The "Septiformis"litany,commanded byPope Gregory Iin 590, saw the men moving from San Marcello.

Pope Adrian I,in the 8th century, built a church on the same place, which is currently under the modern church. By the 11th century the church wasparochialandcollegiate,being administered by a college of secular priests. The corpse ofCola di Rienzowas held in the church for three days after his execution in 1354. In 1375, Pope Gregory XI suppressed the secular college and gave the church to friars of theOrder of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary(Servites) who founded a convent here and continue to manage the church to this day.

On 22 May 1519, a fire destroyed the church. The money collected for its rebuilding was used to bribe thelandsknechts,who were pillaging the city during theSack of Rome (1527).The original plan to rebuild the church was designed byJacopo Sansovino,who fled the city during the Sack and never returned to finish it. The work was continued byAntonio da Sangallo the Younger,who rebuilt the church, but aTiberflood damaged it again in 1530. It was only in 1692–1697 that the church was completed with a facade byCarlo Fontana,commissioned by Monsignor Marcantonio Cataldi Boncompagni.[1]The exterior travertine statues were sculpted byFrancesco Cavallini,and thestuccobas-reliefover the entrance, with depictsSan Filippo Benizio,was created byAntonio Raggi.Benizio had been a member of the Servite order.

Interior.
St Philip Benizi refuses the papal tiara,byRaggi,façade of San Marcello.

Under the main altar, decorated with 12th centuryopus sectile,are the relics of several saints, which include those of Pope Marcellus as well asDigna and Emerita.The last chapel on the left is dedicated toSt Philip Benizi.The late-Baroque decoration contains sculptures by Francesco Cavallini and reliefs byErcole FerrataandAntonio Raggi.The first chapel on the left has the double tomb of CardinalGiovanni Michieland his grandson Antonio Orso sculpted byJacopo Sansovino.

Behind the facade is aCrucifixion(1613) byGiovanni Battista Ricci.The tomb of Cardinal Cennino was sculpted byGiovanni Francesco de'Rossi(la Vecchietta). Along the right, the first chapel of Marchese Maccarani holds anAnnunciationbyLazzaro Baldi;in the secondMartyrdom of Sts. Digna and Emerita(1727) of Pietro Barbieri (architecture by Francesco Ferrari); in the thirdMadonna with the Child,a fresco from the late 14th century, episodes of thelife of the VirginbyFrancesco Salviati,fresco and paintings of Giovan Battista Ricci; in the fourth chapel aCreation of Eveand the evangelists Mark and John, frescoes byPerino del Vaga,Matthew and Lukebegun byPerino del Vagaand finished byDaniele da Volterra.Inside is a cyborium (1691) designed byCarlo Bizzaccheri;in the fifth chapel is a monument to theCardinal Fabrizio Paolucci(1726) byPietro Bracciwith an altarpiece byAureliano Milaniand lateral paintings byDomenico Corvi;and a monument to cardinal Camillo Paolucci byTommaso Righi(1776) and wall paintings byAureliano Milani.On the left nave, in the fifth chapel, is aSan Filippo Benizi(1725) byPier Leone Ghezziand Gagliardi; in the fourthConversion of Saint Paul(1560) byFederico Zuccariand his brother Taddeo and, on the sides, ofHistory of Saint Paul.Inside of the chapel has busts of Muzio, Roberto, Lelio Frangipane byAlessandro Algardi(1630–40). In the third chapel on the left is a Madonna Addolorata byPietro Paolo Naldini,crowned by the Vatican Chapter in 1695.Sacrifice of Isaacanddiscovery of MosesbyDomenico Corvi;in the first,Madonna and seven SaintsbyAgostino Masucci.

The church is administered and owned by theServite Ordersince 1369.

Cardinal Protectors

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^F. Titi, page 322.
  • "San Marcello al Corso",Chris Nyborg.
  • Titi, Filippo(1763).Descrizione delle Pitture, Sculture e Architetture esposte in Roma.Marco Pagliarini, Rome. pp.321–324.Fillipo Titi.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Darko Senekovic, S. Marcello al Corso, in: D. Mondini, C. Jäggi, P. C. Claussen,Die Kirchen der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter 1050-1300,Band 4 (M-O), Stuttgart 2020, pp. 30–46 (German).
[edit]

Media related toSan Marcello al Corsoat Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Marcello_al_Corso&oldid=1240939211"