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CHURCH

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The attributions to Michelangelo or to Giulio Romano or to others are completely wrong. The current Latin cross basilica shape was designed by Guidetto Guidetti (Florence perhaps late 1400s - Rome 1564), one of Michelangelo's most brilliant pupils (which could have caused confusion between disciple and teacher). The attribution of the façade to Martino Longhi the Elder is also wrong, now recognized as a sixteenth-century work by Vignola (Jacopo Barozzi) and then completed by Francesco Capriani da Volterra, called "il Volterra" (not to be confused with Daniele da Volterra, known as "the Braghettone", the one who put the underpants on the nudes of the Sistine Chapel). Construction already began at the end of the fifteenth century but for economic reasons the company suffered several arrests and resumed, until it was finally completed in the second half of the sixteenth century.

 

The interior of the church, with three naves divided by pillars, is rich in paintings and marbles, but its peculiar characteristic is the profusion of white and gilded stuccoes that adorn the vaults, the cross and the apse.

Although there is a certain plastic heaviness in the stuccoes, the whole is gentle and delicate and you can hardly notice its diffusion in all available angles. This is due above all because, unlike what happens elsewhere, the angels are not portrayed in a static attitude but rather a dynamic, almost dancing one.

 

DECORATIVE APPARATUS AND SACRED FURNITURE

 

Counter-façade, main nave

ENTRANCE: Walnut briar compass (1784), gift from the University of Molinari Garzoni.

TOP: Cantoria in gilded wood (late 18th century), restored in 1825 by the University of the Molinari Masters. In the balustrade, panels bearing perspectives of mills on the Tiber. Monumental organ (1861).

 

Counter-façade, right aisle

TOP: Giuseppe and Andrea Orazi, Giuseppe's dream (1706), fresco.

 

Chapel of the Annunciation (University of Merchants and Brokers of Ripa)

ALTAR PALA: Federico Zuccari, Annunciation (1561), fresco.

RIGHT WALL: Virginio Monti, The archangel Gabriel (1875), fresco.

LEFT WALL: Virginio Monti, San Giuseppe (1878), fresco.

FLOOR: executed in 1749 to a design by Gabriele Valvassori.

 

First vault in the right aisle

Giuseppe and Andrea Orazi, Glory of Mary (1708), fresco.

 

Chapel of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria (University of Vermicellari)

ALTAR PIECE: Filippo Zucchetti, Mystical Wedding of Saint Catherine (1711), oil on canvas.

RIGHT WALL: Filippo Zucchetti, San Pietro (1711), fresco.

LEFT WALL: Filippo Zucchetti, San Paolo (1711), fresco.

VOLTA: Tommaso Cardani, Angels with the symbols of martyrdom (1711), fresco.

 

Second vault on the right aisle

Giuseppe and Andrea Orazi, Gloria di S. Caterina (1708), fresco.

 

Chapel of SS. Giacomo, Bartolomeo and Vittoria

(University de 'Padroni, Tenants and Mezzaroli di Vigne)

ALTAR PALA: Giovanni Baglione, Virgin and Child with Saints (1630 ca.), fresco.

RIGHT WALL: Giovanni Baglione, Martyrdom of a holy deacon (c. 1630), fresco.

LEFT WALL: Giovanni Baglione, Martyrdom of St. Andrew the Apostle (c. 1630), fresco.

VOLTA: frescoes (19th century) with two angels within frames and a saint, perhaps Santa Vittoria.

 

Third vault in the right aisle

Giuseppe and Andrea Orazi, Glory of San Bartolomeo (1708), fresco.

 

Chapel of the Holy Crucifix - Right arm of the transept

(University of Pollaroli)

ALTAR: Wooden crucifix (17th century).

WALLS: Niccolò Martinelli da Pesaro known as “il Trometta”, Stories of the Passion (1595), cycle of frescoes. Various sources indicate Trometta as a fellow villager, pupil and pupil of Taddeo Zuccari.

 

Right under-arch of the transept

Giacinto Calandrucci, Resurrection of Christ (1703) and pairs of angels with the symbols of the Passion, fresco.

 

Bottom of the right aisle

Wooden door for access to the Hall of Clothing.

TOP: Andrea Procaccini, The Descent of the Holy Spirit (1704), fresco. Pierre Legros, Angels in stucco (1702).

 

Main nave intersection with transept

VOLTA: Giuseppe and Andrea Orazi, Immaculate Conception (1703), fresco.

PENNACCHI: Giuseppe and Andrea Orazi, Virtue of the Virgin (1703), fresco.

STUCCHI: Simone Giorgini and Leonardo Retti, based on a design by Luigi Barattone.

FLOOR: Polychrome marble inlay (1747), gift from the University of Fruttaroli, depicting a festoon with various kinds of fruit.

 

Apse (University of Fruttaroli)

MAJOR ALTAR: Giacomo della Porta (16th century), restored by Gabriele Valvassori (1746‐55); it holds the sacred Marian image.

BACKGROUND WALL: Federico and Taddeo Zuccari (1560 ca.), Stories from the life of the Virgin , cycle of frescoes.

TO THE LEFT OF THE ALTAR: above, Sposalizio ; below, Nativity.

TO THE RIGHT OF THE ALTAR: above, Visitation ; below, Flight into Egypt (scene inspired by the apocryphal Gospels).

TOP: polychrome stained glass window with Marian monogram made up of pomegranates, grapes and other fruits, as well as red roses and various flowers (18th century).

TRIUMPHAL ARCH: Simone Giorgini and Leonardo Retti, Angels .

 

Right apsidal wall

TOP: (in the lunette) Giovanni Baglione, The meeting of Anna and Joachim and the prophets Moses and Isaiah (1598), fresco.

BOTTOM: Giovanni Baglione, Birth of Mary (1598), fresco.

RIGHT PARASTA: grotesque in gilded stucco (17th century) which bears, at the top, the façade of the church.

 

Vault of the apse

Giovanni Baglione, Death, Assumption and Coronation of Mary (1598), frescoes.

 

Left apsidal wall

TOP: (in the lunette) Giovanni Baglione, The angel exhorts Joseph to flee to Egypt and two unidentifiable prophets, but perhaps one of the two is actually a Sibyl (1598), fresco.

BOTTOM: Giovanni Baglione, Presentation of Mary in the Temple (1598), fresco. This presents a peculiarity: apart from the Renaissance garments of the characters, the scene takes place at the foot of a staircase at the end of which there is the facade of a building seen foreshortened, which corresponds precisely ... to the church of the Madonna dell'Orto.

LEFT PARASTA: grotesque in gilded stucco (17th century) which bears, at the top, the elevation of an unknown church, but it is almost certainly the facade of the first chapel erected in honor of the Madonna.

 

Bottom of the left aisle

Wooden door of access to the Sacristy; next to it, a unique marble stoup (15th century) with a hand holding a small basin.

TOP: Andrea Procaccini, Meeting between Joachim and Anna (1704). Pierre Legros, Angels (1702).

 

Chapel of San Francesco d'Assisi - Left arm of the transept

(University of the Molinari Masters)

ALTAR: statue of the Saint (17th century).

WALLS: Niccolò Martinelli da Pesaro known as “il Trometta”, Stories of San Francesco (1595), cycle of frescoes.

 

Left under-arch of the transept

Mario Garzi, Glory of San Francesco (early 17th century).

 

Chapel of Saints Carlo Borromeo, Ambrogio and Bernardino of Siena

(University of Scarpinelli)

ALTAR PIECE: Giovanni Baglione, Madonna with Child and Saints (1641), oil on canvas.

RIGHT WALL: Giovanni Baglione, Sant'Ambrogio on horseback chases the Aryans from Milan (1641), oil on canvas.

LEFT WALL: Giovanni Baglione, San Carlo Borromeo assists the plague victims (1641), oil on canvas.

 

Third vault of the left aisle

Giovan Battista Parodi, Glory of San Carlo Borromeo (1706), fresco.

 

Chapel of St. John the Baptist (Compagnia de 'Giovani Pizzicaroli)

ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT: Gabriele Valvassori (1750).

ALTAR PIECE: Corrado Giaquinto, Baptism of Christ (1750), oil on canvas.

RIGHT WALL: Giuseppe Ranucci, Sermon by the Baptist (1749), oil on canvas.

LEFT WALL: Giuseppe Ranucci, The Beheading of the Baptist (1749), oil on canvas. FLOOR: executed in 1750 to a design by Gabriele Valvassori.

 

Second vault of the left aisle

Giovan Battista Parodi, Glory of St. John the Baptist (1706), fresco.

 

Chapel of San Sebastiano (University of Ortolani)

ALTAR PALA: Giovanni Baglione, San Sebastiano cured by the angels (1624), oil on canvas. Baglione painted - with the same title - another large oil on canvas in the Cathedral of San Gemini, in Umbria. The two representations are very different, except in the face of the Saint, which is substantially identical.

RIGHT WALL: Giovanni Baglione, Sant'Antonio da Padova (1624), oil on canvas.

LEFT WALL: Giovanni Baglione, San Bonaventura (1624), oil on canvas.

FLOOR: executed in 1748 from a design by Gabriele Valvassori.


First vault of the left aisle

Giovan Battista Parodi, Glory of San Sebastiano (1706), fresco.

 

Counter-façade, left aisle

TOP: Giuseppe and Andrea Orazi, Adoration of the shepherds (1706), fresco.

BOTTOM: Holy water stoup with base, the work of Roman marble workers (late 15th century), perhaps belonging to the demolished votive chapel.

 

Central nave

VOLTA: Giacinto Calandrucci, Assumption of Mary (1706), fresco.

STUCCHI: designed by Gabriele Valvassori.

 

Triumphal arch

Camillo Rusconi, Angels in bas-relief (1702). Michel Maille, Female allegories flanked by cherubs (1702). ON THE FLOOR: Marble plaque indicating the precise point where the image of the Madonna dell'Orto was located at the time of the original miracle; the plaque was placed here when the sacred icon was transferred to the high altar (1556).

 

 

* * *

 

The floor of the three naves and three chapels, in white and gray marble, was made to a design by Gabriele Valvassori and is configured as a unifying element of the entire system, even if the construction site proceeded in a prolonged and irregular way, from 1747 to 1756 According to the archive sources, Valvassori was the architect of S. Maria dell'Orto between 1734 and 1758, after the long presence of Luigi Barattone, who contributed significantly to giving the church its present decorative appearance. In the side aisles, the two wooden confessionals, dated 1755, have been placed, bearing on the top a bronze panel depicting a grinding wheel on the Tiber, a gift from the University of Giovani Molinari. The design of these two elements has been attributed to Gabriele Valvassori for the general layout of the composition: the position of the columns, slightly rotated, which support an interrupted and arched architrave, recall an architectural scheme that can be found in the facade of the hospital and in the altar of the second chapel of the left aisle, dedicated to San Giovanni Battista.

About the stuccos that decorate the vaults of the church, an ancient legend handed down orally - but which for some time also found hospitality in some publications - has it that in these sumptuous ornaments the first gold came from America with Christopher Columbus was mixed. Probably born from the suggestion brought by the particular year of birth of the Confraternity (1492), the legend is actually devoid of any possible foundation. According to a much more authoritative tradition, in fact, that gold should decorate the coffered ceiling of S. Maria Maggiore, but even in this case there is no document that confirms it. However, purely theoretically, the legend concerning S. Maria dell'Orto could have some hints of truth: it is said that the work carried out in the Esquiline basilica has given rise to several scraps and scraps, all in any case jealously preserved, however it is known that infinitesimal quantities could be donated - for devotion and for symbolic purposes - to anyone who requested it in order to mix them with paints, stuccoes and anything else needed for the decoration of other churches.

 

AULA DEL VESTIARIO The walnut furniture was made by the cabinetmakers Eugenio and Giacomo Bacci, members of the Confraternity, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The one hundred and twelve cabinets, destined to keep the personal objects of the confreres, confirm how numerous members of the Sodality were once upon a time. The ceiling is covered with squares with polychrome inscriptions - ranging from the mid-sixteenth century to around the seventeenth century - which recall bequests and donations for the celebration of SS. Masses of suffrage.

 

ORATORY Place of prayer and meeting of the Archconfraternity, it was finished in 1563, as the inscription on the architrave that surmounts the access for those coming from the courtyard of the architectural complex documents. The room was decorated with stuccoes between 1702 and 1706; some of the paintings are attributed to Giovanni Odazzi, others to Tommaso Cardani. On 29 September 1851, the oratory was visited by Pope Pius IX, who - seated on a throne - admitted the Confratelli to the ritual homage of the osculum pedum (kiss of the foot); the following year - when the confraternity hospital was expropriated by the papal government to house part of the tobacco factory - the altar was placed there, coming from the central aisle of the former hospital of the association and donated, in 1568, by the University of Garzoni dei Vermicellari.

 

SACRESTY The large room was built around 1560, when the pillar to the left of the apse was demolished. The environment is typically eighteenth-century, starting with the impressive wooden cabinets, donated in part by the University of the Molinari Masters and in part by that of the Pollaroli. On the top of this last wardrobe, there is a superb turkey that makes the wheel with a wingspan of about 150 cm., A valuable and unique work - also from the eighteenth century - carved from a single wooden block. Some guides incorrectly report that the turkey was made to celebrate the arrival of the first turkey from America (first half of the 16th century). The fountain in the corner was donated by the University of Pizzicaroli and bears the indication of the jubilee year 1700, which suggests that it is the work of Barattone, at that time the architect of S. Maria dell'Orto. The vault, decorated with various monochromatic decorative elements, has in the center an Immaculate Conception - much remodeled - attributed to an anonymous artist inspired by Baglione.

 

MAJOR ALTAR. Drawing by Giacomo della Porta. The image of S. Maria dell'Orto dating back to around the middle of the fifteenth century is venerated here. The sacred icon was detached with all the wall portion from its original site, where it is remembered by an epigraph, and in 1556 on the high altar, but it was only in 1860 that it was moved on the oval canvas of about cm. 120x150 kept in the apse niche. The extraordinary magnetism of the image is mainly due to the incredible color of the eyes, painted with shades of blue, green and gray. In the very first years of 1500 it appears that the image underwent a first restoration by Antoniazzo Romano or his pupil but many others followed, the last in 1978.

 

 

At the end of the fifties of the last century, a series of reckless interventions carried out in the vicinity of the church ended up seriously altering the original solid static structure of the building, to the point of causing instability such as to jeopardize its very survival. In particular, the excavation along much of the external perimeter of the building for the expansion of the rear building of the State Monopoly Direction led to a series of injuries and disruptions that affected the whole church, from the wall structures to the vaults and the rich decorative apparatus . The Archconfraternity - owner of the sacred building but stripped of its substantial assets following the government confiscations that took place after 1870 - to solve these serious and urgent problems, turned to the Ministry for Cultural Heritage which, with its own funding and through the Superintendency for Environmental and Architectural Heritage of Rome, starting from 1984 implemented a series of consolidation and restoration interventions that averted the most serious risks for the monument and also partially restored its original shining image to the church.

The works carried out - as well as literally saving the entire building from certain destruction - also allowed the church to be reopened for worship, as well as to the numerous visitors and tourists. Currently, however, with the interruption of funding which occurred after the last batch of works, carried out in 1999 thanks to the funds of the Jubilee 2000, it is still necessary to complete the work already started for the total recovery of the church, which would require several million of Euro.

 

For information on guided tours of the church, please contact Mr. Enrico Pucci Vice Camerlengo of the Venerable Archconfraternity of Santa Maria dell'Orto. Mobile: 3393801318.

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