Antonio del Duca or Lo Duca (

Cefalù Cefalù (), classically known as Cephaloedium (), is a city and comune in the Italian Metropolitan City of Palermo, located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily about east of the provincial capital and west of Messina. The town, with its populati ...

1491 –

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

1564) was the Sicilian friar whose persistent campaign for an official veneration of the "Seven Angelic Princes" was partly answered in the dedication of

Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs ( la, Beatissimae Virginis et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum, it, Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri) is a basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy, built inside the ruined ''frigida ...

, constructed to the orders of

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

within the ruins of the

Baths of Diocletian , alternate_name = it, Terme di Diocleziano , image = Baths of Diocletian-Antmoose1.jpg , caption = Baths of Diocletian, with the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri built in the remains of the baths. , map_dot_ ...

Life

Antonio had been obsessed with the cult of the angels since the days when he was choirmaster in the

cathedral of Palermo Palermo Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo, located in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the pre ...

, 1513-15. At that time he discovered in the little Church of Sant'Angelo an ancient

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

of the Seven Angelic Princes that emerged almost by a miracle after centuries of neglect."Antonio Lo Duca", S. Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
/ref> Fired with his faith, he traveled to Rome, harboring the intention of obtaining formal recognition of these ''Sette Principi angelici''. In Rome he obtained a post as chaplain to Antonio Maria Cardinal Ciocchi del Monte, uncle of the future

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

. For the cardinal he composed a

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

for a Mass of the Seven Angels. After his patron's death in 1533, he served as chaplain to don Fernando de Silva, conde de Cifuentes, ambassador of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

, never failing to seek official approval for his liturgy. In vain were his importunings of

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

Farnese, who assigned him duties that returned him to his native Sicily. Once again in Rome, he became chaplain in Santa Maria di Loreto in Trajan's Forum. There, one summer morning in 1541 he had a beatific vision of the Seven Martyr Saints— Saints Saturnino, Ciriaco, Largo, Smaragdo, Sisinnio, Trasone and

Pope Marcellus I Pope Marcellus I (6 January 255 – 16 January 309) was the bishop of Rome from May or June 308 to his death. He succeeded Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Maxentius, he was banished from Rome in 309, on account of the tumult ca ...

— revealed in a white light within the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian. From that moment he was fixated on seeing a church dedicated to those built within the ruins. He inscribed seven of the great red granite Roman columns of the ''

caldarium 230px, Caldarium from the Roman Baths at Bath, England. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor. A caldarium (also called a calidarium, cella caldaria or cella coctilium) was a room ...

'' with the names in his list of

Seven Archangels The concept of Seven Archangels is found in some works of early Jewish literature and in Christianity. In those texts, they are referenced as the angels who serve God directly. Bible The term ''archangel'' itself is not found in the Hebrew Bibl ...

: the three familiar ones,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, and

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

, with the archangels specific to the Eastern Catholic rites:

Selaphiel Saint Selaphiel the Archangel or Saint Sealtiel, Selatiel, or Selathiel ( Hebrew: שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל ''Šəʾaltīʾēl,'' Tiberian: ''Šăʾaltīʾēl'', ''"''I have asked God") is one of the archangels in Byzantine Catholic and Easte ...

Jegudiel Saint Iehudiel ( he, יַחְדִּיאֵל ''Yaḥdīʾēl,'' "God is One") is one of the seven Archangels in Eastern Orthodox tradition and in the eastern rites of the Catholic Church. Iconography He is often depicted in iconography holding a ...

Barachiel Barachiel ( Hebrew: בַּרַכְאֵל ''Baraḵʾēl'', "God has blessed") is one of the Archangels in Judaism, as well as Byzantine Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition. He is the Archangel of Blessings. In the Third Book of Enoch, he is ...

and

Uriel Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is mentio ...

. His beseeching letter of 13 November 1546 to Signora Lucrezia della Rovere-Colonnaon-line text of the letter
/ref> to intercede with Paul III on behalf of the project: it must have been one among many. In 1543 he combined a pilgrimage to the

Santa Casa di Loreto The Basilica della Santa Casa ( en, Basilica of the Holy House) is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pio ...

with a trip to Venice to have the booklet of his liturgy printed, with prayers and images of the angels and while he was there commissioned a copy of the mosaic in the

Basilica of San Marco The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Pat ...

depicting the Virgin among the Seven Angels, In Rome once more, Antonio accepted the rectorship of the Orfanelli di Santa Maria in Aquiro, continuing to frequent the ''

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

'' and pressing Paul III to consecrate the grand Roman ruin to the ''Beatissima Vergine dei Sette Arcangeli''. Finally the construction was authorized by

, in a brief of 27 July 1561 that dedicated the church to the ''"Beatissimae Virgini et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum"'', " the most Holy Virgin and all the Angels and Martyrs", and conceded the direction to the

Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, ( la, Basilica Sanctae Crucis in Hierusalem) is a Catholic Minor basilica and titular church in rione Esquilino, Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim ...

. The designer of the new church was

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, one of his last commissions."Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri", Turismo Roma, Dipartimento Grandi Eventi, Sport, Turismo e Moda
/ref>

Notes

References

Sources

*Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. ''Between Renaissance and Baroque: Jesuit Art in Rome, 1565–1610''. University of Toronto Press, 2003. *Manzi, Pietro. ''La tipografia napoletana nel '500''. Naples, 1971.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Duca, Antonio 1491 births 1564 deaths People from Cefalù Angels in Christianity Religious leaders from the Province of Palermo