The Chiesa di Santa Rita da Cascia in Campitelli is a deconsecrated church in

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 ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), in the

rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

Sant'Angelo; it is located in Via Montanara, at the crossroad with Via del Teatro Marcello. The church formerly rose on the preexisting church of ''San Biagio de Mercato'', dating at least to the 11th-century. The remains of St Blaise putatively were discovered during the dismantling of Santa Rita.

History

The church was built in 1643 by architect

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634 or 1638–1714) was an Italian architect originating from today's Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture. Biography There seems to be no proof that ...

in place of a former church, built by the family Bucabella in the 11th century, and rose at the base of the staircase of

Santa Maria in Aracoeli The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven ( la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli in Capitolio, it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. I ...

, on its left side. It was dedicated to

Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste ( hy, Սուրբ Վլասի, ''Surb Vlasi''; el, Ἅγιος Βλάσιος, ''Agios Vlasios''; ) was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and m ...

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

entrusted the church to the brotherhood of the Holy Thorn of the Cross of Jesus. It became property of a confraternity of individuals from Cascia, who advocated for the veneration of the then blessed Rita. The codedication to Saint

Rita of Cascia Rita of Cascia, born Margherita Lotti (1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italians, Italian widow and Augustinian nuns, Augustinian nun venerated as a List of Catholic saints, saint in the Roman Catholic Church. After Rita's husband died, she joine ...

, in addition of Saint Blaise, was added only in 1900, the year of her canonization. In 1928, as a consequence of the demolitions in the area to make space to the ''Via del Mare'' (now Via del Teatro di Marcello), the church was dismantled piece by piece and deposited with the aim of rebuilding it in the same place. Nonetheless, in 1940 the church was rebuilt in its present location, as remembered by a commemorative stone on the left side of the building. ' ' The church is now deconsecrated and used for meetings, conferences and concerts.

Description

The façade is decorated with

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building s ...

s and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

es. The interior is on the

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

plan with a convex rhomboidal map, like the one of

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane The church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Saint Charles at the Four Fountains), also called , is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, Italy. The church was designed by the architect Francesco Borromini and it was his first independent commission. ...

. The apse, deeper than the side chapels, still houses the baroque altar made of

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

marbles and a stained glass window depicting Saint Rita of Cascia. The dome is in the middle. Other churches highly influenced by Borromini's San Carlino include Church of the Gesù, Montepulciano and the Church of the

Abbey of the Holy Spirit at Monte Morrone, Sulmona The Abbey of the Holy Spirit at Morrone (Italian:Abbazia di Santo Spirito al Morrone), known by various titles, is a former monastery some five kilometers outside of the town of Sulmona, at the base of Monte Morrone, in the Province of L'Aquila, re ...

Bibliography

F. Titi, ''Descrizione delle Pitture, Sculture e Architetture esposte in Roma'', Rome 1763

* ttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/I/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/churches/_Texts/Huelsen/HUECHI*/home.html C. Hulsen, ''Le chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo'', Florence 1927* Anna Maria Affanni, ''Demolizione e ricostruzione della Chiesa di S. Rita da Cascia'' in ''Gli anni del Governatorato (1926-1944)'', pp. 131–137, Collana ''Quaderni dei monumenti'', Rome, Edizioni Kappa, 1995. . * M. Quercioli, ''Rione XI S. Angelo'', in AA.VV, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, Vol. II, pp. 726–765. * C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milan 2000, p. 324.

External links

Engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

Giovanni Battista Falda Giovanni Battista Falda (Valduggia 7 December 1643 – 22 August 1678 Rome) was an Italian architect, engraver and artist. He is known for his engravings of both contemporary and antique structures of Rome. Biography Falda was sent as a bo ...

, showing the church in its former location at the feet of the Aracoeli. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rita da Cascia in Campitelli, Santa Roman Catholic churches completed in 1643 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque architecture in Rome Deconsecrated Roman Catholic churches in Rome 1643 establishments in the Papal States Rita da Cascia