Santi Ippolito e Lorenzo in Fonte, better known as San Lorenzo in Fonte, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 ...

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 ...

Monti, on Via Urbana.

History

The church is dedicated to the holy martyrs Hippolytus and

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. According to tradition, it was built on the house of the

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

Hippolytus, where the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

Lawrence was held prisoner. Lawrence miraculously sprung a source of water, still visible in the basement of the building, with which he baptized his cellmate Lucillus, restoring his sight at the same time; in the face of the miracle, Hippolytus would have converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and was being baptized in turn.The legend is narrated in the ''Passio Polychronii'' (5th-7th centuries), then taken up again in the ''

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

''. The origin of the church is unknown. Sometimes it is confused with another one, no longer extant, called ''Memoria Sancti Hippoliti'', already mentioned in

4th century The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era) was the time period which lasted from 301 (Roman numerals, CCCI) through 400 (Roman numerals, CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Grea ...

, whose title was joined to the current one.
The church is mentioned for the first time in a document preserved in the Archive of

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

and dated May 28,

1348 Year 1348 ( MCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1348th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 348th year of the 2nd millennium, the 48t ...

; in 13th and

14th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and n ...

it was inhabited by

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks and nuns. The present church was built in

1543 __NOTOC__ Year 1543 ( MDXLIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It is one of the years sometimes referred to as an "Annus mirabilis" because of its significant publications in sc ...

by commission of the Spanish cardinal

Juan Álvarez de Toledo Juan Álvarez de Toledo (15 July 1488 – 15 September 1557) was a Spanish Dominican and Cardinal, from 1538. Considered '' papabile'' in the papal conclave (1549–1550), he was initially running second in votes to Reginald Pole. He was again ...

. In

1624 Events January–March * January 14 – After 90 years of Ottoman occupation, Baghdad is recaptured by the Safavid Empire. * January 22 – Korean General Yi Gwal leads an uprising of 12,000 soldiers against King Injo in wh ...

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

had enlargement works carried out by the architect Domenico Castelli, called ''il Fontanino'', a nephew of

Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno (Maderna) (1556 – 30 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Valle ...

Description

The works of art preserved in the church include: * on the main altar, ''Baptism of St. Hippolytus'' attributed to Giovanni Battista Speranza, also author of the two side paintings, ''Martyrdom of St. Lawrence'' and ''St. Lawrence distributing the loaves to poor''; * the ''Martyrdom of Sts. John and Paul'' by an anonymous artist of the

seventeenth century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural movemen ...

; * the ''bust of Pope Urban VIII'' attributed to

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

or to his school. The church houses the tomb of the famous Ticinese 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 ...

, Bernini's favorite pupil and assistant. The most attractive part of the visit to the church is the descent into the underground environments - which are accessed through a long and narrow staircase - housing the ancient prison of St. Lawrence and the source of water with which Lucillus was baptized. The arch, which divides the first section of the corridor from the former

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

part, shows a bas-relief depicting Christ rising from the tomb, dating back to the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

. The water well is embellished with a

17th-century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (Roman numerals, MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (Roman numerals, MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by ...

bas-relief which depicts Lawrence baptizing Lucillus.

Bibliography

* M. Armellini
''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', Rome 1891, p. 224
* * * {{cite book, author=Claudio Rendina, title=Le Chiese di Roma, publisher=Newton & Compton Editori, location=Rome, year=2000, page=175, isbn=978-88-541-1833-1 * A. Manodori, ''Rione I Monti'', in AA.VV, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Rome 2000, Vol. I, pp. 36–130.

History

Description

Bibliography

Notes

See also