Sant'Agata in Trastevere is one of the churches of Rome, located in the Trastevere district, at Largo San Giovanni de Matha, 91. The church is dedicated to the Sicilian

St Agatha ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, martyred in approximately 251, whose cult soon spread well beyond Sicily. She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the

Canon of the Mass The Canon of the Mass ( la, Canon Missæ), also known as the Canon of the Roman Mass and in the Mass of Paul VI as the Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer I, is the oldest anaphora used in the Roman Rite of Mass. The name ''Canon Missæ'' was used in ...

. Agatha is also depicted in the famous mosaics of the church of

Sant'Apollinare Nuovo The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is a basilica church in Ravenna, Italy. It was erected by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel during the first quarter of the 6th century (as attested to in the ''Liber Pontificalis ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, where she appears, richly dressed, in the

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

of women martyrs along the north wall.

History and art

The ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

'', reports that the origins of this church was a house owned by the family of

Pope Gregory II Pope Gregory II ( la, Gregorius II; 669 – 11 February 731) was the bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death.

Bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

from 715 to his death in 731,Mann, Horace. "Pope St. Gregory II." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 18 September 2017 who at the death of the mother transformed it into a religious building, with an adjoining monastery. This would date it to the 8th century. It is mentioned in 1121 in a papal bull of

Pope Callixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, ...

. In 1575

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

granted the church to the archconfraternity of the Dottrina Cristiana, founded in 1560 by Marco de Sadis Cusani: from the title of the church, the members of the association had the name of "Agatists". In 1725 the Agatists merged into the Doctrinaries congregation of the Blessed

César de Bus César de Bus (3 February 1544 – 15 April 1607) was a French Catholic priest and founder of two religious congregations. Life César de Bus was born in Cavaillon, Comtat Venaissin (now in France). At eighteen he joined the king's army and took ...

.DIP, vol. III (1976), coll. 977-978, voce a cura di P. Centi. In 1710-1711, under the pontificate of

Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

, the church was completely rebuilt by Giacomo Recalcati. On this occasion it was granted to the Oratory of the Madonna del Carmine, the polychrome wooden statue, depicting the ''Madonna del Carmine'' (''Our Lady of Mount Carmel''), popularly called the "Madonna de Noantri", protectress of the Trastevere district. The façade of the church is in the late-baroque style. The interior has a single nave, with three chapels on each side and a barrel vault. There are preserved, among others, works by

Girolamo Troppa Girolamo Troppa (1637–1710) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, depicting mainly sacred subjects. He was active in Rome and Umbria. He was a follower of Carlo Maratti. He painted for the church of San Giacomo delle Penitenti, in ...

and

Biagio Puccini Biagio Puccini (1673–1721) was an Italian painter, active in his native Rome, but also in Tuscany, Umbria and the Marche in a late Baroque style. He was born in Rome. He trained with Antonio Gherardi, but was influenced by Giacinto Brandi, Gi ...

. Adjacent to the church are the remains of buildings from 5th century and the Middle Ages. The church is at the center every year of the chief Trastevere popular festival, the " Festa de Noantri".

Gallery

File:Largo S. Giovanni de Matha - Chiesa Santa'Agata in Trastevere - panoramio.jpg, Exterior File:S Agata in Trastevere - interno P1070199.JPG, Interior File:S Agata in Trastevere - soffitto P1070200.JPG, Roof File:S Agata in Trastevere - abito ex voto della madonna fiumarola P1070203.JPG, Ex-voto costume dedicated to the Madonna del Carmine, displayed at the headquarters of the Archconfraternity. File:Madonna del Carmine Trastevere.jpg, Madonna del Carmine

References

Bibliography

Christian Hülsen Christian Karl Friedrich Hülsen (born in Charlottenburg, 29 November 1858; died in Florence, Italy, on 19 January 1935) was a German architectural historian of the classical era who later changed to studying the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. ...

''Le chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo'', Firenze 1927
*

Mariano Armellini Mariano Armellini (7 February 1852 – 24 February 1896) was an Italian archaeologist and historian. Born in Rome, he was one of the founders of the Pontifical Academy of Martyrs. He is the author of ''Gli antichi cimiteri cristiani di Roma e d'I ...

,
''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', Rome 1891
* C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milan 2000, p. 13 * G. Carpaneto, ''Rione XIII Trastevere'', in AA.VV, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, Vol. III, pp. 831–923 * G. Pelliccia e G. Rocca (curr.), ''Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione'' (10 voll.), Edizioni paoline, Milan 1974-2003.

External links

{{commonscat, Sant'Agata in Trastevere Roman Catholic churches completed in 1711 Roman Catholic churches in Rome Baroque architecture in Rome 9th-century churches in Italy 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy