, native_name= , image=Santa Maria del Anima I.jpg , caption=Façade of the church. , mapframe=yes , mapframe-caption=Click on the map for a fullscreen view , mapframe-zoom=12 , mapframe-marker=religious-christian , coordinates= , location=Via di Santa Maria dell'Anima 64, Ponte,

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 ...

, country=

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 ...

, province= , district= , denomination=

Catholic Church 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 ...

, tradition=

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

, cardinal protector=Michael Max , dedication=

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, consecration year=1542 , status=

national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...

, architect=

Andrea Sansovino Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino (1529) was an Italian sculptor active during the High Renaissance. His pupils include Jacopo Sansovino (no relation). Biography He was the son of Domenico Contucci of Monte S ...

Giuliano da Sangallo Giuliano da Sangallo (c. 1445 – 1516) was an Italian sculptor, architect and military engineer active during the Italian Renaissance. He is known primarily for being the favored architect of Lorenzo de' Medici, his patron. In this role, Giulia ...

, style=

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

, architectural type=

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, groundbreaking=1386 , completed date=1522 , length= , width= , width nave= , height= , materials= , website=https://pisma.it/ Santa Maria dell'Anima ( en, Our Lady of the Soul) is a church in central

, just west of the

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' agones' ...

and near the

Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte. History The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482 ...

church. It was founded during the course of the 14th century by

Dutch merchants Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, who at that time belonged to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. In the course of the 15th century, it became the

of the whole

in Rome and henceforth the so-called German national church and hospice of German-speaking people in Rome. In some sources this institution is called Austrian since Habsburg emperors were its protectors. According to tradition, the church received its name, from the picture of Our Lady which forms its coat of arms (the Blessed Virgin between two souls). Among the artworks housed inside is the ''Holy Family'' by

Giulio Romano Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-centu ...

. It is the resting place of the Dutch

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...

as well as of Cardinals

William of Enckenvoirt William of Enckevoirt, also spelled as Enckenvoirt (1464 in Mierlo-Hout – 19 July 1534 in Rome) was a Dutch Cardinal, bishop of Tortosa from 1524 to 1524, and bishop of Utrecht from 1529 to 1534. Biography Enckevoirt was the son of a f ...

and

Andrew of Austria Andreas von Österreich, Margrave of Burgau, also known as Andrew of Austria (15 June 1558 at Březnice Castle in Březnice, Bohemia – 12 November 1600 in Rome) was a cardinal, Bishop of Constance and of Brixen. He belonged to the Austr ...

History

14th and 15th century

Santa Maria dell'Anima is one of the many medieval charity institutions built for pilgrims in Rome. The church found its origin in 1350, when Johannes (Jan) and Katharina Peters of

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

bought three houses and turned it into a private hospice for pilgrims, at the occasion of the Jubilee of 1350. Jan Peters may have been a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

merchant or papal soldier; Dordrecht belonged to a region which later became independent as the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. They named the hospice "Beatae Mariae Animarum" ("Blessed Mary's of the Souls"). It was erected on its present site in 1386. In the 15th century Santa Maria dell'Anima expanded to be a hostel for visitors from the entire

, though initially the occupants were primarily from the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

and (from the middle 15th century) the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

. The foundation of the hospice was confirmed by the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX ( la, Bonifatius IX; it, Bonifacio IX; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope of the Western Schism.Richa ...

on 9 November 1399, which granted it

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...

. In 1406, it was raised to the rank of a national institution and united with a Brotherhood governed by Provisors and a Congregation. On 21 May 1406

Pope Innocent VII Pope Innocent VII ( la, Innocentius VII; it, Innocenzo VII; 1339 – 6 November 1406), born Cosimo de' Migliorati, was head of the Catholic Church from 17 October 1404 to his death in November 1406. He was pope during the period of the Western S ...

in his bull '' Piae Postulatio'' declared the hospice exempt from all but papal jurisdiction, and took it under his immediate protection. In 1418, it was greatly enriched by the legacy of its second founder,

Diedrich of Niem Dietrich of Nieheim (Niem or Nyem) (22 March 1418), medieval historian, was born at Nieheim, a small town subject to the see of Paderborn. Life Nothing is known about his family, and but little about his life previous to his entry into the service ...

. The Popes of the fifteenth century, with the exception of

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

, showed it great favor. In 1431 a church was built on the place of the hospice's chapel (consecrated by

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

in 1444) and the community was united with the German hospice of St. Andrew which had been founded in 1372 by the priest Nicholas of Kulm. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Santa Maria dell'Anima became the national and religious centre as well as burial place in Rome of the Holy Roman Empire.

16th-17th century

Prominent citizens of the Holy Roman Empire residing in Rome became members of the Confraternity of Santa Maria dell'Anima, including William of Orange's eldest son, Philip William."Santa Maria dell'Anima", Religiana
/ref>

Johann Burchard Johann Burchard, also spelled Johannes Burchart or Burkhart (c.1450–1506) was an Alsatian-born priest and chronicler during the Italian Renaissance. He spent his entire career at the papal Courts of Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII, Alexander VI, Pius ...

from

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

joined the Confraternity of Santa Maria dell'Anima and rose to be its provost at the end of the 15th century. While he held this office, the decision was made to rebuild the church for the Jubilee of 1500. The present church which owes its Renaissance style to the influence of

Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style ...

, was built by German subscriptions, between 1499 and 1522. It stands on the site of the older church, built between 1431 and 1499, and was decorated by the great artists of the period. The church was built in the style of a

that was typical for Northern Europe, but which sits awkwardly amid the Italianate churches of Rome.

was retained as architect. The facade was completed by

. The new church was consecrated only on 25 November 1542. Ponte - s maria d Anima - sarcofago nel cortile 1010741

In 1699, Leopold I announced that Santa Maria dell'Anima would be placed under his personal protection. This made it more of a Hapsburg church than strictly German.

18th-20th century

During the Napoleonic occupation, the church was plundered and the sacristy used as a horse stable. In 1844, the (new)

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

community moved to the

Church of St. Julian of the Flemings The Church of St. Julian of the Flemings ( it, Chiesa di S. Giuliano dei Fiamminghi, nl, Sint-Juliaan-der-Vlamingen, french: Saint-Julien des Flamands, la, S. Iuliani Flandrensium) is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Julian the Hospit ...

. Under the influence of the era's nationalism, in 1859 a priest college was founded, named the Collegio Teutonico di Santa Maria dell' Anima. However, although being propagated as a German institution, it was until 1918 under the patronage of the Habsburg emperors, and priests had many other European nationalities than only German. In 1937 a chapel was built in commemoration of the First World War soldiers. Underneath about 450 soldiers, most of them unidentified, from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

were buried who died in

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

camps in the vicinity of Rome. A project lead by Tamara Scheer and Nikolaus Rottenberger with the support of the Austrian Ministry of Defense, has started in 2021 aiming to identify these soldiers. Later the institution served as a Ratline to aid Nazi war criminals such as

Gustav Wagner Gustav Franz Wagner (18 July 1911 – 3 October 1980) was an Austrian member of the ''Schutzstaffel, SS'' with the rank of Staff sergeant (''Oberscharführer''). Wagner was a deputy commander of Sobibor extermination camp in General Government, Ge ...

and

Franz Stangl Franz Paul Stangl (; 26 March 1908 – 28 June 1971) was an Austrian-born police officer and commandant of the Nazi extermination camps Sobibor and Treblinka. Stangl, an employee of the T-4 Euthanasia Program and an SS commander in Nazi German ...

in their flight from justice. Dutch Catholics retained the ''Anima'' as their national church, but after extended conflicts left it in 1939 (since 1992 the San Michele dei Frisoni near the Vatican has taken that role). S M d Anima - controfacciata, Willem van Enckevoirt P1100338

S M d Anima - controfacciata, Willem van Enckevoirt P1100338

The inscriptions found in Santa Maria dell'Anima, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella. During the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, attempted to find lodging at the German pilgrim hostel at Santa Maria Dell'Anima, but was turned away due to no vacancy. Instead, he found lodging at the temporary priest residence across the street. The church itself is now used exclusively as a parish for the German-speaking people of Rome.

Interior

SantaMariaAnima-TombaAdrianoVI01-SteO153

Among the artistic treasures of the church are (in chronological order): * A altarpiece painted by

in 1521-22 for a

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German upper bourgeois family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and vent ...

family, depicting the ''Sacred Family and donors'' (Mark and Giacomo Fugger). * The

funerary monument Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, and comm ...

(r. 1521–1523), commissioned by his friend, cardinal

Willem van Enckevoirt William of Enckevoirt, also spelled as Enckenvoirt (1464 in Mierlo-Hout – 19 July 1534 in Rome) was a Dutch Cardinal, bishop of Tortosa from 1524 to 1524, and bishop of Utrecht from 1529 to 1534. Biography Enckevoirt was the son of a far ...

and designed in part by

Baldassarre Peruzzi Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi (7 March 1481 – 6 January 1536) was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena (in Ancaiano, ''frazione'' of Sovicille) and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and lat ...

. * An altarpiece (1532) by

Lorenzetto Lorenzo Lotti, also known as Lorenzetto, (1490–1541), born Lorenzo di Lodovico di Guglielmo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect in the circle of Raphael. He was born in Florence and married the sister of Giulio Romano, another ...

. * The funerary monument of Cardinal

(1464–1534),

bishop of Tortosa The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain.

(1522–1534) and of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

(1529–1534). The monument by

Giovanni Mangone Giovanni Mangone (born towards the end of 15th century, died 25 June 1543) was an Italian artist active almost exclusively in Rome during the Renaissance. Mangone's skills were manifold: he worked as sculptor, architect, stonecutter and building ...

was originally located next to Adrian's monument, but was moved to near the main entrance in 1575. * A Deposition (1550) by Francesco Salviati * A painting by

Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta Girolamo is an Italian variant of the name Hieronymus. Its English equivalent is Jerome. It may refer to: * Girolamo Cardano (1501–1576), Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler * Girolamo Cassar (c. 1520 – after ...

. * The funerary of

(1558–1600), cardinal since 1573monument
/ref> * ''Miracles of Saint Benno'' and ''Martyrdom of Saint Lambert'' (1618) painted by

Carlo Saraceni Carlo Saraceni (1579 – 16 June 1620) was an Italian early-Baroque painter, whose reputation as a "first-class painter of the second rank" was improved with the publication of a modern monograph in 1968. Life Though he was born and died in ...

. An internal courtyard houses some ancient findings.

Notes

Sources

* * * Clifford W Maas and

Peter Herde Peter Herde (Born 5 February 1933) is a German historian. His research activities range from fundamental work on papal diplomatics of the Middle Ages to the history of the country up to the Second World War. Life Herd was born in 1933 in Racibó ...

, ''The German Community in Renaissance Rome, 1378-1523'', Rome: Herder, 1981. , * Ricarda Matheus
German-speaking pilgrims in Rome around the era of Goethe – Reconstruction and digital publication of an once forgotten historical source.
Edited and published on behalf of the

German Historical Institute in Rome The German Historical Institute in Rome, short DHI Rome, is the oldest of the German historical institutes abroad. Its purpose is to conduct research in the history of both Italy and Germany, and investigate particularly the German-Italian relatio ...

in cooperation with the Pontificium Institutum Teutonicum Sanctae Mariae de Anima (Online publications of the history of Santa Maria dell’Anima 1; ed. by Michael Matheus/Johan Ickx). Rom n. d. * Eberhard J. Nikitsch
Inscriptions of the “German national church” Santa Maria dell’Anima in Rome. Part 1: Middle Ages to 1559 (=DIO 3).
Rome 2012. Published online in
inschriften.net
respectively Deutsche Inschriften Online. * Tamara Scheer, Negotiating National Character. The Habsburgs’ Roman Catholic Priest College Santa Maria dell’ Anima and the German National Church in Rome, 1859-1915, in: Austrian Studies 28 (2020), special issue "Fragments of Empire. Austrian Modernisms and the Habsburg Imaginary, edited by Deborah Holmes & Clemens Peck, 64-78. This article contains public domain text from the article

External links

Official website of the vicariate of Rome

on the German community in Rome's website

* Moos, Paul Sebastian/Nikitsch, Eberhard J.: A Glance into the Historian's Workshop: The Working World of the Epigrapher. The Historical Auxiliary Sciences and Their Significance for Historical and Academic Studies – a Roman Experience Report, in: Skriptum 2 (2012), Nr. 1, URN
urn:nbn:de:0289-2012050312
(The historians outline their work, describe the various steps editioning the epigraphical corpus of the Santa Maria dell’Anima, and locate their auxiliary science within modern historical and cultural studies. It also provides the reader with an informative overview of the working environment of an epigrapher at the

.) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria Dell'anima Maria dell'Anima, Santa 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1542 Burial places of popes National churches in Rome Renaissance architecture in Rome 1542 establishments in the Papal States Maria Anima