Santa Maria in Trivio is a church in Rome. It is dedicated to

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 ...

, and is located on Piazza dei Crociferi in rione Trevi. It is near the

Fountain of Trevi The Trevi Fountain ( it, Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the lar ...

. In Mariano Vasi's 19th-century guidebook, the church is referred to as Santa Maria a Trevi. According to tradition, the church was founded by the Byzantine general

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terri ...

in the 6th century. Allegedly, he found the church to expiate for deposing Pope

Silverius Pope Silverius (died 2 December 537) was bishop of Rome from 8 June 536 to his deposition in 537, a few months before his death. His rapid rise to prominence from a deacon to the papacy coincided with the efforts of Ostrogothic king Theodahad (nep ...

in 537. Previously the church had been known as ''Santa Maria in Fornica''. This was recorded in an 11th-century inscription on the wall of the church. In 1571 the church was given to the Order of the Crociferi. Between 1573 and 1575 the architect

Giacomo del Duca Giacomo Del Duca (c. 1520 – 1604) was an Italian sculptor and architect during the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period. He is most remembered for assisting Michelangelo in a number of projects in Rome, including the sculpture and construction ...

rebuilt the church, designing e.g. the innovative

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

above the entrance door. The crucifix in the chapel was decorated by Giovanni Francesco Bolognese. The altarpiece of ''St Camillo de Lellis'' was painted by

Gasparo Serenari Gasparo Serenari (active 1760) was an Italian painter of the 18th century, active in Rome and his native Palermo. Biography He was a pupil of Sebastiano Conca in Rome. He painted altarpieces for the churches of Santa Maria in Trivio and Santa Mar ...

. The main altarpiece was painted by Bartolommeo Morelli. Other altarpieces in side altars were by the studio of

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

, Luigi Scaramuccia, and

Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance Painting, painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pup ...

. The ceiling was painted by

Antonio Gherardi Antonio Gherardi (''Il Reatino'') (20 September 1638 – 10 May 1702) was an Italian painter, architect, and sculptor (stuccoist) of the Baroque style, active mainly in and near Rome and his native city of Rieti. Life Antonio was born in Riet ...

.Itinerario instruttivo di Roma, Volume 1, by Mariano Vasi, Rome, (1791), page 309.

References

* Rendina, Claudio (2000). ''Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosità delle Chiese di Roma''. Newton & Compton Editori. Maria Trivio Maria Trivio 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{italy-RC-church-stub