S Eustachio - ss Benedetto e Scolastica interno 1160317

Santi Benedetto e Scolastica is 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 ...

on the Via di Torre Argentina, although its postal address is Vicolo Sinibaldi 1, the headquarters of the confraternity.

History

This tiny church is one of the smallest in Rome, and is the

regional church Charitable institutions attached to churches in Rome were founded right through the medieval period and included hospitals, hostels, and others providing assistance to pilgrims to Rome from a certain "nation", which thus became these nations' na ...

for natives of the city and region of

Norcia Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a su ...

living in Rome. An

archconfraternity An archconfraternity ( es, archicofradía) is a Catholic confraternity, empowered to aggregate or affiliate other confraternities of the same nature, and to impart to them its benefits and privileges. History In 1569, Charles Borromeo started ar ...

to care for the welfare of Nursian expatriates was set up in Rome in the early 1600s. Pope Paul V approved it as a confraternity in 1615. At first the group met in a chapel of Sant'Eustachio, but in 1622, the confraternity was bequeathed a property on the VIa di Torre Argentina.

Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623. Biography Early life Al ...

raised it to an archconfraternity in 1623. The already existing house chapel was converted into a church with a separate entrance in 1625, and given the dedication is because St Benedict started his monastic career at Norcia before moving to

Montecassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. St Scholastica was his sister, and by tradition was the first

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 ...

nun. After 1808, during the

French occupation of Rome The Roman Republic () was a sister republic of the First French Republic. It was proclaimed on 15 February 1798 after Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had occupied the city of Rome on 10 February. It was led by a Directory of fiv ...

, the church was looted of its artworks and desecrated.Arciconfraternita del Santi Benedetto e Scolastica
/ref> In 1841 the church was restored and reopened, and underwent further restoration under

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

and Pope Leo XIII."SS. Benedetto e Scolastica all'Argentina", Turismo Roma, Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion Department
/ref> At present it is cherished by its small congregation. The Archconfraternity went into abeyance in the 1960s, but was revived in 1984 under new statutes.

Exterior

The church is part of a larger building, and hence has no separate architectural identity. It is marked by the interesting and unusual dedicatory inscription over the entrance, which is written in concentric circles within a Tondo (art), tondo. This tondo is flanked by two diagonal strips of

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

each with a faint S-curve, and which join to it via tiny volutes. The inscription reads "Divis Benedicto et Scholasticae Patronis nursinus ordo et populus", which translates as "To the honoured patrons Benedict and Scholastica, the council and people of Norcia".

Interior

The single-roomed interior was entirely restored in the 19th century, and could be described as garish in places. The walls are painted to imitate green hanging curtains, with '' trompe-l'œil''

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

with an inscription "Felix Nursiae tellus quae talem genuit alumnum" or "Happy land of Norcia, which gave birth to such a pupil". There is a painting of the patrons over the altar, and over that a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...

containing stained glass showing the Madonna and Child being venerated by saints. The Baroque altar has polychrome marble inlay.

Opening

The church is open for Mass at 18:00, except Sunday which is 11:00.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedetto e Scholastica, Santi Roman Catholic churches in Rome National churches in Rome 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches of Rome (rione Sant'Eustachio)