Santi Venanzio e Ansovino was a

Roman Catholic 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 lette ...

church situated near the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...

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 ...

, in the area now occupied by the Piazza d'Aracoeli. It was dedicated to two saints associated with the city of

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...

Venantius of Camerino Venantius of Camerino ( it, San Venanzio, also known as Saint Wigand) (died 18 May 251 or 253)San V ...

, a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

; and

Ansovinus Saint Ansovinus ( it, Sant'Ansovino) (d. 816) was a bishop of Camerino, and is the patron saint of agriculture. His feast day is March 13. Life He was educated at the cathedral school of Pavia. After ordination to the priesthood, he became a he ...

bishop of Camerino The Italian Archdiocese of Camerino-San Severino Marche ( la, Archidioecesis Camerinensis-Sancti Severini in Piceno) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory, seated in Camerino, a city in the Province of Macerata, in the central Italian March ...

. The church was also called ''SS Venanzio ed Ansovino de' Camerinesi''.

Description

The original church at the site was named ''San Giovanni Battista in Mercatello'', after a marketplace here, moved later to Piazza Navona. In 1542, Pope Paul III granted the church to a confraternity, and later to Basilian Monks from the Abbey of Grottaferrata. They in turn ceded it to the Confraternity of the Camerinesi. Under their ownership, Antonio Liborio Raspantini refurbished the church. The main altar was designed by

Giovanni Battista Contini Giovanni Battista Contini (1641–1723) was an Italian people, Italian architect of the Baroque architecture, Baroque period. He trained in Rome under Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, but imbibed the influence of Francesco Borromini. He designed churche ...

, and the main altarpiece by

Luigi Garzi Luigi Garzi (1638 – 1721) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, whose work displayed heavy influences of the Bolognese painter, Guido Reni. Biography Born in Pistoia. He started learning from a poorly known landscape painter, Salomo ...

. Side paintings were by

Agostino Masucci Agostino Masucci (; c. 1691 – 19 October 1758) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period. Biography Born in Rome, he initially apprenticed with Andrea Procaccino, and then became a member of the studio of Carlo Maratta. He joi ...

. The ceiling of the apse was frescoed by Pasqualini. Garzi also painted a ''Virgin with Saints Charles and Phillip''.

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 ...

designed and decorated a chapel with a canvas depicting ''St Anne''. The chapel also had a ''Birth of the Virgin'' by

Michelangiolo Cerruti Michelangelo or Michelangiolo Cerruti (1663 – 24 December 1749) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. At a young age, he was a pupil of Giuseppe Passeri in Rome and afterwards lived for a decade in northern Italy, ...

, and a painting by

Antonio Grecolini Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

.Guida metodica di Roma e suoi contorni
by Giuseppe Melchiorri, Rome (1836); page 425. The

Fontana di Piazza d'Aracoeli The fountain in the Piazza d'Aracoeli is a fountain in Rome (Italy), located at the base of the Capitoline Hill, in the little square with the same name. Description It is one of the first and simplest of Renaissance fountains that would embelli ...

is featured prominently in the print by Giuseppe Vasi depicting the facade of this church; the fountain was designed in 1589 by

Giacomo della Porta Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome. Biography Giacomo Della Porta was b ...

. The church however was pulled down in 1928 to make for new roads and a piazza adjacent to the

Altare della Patria The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument ( it, Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II), also known as Vittoriano or Altare della Patria ("Altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor E ...

References

Venanzio Buildings and structures demolished in 1928 Venanzio Ansovino {{Italy-church-stub