Santo Spirito dei Napoletani is 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 on

via Giulia Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiw ...

, in the

Regola Regola is the 7th ''rione'' of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. VII, and belongs to the Municipio I. The name comes from ''Arenula'' (the name is recognizable in the modern ''Via Arenula''), which was the name of the soft sand (''rena'' ...

''rione'' of

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 ...

. It was the national church of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

and is now the regional church for

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

History

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

's catalogue of churches, this church is known as 'S. Aura in strada Iulia' (Saint Aurea in the

via Julia Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwa ...

) and was then part of a monastery. It was dedicated to Saint Aurea, a martyr from Ostia. In the 14th century it was also known as 'Sant'Eusterio', as a result of the catalogue of Cencio Camerario (n. 232) and of the anonymous Turin catalogue, which states "Ecclesia s. Austerii de campo Senensi habet unum sacerdotem" (the church of s. Austerii in campo Senensi has one priest). By 1572 the church was in a poor state - that year, it and the monastery were assigned to the Confraternity of the Holy Spirit of the Neapolitans. The Confraternity demolished the existing church and built a new one dedicated to the Holy Spirit, which was inaugurated in 1574. The church was rebuilt twice more, to designs by

Domenico Fontana Domenico Fontana (154328 June 1607) was an Italian architect of the late Renaissance, born in today's Ticino. He worked primarily in Italy, at Rome and Naples. Biography He was born at Melide, a village on the Lake Lugano, at that time joint p ...

or perhaps

Ottaviano Mascherino Ottaviano Nonni (1536 – 6 August 1606), called Il Mascherino, was an Italian architect, sculptor, and painter born in Bologna. Apprentice of Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, he was active in Emilia and in Rome, where he had been living in the rione of ...

at the end of the 16th century. At the beginning of the 18th century it was given a major redesign by

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634 or 1638–1714) was an Italian architect originating from today's Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture. Biography There seems to be no proof tha ...

. Antonio Cipolla carried out major restorations to the interior and rebuilt the facade in 1853. It was the burial place of

Francis II of the Two Sicilies , image = Francesco II of the Two Sicilies.JPG , caption = King Francis II , succession = King of the Two Sicilies , reign = 22 May 1859 – 20 March 1861 , predecessor = Ferdinand II , successor = ''Ki ...

, his wife Maria Sophie and their three-month-old only daughter

Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

. It was also the national church for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1934 until 1984, when the three royal burials were transferred to Santa Chiara in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The church was closed for thirty years due to water leaks and its abandoned state, but was restored in the 1980s and reopened for worship in 1986.

Description

External links

Interactive Nolli Map Website

Sources

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' ...

''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', Roma 1891
*

Christian Hulsen Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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

Bibliography

* P. Di Giammaria, ''Spirito Santo dei Napoletani'', Fratelli Palombi Editori, Roma 1999 * C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000 * M. Quercioli, ''Rione VII Regola'', in AA.VV, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, Vol. II, pp. 448–498 {{DEFAULTSORT:Spirito Dei Napoletani, Santo Roman Catholic churches in Rome National churches in Rome Spirito Santo dei Napoletani 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy