Saint Jerome of the Croats is the national Catholic church of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

on Via Tomacelli in the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...

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 is now a chapel of the Pontifical Croatian College of Saint Jerome in Rome and is only open to visitors by arrangement with the College. San Girolamo degli Schiavoni

Name

It is also known as "St. Jerome of the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...

" ( it, San Girolamo degli Illirici), and was formerly known as "St. Jerome of the Slavs" ( it, San Girolamo degli Schiavoni).

History

It was first built in 1585-1587 for refugees from areas ruled by the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

, and dedicated to St Jerome, who was from

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

(former Roman '' Illyricum''). The small, ruined church of Santa Marina de Posterula had been given to them in 1453 (the year of the

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...

) by

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV, Po ...

, for the construction of a church and hospice. It once faced the port built on the

Tiber River The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

, called the

Porto di Ripetta The Porto di Ripetta was a port in the city of Rome. It was situated on the banks of the River Tiber and was designed and built in 1704 by the Italian Baroque architect Alessandro Specchi. Located in front of the church of San Girolamo degli Sch ...

. The confraternity was renamed Congregatio or "Society of St. Jerome" in 1544.

Architecture

Around 1588,

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

, who as Cardinal Montalvo had served as cardinal-protector, commissioned

Martino Longhi the Elder Martino Longhi the Elder (1534–1591) was an Italian architect, the father of Onorio Longhi and the grandfather of Martino Longhi the Younger. He is also known as ''Martino Lunghi''. He was born in Viggiù into a family of architects, and initiall ...

to completely rebuild the church and add a bell tower. The late Renaissance façade is of travertine, decorated with the pope’s emblems. The fresco on the interior cupola was done in a

Trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

effect by

Giovanni Guerra Giovanni Guerra (1544–1618) was an Italian draughtsman and painter from Modena who worked in Rome, where he probably arrived in 1562, though he was not documented until 1583, when he frescoed three friezes of allegorical figures in the Palazzett ...

around 1590. The Evangelists on the

pendentives In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points ...

are by

Paolo Guidotti Cavaliere Paolo Guidotti, also known as il Cavalier Borghese (Lucca, 1559 - 1629) was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect, active in Rome, Lucca, Pisa, Reggio Emilia, Napoli. Biography He was described as having a ''ingegno bizzarro'', ...

Andrea Lilio Andrea Lilio (1555 - 1642) was an Italian painter born in Ancona, hence he also is known as ''L'Anconitano''. He painted mainly in his native city, as well as in Rome, where he was active from the beginning of the 17th century until around 1640 ...

provided frescoes for the transept side vaults. Most of them had previously done work for Sixtus at the Vatican. Frescoes in the nave were completed by Pietro Gagliardi in 1847 from a bequest of

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 ...

. The church underwent restoration in 2018 after the earthquakes of two years prior.

Burials

Early burials took place in the guesthouse cemetery. * Juraj Barakovic, poet, 1628 *

Johannes Lucius Johannes Lucius ( hr, Ivan Lučić; it, Giovanni Lucio; September 1604 – 11 January 1679) was a Dalmatian historian, whose greatest work is ''De regno Dalmatiae et Croatiae'' ("On the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Croatia"), which includes valua ...

, historian, 1679 * Ivan Paštrić, linguist, 1708

List of Cardinal Protectors

Prospero Santacroce Prospero Pubblicola Santacroce (24 September 1514 – 2 October 1589) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Santacroce was born in Rome on September 24, 1514, the son of Tarquinio Santacroce and Ersilia de' Massimi. He wa ...

8 February 1566 - 12 April 1570 *

Felice Peretti Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

9 June 1570 - 24 April 1585 *

Alessandro Damasceni Peretti Alessandro Damasceni Peretti di Montalto (1571 – 2 June 1623) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal Bishop. He received the title by his uncle Felice Peretti after the latter was elected Pope Sixtus V on 24 April 1585, in the consistory on 13 Ma ...

14 June 1585 - 24 April 1585 *

Pedro de Deza Pedro de Deza (1520–1600) was a Spanish Roman Catholic cardinal and bishop. Biography Background Pedro de Deza was born in Seville on 26 March 1520, the son of Antonio de Deza and Beatriz de Portugal. He was the nephew of Diego Deza, Archbis ...

20 April 1587 - 18 August 1597 *

Simeone Tagliavia d'Aragonia Simeone Tagliavia d'Aragonia (1550–1604) was a Sicilian cardinal and bishop. Biography Simeone Tagliavia d'Aragonia was born in Castelvetrano, a family fief near Mazara del Vallo, Kingdom of Sicily on 20 May 1550, the son of Carlo d'Aragona ...

18 August 1587 - 21 February 1600 *

Felice Centini Felice Centini (1562–1641) was a Roman Catholic cardinal. Biography On 2 Oct 1611, he was consecrated bishop by Pope Paul V with Giovanni Garzia Mellini, Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quattro Coronati, and Michelangelo Tonti, Bishop of Cesena, s ...

12 September 1612 - 12 August 1613 * Matteo Priuli 17 October 1616 - 23 June 1621 *

Giovanni Delfino (camerlengo) Cardinal Giovanni Dolfin, often Italianized as Delfin or Delfino (Venice, 15 December 1545 - Venice, 25 November 1622), was an Italian politician and cardinal. He was one of several cardinals from his family by this name. He is the uncle of Cardi ...

23 June 1621 - 23 August 1622 *

Péter Pázmány Péter Pázmány de Panasz, S.J. ( hu, panaszi Pázmány Péter, ; la, Petrus Pazmanus; german: Peter Pazman; sk, Peter Pázmaň; 4 October 1570 – 19 March 1637), was a Hungarian Jesuit who was a noted philosopher, theologian, cardina ...

31 May 1632 - 19 March 1637 *

Girolamo Buonvisi Girolamo Buonvisi (1607–1677) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal. Biography On 30 Jul 1651, he was consecrated bishop by Marcantonio Franciotti, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Pace, with Giambattista Spada, Titular Patriarch of Constantino ...

23 April 1657 - 21 February 1670 * Felice Piretti di Montalvo 20 November 1570 - 24 March 1585 * Lipót Kollonics 14 November 1689 - 20 January 1707 *

Cornelio Bentivoglio Cornelio Bentivoglio (27 March 1668 – 30 December 1732) was an Italian nobleman and cardinal. Born at Ferrara to the powerful Bentivoglio family, and a relative of the cardinal Guido Bentivoglio (1579 – 1644). Cornelio went to Rome at an ea ...

15 April 1720 - 25 June 1727 * Leandro Porzia 10 May 1728 - 20 September 1728 * Sinitaldo Doria 17 December 1731 - 2 December 1733 * Giacomoi Oddi 5 April 1745 - 12 January 1756 * Pietro Paolo de Conti 19 November 1759 - 25 March 1763 *

Franziskus von Paula Herzan von Harras Franziskus is a name which is derivative of the Latin given name Franciscus. As a given name * Franziskus von Paula Graf von Schönborn * Franziskus von Bettinger * Franziskus von Sales Bauer * Franziskus Hennemann Francis Xaver Hennemann Socie ...

11 December 1780 - 13 September 1782 * 11 April 1785 - 11 April 1791 * Cesare Brancadoro 20 July 1801 - 29 May 1820 * Gabriel della Genga Sermattei 21 November 1836 - 10 February 1861 *

Antonio Maria Panebianco Antonio Maria Panebianco (13 August 1808 – 21 November 1885) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He became cardinal in 1861 and held several senior positions in the Roman Curia. Biography Niccolò Panebianco was born on 13 August 1 ...

30 September 1861 - 23 December 1861 *

Giuseppe Andrea Bizzarri Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

19 March 1863 - 5 July 1875 * Luigi Serafini 20 March 1877 - 1 June 1888 *

Serafino Vannutelli Serafino Vannutelli (26 November 1834 – 19 August 1915) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal and official of the Roman Curia where he held several of the highest administrative posts. Made a cardinal in 1887, he was named ...

11 February 1889 - 12 June 1893 * Lorinc Schlauch 21 May 1894 - 10 July 1902 *

Andrea Aiuti Andrea Aiuti (17 June 1849 – 28 April 1905) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. He was made a cardinal in 1903. Biography Andrea Aiuti was born in Rome on ...

12 November 1903 - 28 April 1905 * Frantisek Salesky Bauer 2 December 1912 - 25 November 1915 *

Raffaele Scapinelli di Leguigno Raffaele Scapinelli di Leguigno (April 25, 1858 – September 16, 1933) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation of the Affairs of Religious from 1918 to 1920, and was elevated to the cardi ...

7 December 1916 - 16 September 1933 *

Santiago Luis Copello Santiago Luis Copello (7 January 1880 – 9 February 1967) was an Argentine Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1932 to 1959, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. Copello served as the first ...

19 December 1935 - 14 December 1959 *

Gustavo Testa Gustavo Testa (28 July 1886 – 28 February 1969) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, who was made a cardinal in 1959. He spent his career in the Roman Curia. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1920 and held several ...

17 December 1959 - 28 February 1969 *

Paolo Bertoli Paolo Bertoli (1 February 1908 – 8 November 2001) was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal and Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Early life Paolo Bertoli was born in Poggio Garfagnana of Italy. He was educated at the Semi ...

5 March 1973 - 30 June 1979 *

Franjo Kuharić Franjo Kuharić (15 April 1919 – 11 March 2002) was a Croatian Catholic cardinal, who served as the Archbishop of Zagreb from 1970 until his resignation in 1997. The cardinal was often referred to as the "Rock of Croatia" known for his def ...

2 February 1983 - 11 March 2002 *

Josip Bozanić Josip Bozanić (; born 20 March 1949) is a Croatian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the eighth Archbishop of Zagreb, having previously served as Bishop of Krk from 1989 to 1997. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003. He is a member ...

21 October 2003 – present

References

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'I ...

''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', Roma 1891
pp. 328–329 *

Christian Hülsen Christian Karl Friedrich Hülsen (born in Charlottenburg, 29 November 1858; died in Florence, Italy, on 19 January 1935) was a German architectural historian of the classical era who later changed to studying the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. ...

''Le chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo'', Firenze 1927
pp. 380–381

pp. 396–397 {{Authority control Titular churches

Saint Jerome of the Croats Saint Jerome of the Croats is the national Catholic church of Croatia on Via Tomacelli in the Campus Martius of Rome. It is now a chapel of the Pontifical Croatian College of Saint Jerome in Rome and is only open to visitors by arrangement with ...

National churches in Rome Churches of Rome (rione Campo Marzio)