The church of Santa Maria della Luce is an ancient church in the

Rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

in Rome, Italy. The church was originally known as San Salvatore in Corte. That church was founded by Saint Bonosa in the 4th century at the site of the '' excubitorium'' or barracks of the "cohort VII Brigade". The church was rebuilt in the 12th century, together with bell-tower, which is still preserved. In 1595, the church was placed under the jurisdiction of the nearby Basilica of

San Crisogono San Crisogono is a church in Rome (rione Trastevere) dedicated to the martyr Saint Chrysogonus. It was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, and was probably built in the 4th century under Pope Sylvester I (314–335). The ...

. In 1728, a

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

assigned the church to the Minims, an order established by St. Francis of Paola. The current name of the church dates from 1730, when a series of miracles were linked to an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

painted on the exterior of a nearby house nearby, which was seen to emit light. The image was then transferred to the Church, and changed name. The church interior underwent reconstruction by architect

Gabriele Valvassori Gabriele Valvassori (21 August 1683 – 7 April 1761) was an Italian architect of the late- Baroque period, mainly active in his native city of Rome. In 1711–1717, he helped design the small church of San Giuseppe alle Fornaci near Foli ...

, though the facade remained unfinished. The

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

, even after Baroque restoration, still shows signs of the original

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

. The apse is frescoed with ''The Eternal Father'' by

Sebastiano Conca Sebastiano Conca (8 January 1680 – 1 September 1764) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born at Gaeta, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, and apprenticed in Naples under Francesco Solimena. In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, who ...

. The chapel of St Joseph on the right has an altarpiece depicting the ''Death of St Joseph'' (1754) by Giovanni Conca. The chapel of St Francis of Paola is on the left, and has an altarpiece depicting ''Saints Francis de Sales and John of Valois''. The chapel on the right dedicated to Saints Joachim and Anne has an altarpiece depicting the ''Family of the Virgin'' (1753) by Pietro Labruzzi. Other chapels have modern artworks mostly showing Latin American devotions. There is also a painting by

Onofrio Avellino Onofrio Avellino (c. 1674 – 17 April 1741) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography Born in Naples, Giulio died in Ferrara or Rome, where he painted for the last twenty years of his life. He initially trained under Luca Giordano ...

depicting ''Miracle of St Francis of Paola walking across the Straits of Messina'' (1700). From 2003, the church is home a Latin-American Mission, which aims to serve migrants from that region living in the

Diocese of Rome The Diocese of Rome ( la, Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana; it, Diocesi di Roma) is the ecclesiastical district under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

, entrusted to priests of the Scalabriniani order. The Mission offers many services to the Latin American community ranging from social to religious.

Sources

*Translated from Italian Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria della Luce, Santa Maria, Luce National churches in Rome Churches of Rome (rione Trastevere)