The Minor Basilica of St. Mary in Domnica alla Navicella (Basilica Minore di Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella), or simply Santa Maria in Domnica or Santa Maria alla Navicella, 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 let ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

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 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and active in local charity according to its long tradition. It has been the titular church of Cardinal Marcello Semeraro since 28 November 2020.

Name

The appellation "in Domnica" has been differently explained. One interpretation is the derivation from "dominicum" ("of the Lord"), and by extension "church". Another interpretation is that it refers to the name of Cyriaca, a Christian woman who resided nearby and whose name denotes "belonging to the Lord": "Dominica" in Latin. A third interpretation is that the name derives from the Latin phrase ''in dominica (praedia)'' ("on Imperial property"). One other possible explanation is that it is almost the only one from the lesser churches in Rome that serves as a

station church Station days were days of fasting in the early Christian Church, associated with a procession to certain prescribed churches in Rome, where the Mass and Vespers would be celebrated to mark important days of the liturgical year. Although other citi ...

on a Sunday, namely the second Sunday of Lent (''dominica'' means "Sunday" in Latin; the other such church is

San Pancrazio The basilica of San Pancrazio ( en, St Pancras; la, S. Pancratii) is a Roman Catholic ancient basilica and titular church founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the Porta S ...

which serves as station for Low Sunday), so given the huge number of churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin this might have been chosen as identifier. The appellation "alla Navicella" denotes "near the little ship", and refers to the sculpture of a Roman ship that has been in this location since ancient times, possibly as a votive offering to an ancient temple, and which

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

turned into a fountain (Fontana della Navicella) in front of the church.

History

The basilica was built in ancient times, close to the barracks of the Fifth Cohort of the Roman

Vigiles The ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''Triumviri Nocturni'' (meaning ''three men of th ...

on the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill ov ...

. The basilica is mentioned in the records of a synod of Pope Symmachus in AD 499. In 678, it was one of seven churches assigned to deacons by

Pope Agatho Pope Agatho (died January 681) served as the bishop of Rome from 27 June 678 until his death. He heard the appeal of Wilfrid of York, who had been displaced from his see by the division of the archdiocese ordered by Theodore of Canterbury. D ...

. The basilica was rebuilt from 818 to 822 by Pope Paschal I, and included mosaic decoration. Pope Paschal I is credited with

's early 9th century age of renovation and artistic splendor. Benedict, legate to the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzant ...

(1205–1207), began his career as a cardinal in Santa Maria in 1200–1201. The

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

family extensively modified the interior in the 16th century, because some of them were the cardinal holders of the archdeaconate through much of that century. In 1513, Cardinal Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, shortly before he became

, in conjunction with

Andrea Sansovino Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino (1529) was an Italian sculptor active during the High Renaissance. His pupils include Jacopo Sansovino (no relation). Biography He was the son of Domenico Contucci of Monte ...

added the facade portico with Tuscan columns and the fountain. He was followed by Giulio di Giuliano de 'Medici, the future

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

from 1513 to 1517. Giovanni de' Medici became cardinal-deacon at the age of 17 in 1560, but died in 1562. He was followed by his brother Ferdinando I de' Medici, who also became

Grand Duke of Tuscany The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface :These were origin ...

. He added the coffered ceiling.

Description

Exterior

The facade of the basilica is in the Renaissance style, and has a porch with five arches separated by

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...

pilasters, with two square and one round window. The tympanum has the coat of arms of Pope Innocent VIII in the center, and that of cardinals Giovanni and Ferdinando de' Medici on the sides. The inconspicuous bell tower houses a bell from 1288. The design of the facade (1512–3) has been attributed to

Interior

The interior of the basilica retains its 9th century plan, and consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and two lateral aisles of equal length and separated by 18 granite columns which were

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...

from an ancient temple and crowned with Corinthian capitals. The wall above the windows was frescoed by

Perin del Vaga Perino (or Perin) del Vaga (nickname of Piero Bonaccorsi) (1501 – October 19, 1547) was an Italian painter and draughtsman of the Late Renaissance/Mannerism. Biography Perino was born near Florence. His father ruined himself by gambling, an ...

, based on designs of

Giulio Romano Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-cent ...

. The nave has frescos by Lazzaro Baldi.Romecity.it entry on Santa Maria in Dominica
The coffered ceiling has the Medici coat of arms in the center, with symbolic representations of

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in ...

and

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

. The

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

at the apse is flanked by two porphyry columns. The mosaics of 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''. ...

from the 9th century depict Christ with two angels, and the

twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

, with Moses and

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

depicted underneath. In the semi-dome, Pope Paschal (with a square halo) kissing the foot of the

, vested as a Byzantine noblewoman, seated on a throne with the Christ Child, and surrounded by a multitude of angels.

References

Bibliography

* Armellini, Mariano, (1891)
"S. Maria in Domnica"
in ''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', online version by Bill Thayer, Chicago, IL. Re-accessed 4 Feb 2022. * de Nie, Giselle; Morrison, Karl Frederick; Mostert, Marco (2005). ''Seeing the Invisible in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Papers from "Verbal and Pictorial Imaging: Representing and Accessing Experience of the Invisible, 400–1000": (Utrecht, 11–13 December 2003)''. Turnhout: Brepols. ** Thunø, Erik (2005). "Materializing the Invisible in Early Medieval Art: The Mosaic of Santa Maria in Domnica in Rome", in ''Seeing the Invisible ...'', pp. 265–89. * Englen, Alia (2003). ''Caelius I: Santa Maria in Domnica, San Tommaso in Formis e il Clivus Scauri''. Roma: Bretschneider. * Goodson, Caroline (2010). ''The Rome of Pope Paschal I: Papal Power, Urban Renovation, Church Rebuilding and Relic Translation, 817–824''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * Krautheimer, Richard, (1937). ''Corpus basilicarum Christianarum Romae. The early Christian basilicas of Rome (IV-IX cent.)'' Città del Vaticano, Pontificio istituto di archeologia cristiana, pp. 309 ff. * Lansford, Tyler (2011). ''The Latin Inscriptions of Rome: A Walking Guide''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. * Macadam, Alta (1994). ''Blue Guide Rome''. London: A & C Black. . * Matthiae, Guglielmo (1965). "S. Maria in Domnica". ''Chiese di Roma illustrate'', Roma: Marietti, p. 56. * Sundell, Michael G. (2007). ''Mosaics in the Eternal City''. Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, pp. 43 ff. * Thayer, Bill
"S. Maria in Domnica"
''Gazetteer''. Re-accessed 4 Feb 2022.

External links

*High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images o
Santa Maria in Domnica , Art Atlas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Domnica 7th-century churches in Italy 9th-century churches in Italy 7th-century establishments in Italy Basilica churches in Rome Titular churches Churches of Rome (rione Celio) 9th-century establishments in Italy Religious buildings and structures completed in 822