Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi - Interior

Trevi - piazza di Trevi e ss Vincenzo e Anastasio 1110900

Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi ("Saints Vincent and Anastasius at

Trevi The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) is a collection of justice as well as migration & home affairs policies designed to ensure security, rights and free movement within the European Union (EU). Fields covered include the harmonisati ...

") is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

church in

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 ...

, the capital of

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 re ...

. Built from 1646 to 1650 to the design of architect

Martino Longhi the Younger Martino Longhi the Younger (March 18, 1602– December 15, 1660) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period active in Rome, in a milieu when the most prominent competition for commissions came from no less than Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Francesc ...

and located in close proximity to the

Trevi Fountain The Trevi Fountain ( it, Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the larg ...

and the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzian ...

, for which it served as parish church, it is notable as the place where the '' precordia'' and embalmed hearts of 22

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

s from

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 ...

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

are preserved. Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi lies on the location of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

church, mentioned in 962 in a bull by

Pope John XII Pope John XII ( la, Ioannes XII; c. 930/93714 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had do ...

as a branch of the

San Silvestro in Capite The Basilica of Saint Sylvester the First, also known as ( it, San Silvestro in Capite, la, Sancti Silvestri in Capite), is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome dedicated to Pope Sylvester I (d. AD 335). It is located on t ...

basilica as well as in 15th century records. Known as Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio since the 16th century, it was rebuilt in the

style and completed in 1650. Two

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

s superimposed over the main one, all three with arched, angled or broken

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

s, concentrate attention on the richly sculptural central bay of the façade's two storeys, in a theatrical composition "more curious than exemplary" that found few imitators. Its dense massing of

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

, ten in the lower order and six above make a total, with the columns flanking the ''finestrone'' of the upper tier, eighteen fully disengaged Corinthian columns, causing Roman wags to dub the façade ''il canneto'', "the canebrake". The church was reconstructed on the order of

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

, whose triumphantly presented coat of arms and

cardinal's hat A (plural: ; from la, galērum, originally connotating a helmet made of skins; cf. '' galea'') is a broad-brimmed hat with tasselated strings which was worn by clergy in the Catholic Church. Over the centuries, the red ''galero'' was restricte ...

, supported by angels, is the focus of the façade composition. It is rumored that Mazarin's niece,

Marie Mancini Anna Maria (Marie) Mancini (28 August 1639 – 8 May 1715) was the third of the five Mancini sisters; nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously. Along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, the Mancini ...

, a mistress of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

, is also portrayed on the facade, in the central female '' mascaron''. The sculptural portrayal of a laywoman and the support of the cardinal's ecclesiastical coat of arms by the sculptures of two barechested women make the church unique among churches in Rome. Until the 1820s, Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi was known as the "Pontifical Parish" (''Parrocchia Pontificia''). The church's interior features a single

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 ...

; the altar is decorated by the painting ''Martyrdom of Saints Vincent and Anastasius'' by

Francesco Pascucci Francesco Pascucci (1748 - after 1804) was an Italian painter, active in a neoclassical style. Biography He was born in Rome. Few details are known of his life. He trained in Rome, and earned a living painting portraits for foreign visitors incl ...

. Prolific Italian illustrator and engraver

Bartolomeo Pinelli Bartolomeo Pinelli (November 20, 1781 – April 1, 1835) was an Italian illustrator and engraver. Life Pinelli was born and died in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, the son of an artisan who modeled religious statues. Pinelli was edu ...

(1771–1835) was buried in Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi as was Russian princess

Zinaida Volkonskaya Princess Zinaida Aleksandrovna Volkonskaya (Зинаида Александровна Волконская; 14 December 1792 – 24 January 1862), was a Russian writer, poet, singer, composer, salonist and lady in waiting. She was an important f ...

. Its

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 pro ...

facade has proved porous; restoration with liquid hydraulic mortar and other materials was undertaken in 1989–90 to arrest deterioration.Bettina Elten, "Facciata della chiesa dei SS. Vincenzo e Anastasio: impiego di malte idrauliche per il restauro conservativo" in ''Le pietre nell'architettura: struttura e superfici: atti del convegno di studi, Bressanone 25-28 giugno 1991''
on-line English abstract
.

References

Sources

* C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, p. 370–371. * L. Pratesi, ''Rione II Trevi'', in AA.VV, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, Vol. I, pp. 131–201. {{Authority control Vincenzo e Anastasio Roman Catholic churches completed in 1650 Baroque architecture in Rome 1650 establishments in the Papal States 1650 establishments in Italy Vincenzo e Anastasio Trevi 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy