The Church of the Madonna dell'Archetto () is a small oratory in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, in the

Trevi The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by col ...

''rione.'' The official title of the church is Santa Maria Causa Nostrae Laetitiae (). It is often cited as being the smallest church in Rome.

History and description

The chapel was constructed in the nineteenth century to house a venerated image of the Madonna that was located under a narrow arched passageway of the

Palazzo Muti The Palazzo Muti (officially the Palazzo Muti e Santuario della Madonna dell' Archetto) is a large townhouse in the Piazza dei Santi Apostoli, Rome, Italy, built in 1644. Together with the neighboring Palazzo Muti Papazzurri, it originally form ...

,An inheritance of 1816 passed the complex of palazzi that includes Palazzo Muti to the Savorelli family; in the 19th century the palazzo was called Palazzo Papazzurri Savorelli: see

. The image had been commissioned by the ''marchesa'' Muti Papazzurri in 1690. It is a depiction painted by Bolognese painter Domenico Muratori on

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. The most renowned Italian maiolica is from the Renaissance period. These works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ("painted with stories") when depicting historical and ...

of the

Blessed Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. In 1696, the image was reputedly seen to move her eyes, which prompted the owner to expose the image to public veneration. By 1751, gates to the alley where the image was located were installed, and a repeat miracle on July 9, 1796, cemented the reputation of the image. The 1796 incident occurred before numerous witnesses, who also observed that the eyes of the painting wept—presumably in reaction to that year's invasion of the Papal States by France. In the middle of the nineteenth century, marchese Alessandro Muti Papazzurri Savorelli decided to construct a small chapel to house the miraculous image, which until that point was still located in a narrow alley. The chapel, which was built in the available space at the end of the alleyway, is an example, rare in Rome, of

Neo-Renaissance architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

. The interior was covered in precious marbles, the work of architect

Virginio Vespignani Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect. Biography Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti (architect), Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming o ...

. The

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

was frescoed by

Constantino Brumidi Constantino Brumidi (26 July 1805 – 19 February 1880) was a Greek-Italian painter and a Naturalization, naturalized American citizen, best known and honored for his fresco work, ''The Apotheosis of Washington, Apotheosis of Washington'', in the ...

, the same painter who executed the frescoes in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

. There are also sculptures by

Luigi Simonetti Luigi Simonetti (active 1834–1860) was a Neoclassical-style sculptor active mainly in Rome. Biography Simonetti was born in Rome, Papal States. He studied at the Accademia San Luca. He sculpted a portrait of John Carter Brown on display in th ...

. The miraculous image of the Virgin is located above the altar. The church was solemnly dedicated on May 31, 1851. The oratory today falls within the parish boundaries of the nearby Basilica of Santi Apostoli.

Inscription

The Jesuit archaeologist

Giuseppe Marchi Giuseppe Marchi (22 February 1795, Tolmezzo – 10 February 1860, Rome) was an Italian Jesuit archæologist who worked on the Catacombs of Rome. Life He entered the Society of Jesus in Rome 12 November 1814, shortly after the re-establishment o ...

composed the following Latin inscription, which is located on the exterior of the chapel:

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Roman Catholic churches in Rome Roman Catholic churches completed in 1851 1851 establishments in the Papal States Churches of Rome (rione Trevi) 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy