San Girolamo della Carità is a church 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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, located near the

Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French e ...

and

Campo de' Fiori Campo de' Fiori (, ) is a rectangular square south of Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, at the border between the ''Rioni of Rome, rioni'' Parione and Regola (rione of Rome), Regola. It is diagonally southeast of the Palazzo della Cancelleria and one ...

History

According to tradition, this is the site of the

domus In ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (: ''domūs'', genitive: ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

of the matron Saint Paola who hosted Saint Jerome when he served as secretary to

Pope Damasus Pope Damasus is the name of two Popes of the Roman Catholic Church: * Pope Damasus I (saint; 330–384) * Pope Damasus II Pope Damasus II (; died 9 August 1048, born Poppo von Brixen) was the Bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 17 ...

. Later it was transformed into a small church dedicated to him. In 1419 the

Franciscan Observants The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the tea ...

built a hospice with a chapel, which they replaced with a new church in 1508. In 1524 it was taken over by the Archconfraternita della Carità ("Archconfraternity of Charity"), founded by Giulio de' Medici (later

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano 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 most unfortunate o ...

) in 1519; a society of noblemen from Florence.

Philip Neri Saint Philip Neri , born Filippo Romolo Neri, (22 July 151526 May 1595) was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. He is sometimes refe ...

lived in the hospice from 1551 to 1583. It served as a first meeting place for the

Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...

founded in 1561 before they were established as a Congregation in 1575 and, in the same year, given the church of

Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians ...

. A fire destroyed the hospice in 1631, damaging the church. In 1632 Cardinal Francesco Barberini, protector of the Archconfraternity, commissioned the architect Francesco Peparelli to renovate the hospice, which remained in operation until 1840, when the building was re-adapted into a convent connected to the church. The church, was rebuilt in 1657 by Domenico Castelli, with a Baroque façade by Carlo Rainaldi.

Interior

The altarpiece for the high altar is a copy of

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoe ...

's ''

The Last Communion of Saint Jerome (Domenichino) ''The Last Communion of St. Jerome'' is a 1614 oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian artist Domenichino. It was commissioned for the church of San Girolamo della Carità in Rome in 1612 and is now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana. The composition is ve ...

''. The original, commissioned for San Girolamo in 1612, is now in the

Pinacoteca Vaticana The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

. The first chapel to the right (Cappella Spada), although originally assigned to Orazio Spada in 1575, was refurbished by Virgilio and

Bernardino Spada Bernardino Spada (21 April 1594 – 10 November 1661) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a patron of the arts whose collection is housed in the Palazzo Spada in Rome. Early life Spada was born in Brisighella, current provi ...

in 1654-57. As a friend of Virgilio, the name of the Baroque architect

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Switzerland, Swiss canton of Ticino

has long been associated with the chapel but it has been argued that the overall design was probably directed by Virgilio Spada. The altar rail is by

Gianlorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

's pupil,

Antonio Giorgetti Antonio Giorgetti (1635 – 24 December 1669) was an Italian sculptor. He was born and died in Rome, where he spent his entire career, a disciple of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. His most prominent sculpture is the ''Angel with the Sponge'' on the ''P ...

. The small but superbly finished Antamoro Chapel is dedicated to S. Filippo Neri. The chapel itself was designed by

Filippo Juvarra Filippo Juvarra (7 March 1678 – 31 January 1736) was an Italian architect, scenographer, engraver and goldsmith. He was active in a late-Baroque architecture style, working primarily in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Biography Juvarra was born ...

, the only work of his in Rome, and constructed in 1708-1709. The decoration of the chapel with the back lit statue of ''The Ecstasy of S. Filippo Neri'' and two stucco reliefs in the ceiling was conceived by Juvarra in intimate cooperation with his close friend, the French sculptor Pierre Le Gros, who was responsible for carrying out the sculptural components.Gerhard Bissell, ''A “Dialogue” between Sculptor and Architect: the Statue of S. Filippo Neri in the Cappella Antamori'', in: Stuart Currie, Peta Motture (ed.), The Sculpted Object 1400-1700, Aldershot 1997, 221-237 . File:Cappella Antamori.jpg, Cappella Antamoro by Juvarra and Le Gros File:Regola - s Girolamo della Carità organo P1120018.jpg, Pipe organ File:Regola - s Girolamo della carita 1060782.JPG, Side door File:Regola - s Girolamo della Carità cappella Spada P1120013.jpg, Cappella Spada

Cardinal-Deacons

* Giulio Bevilacqua, C.O. (25 February 1965 – 6 May 1965) *

Antonio Riberi Antonio Riberi (15 June 1897 – 16 December 1967) was a Monegasque prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the fifth apostolic nuncio to Ireland and later as the nuncio to Spain from 1962 until his death. He was elevated to the cardina ...

(26 June 1967 – 16 December 1967) *

Paolo Bertoli Paolo Bertoli (1 February 1908 – 8 November 2001) was an Italian people, 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 edu ...

(30 April 1969 – 5 March 1973) * Pietro Palazzini (12 December 1974 – 11 October 2000) *

Jorge María Mejía Jorge María Mejía (31 January 1923 – 9 December 2014) was an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church (Roman Rite). Early life and ordination Mejía was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and ordained to the priesthood for the Metropolitan ...

(21 February 2001 – 9 December 2014) *

Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ (17 June 1952 – 25 November 2024) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church and a historian of Islam. He was an official of the Roman Curia since 2012 and an archbishop since 2016. Pope Francis raised him ...

(5 October 2019 – 25 November 2024)

References

External links

San Girolamo della Carità
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girolamo della Carita Girolamo Carita Titular churches Girolamo Carita Roman Catholic churches completed in 1657 1657 establishments in Italy Churches of Rome (rione Regola) Filippo Juvarra buildings