Santa Maria in Ara Coeli: Difference between revisions
mNo edit summary |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
The church was also famous in Rome for the wooden statue of infant Jesus, crafted in [[15th century]] with olive wood coming from the [[Gethsemane]] garden and covered with valuables ex-voto. Many peoples of Rome believed in the power of this statue. The statue was stolen in February [[1994]], and never recovered. Nowadays, a copy is present in the church. |
The church was also famous in Rome for the wooden statue of infant Jesus, crafted in [[15th century]] with olive wood coming from the [[Gethsemane]] garden and covered with valuables ex-voto. Many peoples of Rome believed in the power of this statue. The statue was stolen in February [[1994]], and never recovered. Nowadays, a copy is present in the church. |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Churches of Rome|Maria in Aracoeli]] |
||
[[it:Chiesa di Santa Maria in Aracoeli]] |
[[it:Chiesa di Santa Maria in Aracoeli]] |
||
Revision as of 16:12, 7 October 2005
The church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli is on the Campidoglio, in Rome.
The original name of the church was Santa Maria in Capitolo, but was changed in the 14th century, when it was renamed according to a medieval legend that claimed the church built over an Augustan Ara primogeniti Dei, in the place of an apparison of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the first Roman emperor.
It is possible that the church was built over the temple of Juno Moneta, built over the Arx. The other hypothesis is that the church replaced the Auguraclum, the place of the augurs.
The foundation of the church was laid in 6th century, and it followed the Greek rite. After being given to the Benedictines, the church was obtained by the Franciscans in 1250, and received its Romanesque-Gothic aspect. During the Medieval ages, this church became the centre of the religious and civil life of the city, in particular during the republican experience of the 14th century: it was the free municipality to pay for the ladder in front of the church, in occasion of a great plague; the very Cola di Rienzo inaugurated this ladder.
In 1571, Santa Maria in Aracoeli hosted the celebrations for Marcantonio Colonna after the victorious Battle of Lepanto on the Turkish fleet. In this occasion, the beautiful ceiling was built, to thank the blessed virgin.
The inside of the church, built on three naves, has several art treasures. The wooden ceiling, the cosmatesque floor, the Cappella Bufalini, with Pinturicchio frescoes of the stories of Bernard of Clairvaux, a Transfiguration wooden paint by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, the tombstone of Giovanni Ceivelli by Donatello,
The church was also famous in Rome for the wooden statue of infant Jesus, crafted in 15th century with olive wood coming from the Gethsemane garden and covered with valuables ex-voto. Many peoples of Rome believed in the power of this statue. The statue was stolen in February 1994, and never recovered. Nowadays, a copy is present in the church.