| Church of Saint Peregrinus in the Vatican | |
|---|---|
| San Pellegrino in Vaticano San Pellegrino in Naumachia | |
 Façade | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°54′18.01″N012°27′25.06″E / 41.9050028°N 12.4569611°E /41.9050028; 12.4569611 | |
| Location | Vatican City,Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Oratory, national church |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 8th century[2] |
| Completed | 16th century |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 20 metres (66 ft) |
| Width | 9 metres (30 ft) |
| Clergy | |
| Cardinal protector | Mons. Giulio Viviani[1] |
TheChurch of San Pellegrino in Vaticano (English:Saint Peregrine in the Vatican) is anancientRoman Catholic oratory in theVatican City, located on the Via dei Pellegrini. The church is dedicated to SaintPeregrine of Auxerre, a Roman priest appointed byPope Sixtus II who had suffered martyrdom inGaul in the third century.[3] It is one of the oldest churches in the Vatican City.[1]
The church built byPope Leo III (750 AD - 816 AD) around 800 first received the name of"San Pellegrino in Naumachia", making reference to thenaumachia built northwest of theCastel Sant'Angelo and dedicated byRoman emperorTrajan in 109. In the seventeenth century,Pope Clement X granted the church to thePontifical Swiss Guards, who used it for their religious services in combination with the church ofSanti Martino e Sebastiano degli Svizzeri until 1977. Under the name ofSan Pellegrino degli Svizzeri (English:Saint Peregrine of the Swiss), it became thenational church in Rome ofSwitzerland. The oratory later fell into disrepair but was restored in the 19th century when evidence of the 9th-century frescoes were discovered.
The church now serves as the chapel of thePontifical Gendarmerie and the firefighters of the Vatican City and is entrusted to the care of the chaplain of the corps —currently Msgr. Giulio Viviani.[1]
The origins of the church are ancient, dating back to the eighth century.[2] This is attested to by several passages in theLiber Pontificalis,[4][5] as well as archaeological excavations made by MsgrAnton de Waal in 1888.[6] De Waal brought to light ancient paintings dating from the 9th century, and others from the 13th-14th century[7] There is a tradition thatCharlemagne, on the occasion of his coronation in 800, gave the relics of Peregrine of Auxerre to this church, whence its name.[1] Another reason may have been the church's service topilgrims (Latin:peregrini), since annexed to the church were theHospitale Francorum, a hospital for French pilgrims, and a cemetery.[3][8]
The church was originally calledSan Pellegrino in Naumachia.[1][2][9] Anaumachia, literally "naval combat", is an artificial lake where naval battles were reenacted for an audience. The 5th century"The Passion of Peter and Paul", recounts the crucifixion ofSt Peter and adds:"Holy men … took down his body secretly and put it under theterebinth tree near theNaumachia, in the place which is called the Vatican".[10] The ruins of a structure were excavated in 1743, between via Alberico et via Cola di Rienzo.[11]Hülsen suggested that this structure, built close to theCircus of Nero and lying north-west of the laterMausoleum of Hadrian (today'sCastel Sant'Angelo), was thenaumachia the name of the church was referring to[12] and gave it the name of"Naumachia Vaticana". Subsequent excavations have helped to identify its shape, size and orientation. It was a rectangular structure with round internal and external corners, 120 metres (390 ft) wide and, estimating from the excavations, at least 300 metres (980 ft) long, oriented north–south.Esther Boise van Deman identified the style of the brickwork facing the naumachia astrajanic.[13] In 1932Jérôme Carcopino reported the discovery amongFasti Ostienses of the dedication by EmperorTrajan on 11 November 109 of a naumachia.[14] The"Naumachia Traiani" has been identified the Naumachia Vaticana.[15][16]
Pope Paschal I (d. 824) granted the church to the monastery ofSanta Cecilia in Trastevere, andPope Leo IX (1002–1054) passed it on to the monastery ofSanto Stefano degli Abissini. A document in the archives ofSanta Maria in Via Lata dating from 1030 records that the church was located on land "outside the gate of Blessed Peter the Apostle, not far away from theLeonine Wall of the city".[17] From the thirteenth century onwards, the church belonged to the canons ofSt. Peter's, who restored it in 1590.
As a consequence of the 1648Peace of Westphalia, thePontifical Swiss Guard lost the right to burial in theTeutonic and Flemish Cemetery in the Vatican (Italian:Campo Santo dei Teutonici e dei Fiamminghi) that became reserved exclusively for German nationals. They also lost the use of their little chapel in the Church ofSanta Maria della Pietà in Camposanto dei Teutonici. In 1653,Johann Rudolf Pfyffer von Altishofen, commander of the Swiss Guard, obtained fromPope Innocent X the right to use the church of San Pellegrino with the adjoining cemetery. Von Pfyffer von Altishofen is buried in the church.[18]
In 1671,Pope Clement X gave it to the Swiss Guard, who used it for their religious services until 1977 in combination with the church ofSanti Martino e Sebastiano degli Svizzeri.[3] It was considered as thenational church in Rome ofSwitzerland.[19] The cemetery of the Swiss is behind the church. For centuries members of the Swiss Guard were buried in thecrypt of the church.[20] The oratory later fell into disrepair but was restored in the 19th century, when evidence of frescoes of the 9th century were found, as well as of others of the 13th and 14th centuries which include a depiction ofChrist Pantocrator.
It was made the chapel of the Gendarmerie and the firefighters of Vatican City in 1977.[1]
The oldest parts of today's building date from the 15th century. The church received many new elements of decoration in the 12th and 18th century. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, several Popes such asInnocent III,Gregory IX,Boniface IX andNicholas V, had a special interest in the church of San Pellegrino.
The Pontifical Swiss Guard commissioned in 1671 the church's façade inneoclassical style.[3] It is a simple façade with a pair of doubledDoric columns that supports a largeentablature crowned by a triangularpediment. The large round-headed niche above the entrance is decorated with a representation of St. Peregrinus.[21]
The tombs of past captains of the Swiss Guard are located in the church as well.[1][3]
Inside are the remains of some ancientfrescoes, including a fresco ofChrist Pantocrator.[1][3] In the original building, only the apse was decorated with frescoes.
The ceiling of the church is decorated with a woodencoffer, popular during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and likely dates back to the 17th century. Among its blue, green and yellow gold coffers, the coats of arms of Swiss Guard commanders like the lilies of the familyPfyffer von Altishofen[18] and the flower theRöist family were inserted.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)In the seventeenth century, the church became the chapel of the Swiss Guard and was considered the national church of the Swiss in Rome.
{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help)"Chiesina (…), eretta da s. Leone III., circa l'anno 800 in onore di s. Pellegrino vescovo e martire, il cui corpo, si conserva nella Basilica Vaticana. (…) In altri tempi ebbevi congiunto uno spedale assai vasto, fondato per accogliere i pellegrini venuti a visitare i luoghi santi di Roma."
"It gave its name to San Pellegrino in Naumachia (…) in the 6th to 11th centuries the name Naumachiae came to be applied to a very large area stretching from the Vatican Hill to the Castel Sant'Angelo"
