| Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva | |
|---|---|
 Santa Maria sopra Minerva façade byCarlo Maderno | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°53′53″N12°28′42″E / 41.89806°N 12.47833°E /41.89806; 12.47833 | |
| Location | Piazza della Minerva 42,Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Tradition | Latin Church |
| Religious order | Dominicans |
| Website | santamariasopraminerva |
| History | |
| Status | Minor basilica,titular church |
| Dedication | Mary, mother of Jesus |
| Consecrated | 1370 |
| Relics held |
|
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Fra Sisto Fiorentino Fra Ristoro da Campi Carlo Maderno |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1280 (1280) |
| Completed | 1370 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 101 m (331 ft) |
| Width | 41 m (135 ft) |
| Nave width | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Diocese of Rome |
| Clergy | |
| Cardinal protector | António Marto |
Santa Maria sopra Minerva is a minor basilicachurch and one of the major churches of theDominican order inRome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was built directly over (Italian:sopra) the ruins or foundations of a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddessIsis, which had been erroneously ascribed to the Greco-Roman goddessMinerva[1] (possibly due tointerpretatio romana).
The church is located inPiazza della Minerva one block east thePantheon in thePignarione of Rome within the ancient district known as theCampus Martius. The present church and disposition of surrounding structures is visible in a detail from theNolli Map of 1748.
While many other medieval churches in Rome were refurbished during theBaroque era, replacing their Gothic structure and decoration, the Minerva is the only extant example of originalGothic architecture church building in Rome. Behind a restrained Renaissance stylefaçade[2] the Gothic interior features archedvaulting that was painted blue with gilded stars and trimmed with brilliant red ribbing during a 19th-century Neo-Gothic restoration.
The church and adjoining convent served at various times throughout its history as the Dominican Order's headquarters. Today the headquarters have been re-established in their original location at the Roman convent ofSanta Sabina. Thetitulus ofSanctae Mariae supra Minervam was conferred upon CardinalAntónio Marto, on 28 June 2018.
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In Roman times there were three temples in what is now the area surrounding the basilica and former convent buildings: theMinervium, built byGnaeus Pompey in honour of the goddessMinerva about 50 BC, referred to asDelubrum Minervae; theIseum dedicated toIsis, and theSerapeum dedicated toSerapis.[3] Details of the temple to Minerva are not known but recent investigations indicate that a small round Minervium once stood a little further to the east on the Piazza of the Collegio Romano.[1] In 1665 anEgyptianobelisk was found, buried in the garden of the Dominican cloister adjacent to the church. Several other small obelisks were found at different times near the church, known as theObelisci Isei Campensis, which were probably brought to Rome during the 1st century and grouped in pairs, with others, at the entrances of the temple of Isis.[4] There are other Roman survivals in thecrypt.
The ruined temple is likely to have lasted until the reign ofPope Zachary (741-752), who finallyChristianized the site, offering it toBasilian nuns from Constantinople who maintained anoratorium there dedicated to the "Virgin of Minervum".[5] The structure he commissioned has disappeared.
In 1255Pope Alexander IV established a community of "converted women" (former prostitutes) on the site. A decade later this community was transferred to the Roman Church ofSan Pancrazio thereby allowing theDominicans to establish a convent of friars and astudium conventuale there. The Friars were on site beginning in 1266 but took official possession of the Church in 1275. Aldobrandino Cavalcanti (1279),vicarius Urbis or vicar forPope Gregory X, and an associate ofThomas Aquinas ratified the donation of Santa Maria sopra Minerva to theDominicans ofSanta Sabina by the sisters of S. Maria in Campo Marzio.[6] The ensemble of buildings that formed around the church and convent came to be known as theinsula sapientae orinsula dominicana (island of wisdom or Dominican island).[7]
The Dominicans began building the presentGothic church in 1280 modelling it on their church in FlorenceSanta Maria Novella. Architectural plans were probably drawn up during the pontificate ofNicholas III by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi.[1] With the help of funds contributed byBoniface VIII and the faithful the side aisles were completed in the 14th century.
In 1453 church interior construction was finally completed when CardinalJuan Torquemada ordered that the main nave be covered by a vault that reduced the overall projected height of the church.[2] In the same year of 1453 Count Francesco Orsini sponsored the construction of the façade at his own expense. However work on the façade remained incomplete until 1725 when it was finally finished by order ofPope Benedict XIII.[7]
In 1431, the Church and the adjacent Convent of the Dominicans was the site of aPapal conclave. The city of Rome was in an uproar upon the death ofPope Martin V (Colonna), whose family had dominated Roman political life for fifteen years, and enriched themselves on the wealth of the Church. There was fighting in the streets on a daily basis, and the Plaza in front of the Minerva, because of the configuration of streets, houses, church and monastery, could easily be fortified and defended.[8] The Sacristy of the Church served as the meeting hall for the fourteen cardinals (out of nineteen) who attended the Conclave, which began on 1 March 1431. The dormitory of the friars in the Convent to the immediate north of the Church, served as the living quarters for the cardinals and their refectory and kitchen. On 3 March they elected Cardinal Gabriele Condulmaro, who took the nameEugenius IV.[9] A second Conclave was held at the Minerva, on 4–6 March 1447, following the death of Pope Eugenius, once again in the midst of disturbances involving the Orsini supporters of Pope Eugenius and his enemies the Colonna. Eighteen cardinals (out of a total of twenty-six) were present and elected Cardinal Tommaso Parentucelli da Sarzana asPope Nicholas V.[10]
The Minerva has been atitular church since 1557,[11] and aminor basilica since 1566. The church's first titular cardinal was Michele Ghislieri who became PopePius V in 1566. He raised the church to the level ofminor basilica in that same year.
In the 16th centuryGiuliano da Sangallo made changes in the choir area, and in 1600Carlo Maderno enlarged the apse, addedBaroque decorations and created the present façade with its pilastered tripartite division inRenaissance style.[2] Marks on this façade dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries indicate various flood levels of the Tiber 65 feet (20 metres).
Between 1848 and 1855 Girolamo Bianchedi directed an important program of restoration when most of the Baroque additions were removed and the blank walls were covered with neo-gothic frescos giving the interior theNeo-Gothic appearance that it has today.
The basilica's stained glass windows are mostly from the 19th century. In 1909, the great organ was constructed by the firm of Carlo Vegezzi Bossi. The organ was restored in 1999.[12]
The inscriptions found in S. Maria sopra Minerva have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.[13]
In 1288 the theology component of the provincial curriculum for the education of the friars was relocated from thestudium provinciale at the Roman basilica ofSanta Sabina to thestudium conventuale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva which was redesignated as astudium particularis theologiae.[14] At various times in its history thisstudium served as astudium generale for the Roman province of the Order.
The late 16th century saw thestudium at Santa Maria sopra Minerva undergo transformation. Thomas Aquinas, who had been canonized in 1323 by PopeJohn XXII, was proclaimed the fifth LatinDoctor of the Church byPius V in 1567. In his honor, in 1577 the Spanish Dominican Msgr.Juan Solano, O.P., former bishop of Cusco, Peru, funded the reorganization of thestudium at the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva on the model of theCollege of St. Gregory at Valladolid in his native Spain.[15] The result of Solano's initiative, which underwent structural change shortly before Solano's death in 1580, was the College of Saint Thomas (Latin:Collegium Divi Thomae) at Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The college occupied several existing convent structures, and new construction was required. At that time the convent underwent considerable reconstruction to accommodate the college and the cloister was redesigned so that side chapels could be added to the church's northern flank. A detail from theNolli Map of 1748 gives some idea of the disposition of buildings when the Minerva convent housed the College of St. Thomas.
On 14 September 1628, by papal decree, the convent of Minerva was designated as the seat of theCongregation of the Holy Office. It thus became the place where the tribunal of theRoman Inquisition set up by Paul III in 1542 held the Secret Congregation meetings during which the sentences were read out.[16] It was in a room of the Minerva Convent on 22 June 1633 that the father of modern astronomyGalileo Galilei,after being tried for heresy, abjured his scientific theses, i.e. those of the Copernican theory.[16]
In the late 18th and early 19th century the suppression of religious orders hampered the mission of the Order and the College of St. Thomas. During the French occupation of Rome from 1797 to 1814 the college declined and even briefly closed its doors from 1810 to 1815.[17] The Order gained control of the convent once again in 1815, only for it to be expropriated by the Italian government in 1870.
In 1873 theCollegium Divi Thomæ de Urbe was forced to leave the Minerva for good, eventually being relocated at the convent ofSaints Dominic and Sixtus in 1932 and being transformed into thePontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas,Angelicum in 1963.
The Dominicans eventually were allowed to return to the Minerva and part of the convent.
Among several important works of art in the church areMichelangelo's statueCristo della Minerva (1521) and the late 15th-century (1488–93) cycle of frescos in theCarafa Chapel byFilippino Lippi. The basilica also houses many funerary monuments including the tombs ofDoctor of the Church SaintCatherine of Siena (1347-1380), who was a member of theThird Order of Saint Dominic; the Dominican friarBlessedFra Angelico (c. 1395–1455); and ornate monuments to theMedici popes:Leo X (born Giovanni de Medici, c. 1475–1521) andClement VII (born Giulio de Medici, c. 1478–1534), designed byBaccio Bandinelli.[18]
TheCarafa Chapel is the second chapel in the right transept. It was inaugurated in 1493, and is also known as the Chapel of StThomas Aquinas. It contains late 15th-century frescoes (1488–1493) byFilippino Lippi. The decoration was commissioned by CardinalOliviero Carafa. At the main altar are two Marian scenes. In the center is both anAnnunciation andSt Thomas Aquinas (who was a Dominican priest) presenting Cardinal Carafa to the Blessed Virgin. Atop is anAssumption of Mary with the apostles in the flanks observing in amazement. At right-hand wall, the fresco depicts theGlory of St Thomas. The left wall depicts events highlighting the scholasticism and miracles of St Thomas. The relics of St Thomas Aquinas were kept in this chapel until 1511, when they were moved to Naples. Designed byPirro Ligorio in 1559, thetomb of Gian Pietro Carafa, who becamePope Paul IV in 1555, is also in the chapel.
The chapel, located near the choir, is also known as the Chapel of the Rosary. The stucco ceiling was made in 1573 byMarcello Venusti. The chapel contains the tomb (circa 1470) of CardinalDomenico Capranica byAndrea Bregno.
TheCristo della Minerva, also known asChrist the Redeemer orChrist Carrying the Cross, is a marble sculpture byMichelangelo Buonarroti, finished in 1521, located to the left of the main altar.
TheAldobrandini chapel was designed byGiacomo della Porta but it isCarlo Maderno that completed della Porta's project (after 1602). It was consecrated in 1611. The canvas depicting the Institution of the Eucharist and dated from 1594 is byFederico Fiori. The monument to the parents ofPope Clement VIII, Salvestro Aldobrandini and Luisa Dati, is byGiacomo della Porta. The firstConfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament to be approved by the Holy See was established in this chapel, withSt. Ignatius of Loyola as one of its earliest members. This chapel contains theFederico Barocci altarpiece depicting theCommunion of the Apostles.
The chapel dedicated toRaymond of Penyafort houses the tomb of CardinalJuan Díaz de Coca, byAndrea Bregno.[19] The ceiling frescoJesus Christ as a Judge, between two angels is byMelozzo da Forlì.
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SaintCatherine of Siena is buried here (except her head, which is in theBasilica of San Domenico inSiena). Beyond the sacristy, the room where she died in 1380 was reconstructed here byAntonio Barberini in 1637. This room is the first transplanted interior, and the progenitor of familiar 19th and 20th century museum "period rooms." Thefrescoes byAntoniazzo Romano that decorated the original walls, however, are now lost.
The famous earlyRenaissance painterFra Angelico died in the adjoining convent and was buried in the church. (He had painted a fresco cycle in the cloister on the initiative of CardinalJuan de Torquemada, but those paintings have not survived.)
Before the construction ofSan Giovanni dei Fiorentini, the Minerva served as the church in Rome of theFlorentines, and therefore it contains numerous tombs of prelates, nobles and citizens coming from thatTuscan city. For example, the elaborate tombs of theMedici Popes -Leo X (Giovanni de Medici) andClement VII (Giulio de Medici) - are located here, designed by Florentine sculptorBaccio Bandinelli.[18] Curiously,Diotisalvi Neroni, a refugee who had taken part in the plot againstPiero de' Medici, is also buried in the church.
The tombs of PopesUrban VII andPaul IV are located in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, as are theCardinal-nephew ofPope Nicholas IIILatino Malabranca Orsini, Michel Mazarin (Archbishop of Aix) who was the brother of CardinalJules Mazarin, the Byzantine philosopherGeorge of Trebizond, and two Renaissance theorists and practitioners,Filarete in architecture andMariano Santo insurgery.
CardinalAstorgio Agnensi has his tomb monument in the cloister.
In front of the church there is one of the most curious monuments of Rome, the so-calledPulcino della Minerva. It is a statue designed by the Baroque era sculptorGian Lorenzo Bernini (and executed by his pupilErcole Ferrata in 1667) of an elephant as the supporting base for the Egyptian obelisk found in the Dominicans' garden. It is the shortest of the eleven Egyptianobelisks in Rome and is said to have been one of two obelisks moved from Sais, where they were built during the 589 BC-570 BC reign of the pharaohApries, from theTwenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt. The two obelisks were brought to Rome byDiocletian, during his reign as emperor from 284 to 305, for placement at the Temple of Isis, which stood nearby. The Latin inscription on the base, chosen by the pope who commissioned the sculpture to support the obelisk found on the site, Alexander VII, is said to represent that "...a strong mind is needed to support a solid knowledge".
The inspiration for the unusual composition came fromHypnerotomachia Poliphili ("Poliphilo's Dream of the Strife of Love"), an unusual 15th century novel probably byFrancesco Colonna. The novel's main character meets an elephant made of stone carrying an obelisk, and the accompanying woodcut illustration[21] in the book is quite similar to Bernini's design for the base for the obelisk. The curious placement of the obelisk through the body of the elephant is identical.
The sturdy appearance of the structure earned it the popular nickname of "Porcino" ("Piggy") for a while. The name for the structure eventually changed toPulcino, the Italian for a small or little "chick". This may have been a reference to the comparatively short height of the obelisk or, an obscure reference to the major charity of the Dominicans to assist young women needing dowries, who made a procession in the courtyard every year. The latter were once depicted in a local painting as three tiny figures with the Virgin Mary presenting purses to them.
The elephant and obelisk monument and the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva feature in the novel 'The Tomb of Alexander' by Sean Hemingway. In the novel it is claimed that a secret passageway beneath the church leads to a chamber beneath the elephant monument which contains the body of Alexander the Great, placed there in the 17th century by Pope Alexander VII. This is entirely a work of fiction and the theory is unproven.
Dalí's painting 'Les Elephants' includes two elephants with long spindly legs that appear to be carrying obelisks; on closer inspection, the obelisks are floating. Dalí also utilizes this motif in Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944) and The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1946). See Monica Bowen's blog Alberti's Window.[22]
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Media related toElephant hypnerno at Wikimedia Commons (illustration fromHypnerotomachia Poliphili)
Santa Maria sopra Minerva travel guide from Wikivoyage Media related toSanta Maria sopra Minerva at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Santa Maria del Popolo | Landmarks of Rome Santa Maria sopra Minerva | Succeeded by Santa Maria in Trastevere |
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