San Giacomo Scossacavalli
Church of San Giacomo Scossacavalli | |
---|---|
Chiesa di San Giacomo Scossacavalli (in Italian) | |
Mannerist | |
Groundbreaking | About 1520 |
Completed | 1592 |
Specifications | |
Materials | Stone, Brickwork |
San Giacomo Scossacavalli (San Giacomo a Scossacavalli) was a church in Rome important for historical and artistic reasons. The church, facing the Piazza Scossacavalli, was built during the early Middle Ages and since the early 16th century hosted a confraternity which commissioned Renaissance architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger to build a new shrine. This was richly decorated with frescoes, painted (among others) by mannerist artist Giovanni Battista Ricci and his students. The church was demolished in 1937, when Via della Conciliazione (the avenue leading to St. Peter's Basilica) was built and the piazza and central part of the Borgo rione were demolished. Many decorative elements still exist, since they were preserved from demolition.
Location
The church was located in Rome's Borgo rione, on the east side of Piazza Scossacavalli, its facade facing west and opposite the Palazzo dei Convertendi. Its south side paralleled the Borgo Vecchio.[1]
History
Middle Ages
The church's name gave birth to a legend. When
The church had an ancient origin: during the Middle Ages it was dedicated to the Redeemer (Italian: Salvatore), and was called San Salvatoris de Coxa Caballi in the papal bulls of Sergius I (r. 687–701) and Leo IV (r. 847-55).[3][6] It is also mentioned in the main medieval catalogues of Roman churches, like that of Cencio Camerarius and of Paris.[3]
According to some sources, the church could be identified with San Salvatore de Bordonia; a bordone was the staff borne by pilgrims coming to St. Peter's.[3][4] These would have left their staffs in San Giacomo before entering Saint Peter,[7] exactly as they did after completing the Way of St. James, and this fact would explain also the late dedication to Saint James.[8]
In 1250, relics of
Renaissance
In 1520 the
The members wore clothing made from white
Shortly after their assignment to San Giacomo, the brethren started to reconstruct it, choosing as architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, but due to lack of funds its facade was still unfinished in 1590.[9] That year Ludovico Fulgineo, ecclesiastical referendary and governor of the archconfraternity, died, leaving his inheritance to the association.[9] Thanks to his legacy, two years later, the construction was finished.[9] In 1601, an oratory dedicated to Saint Sebastian was built behind the church.[9]
Baroque and Modern Ages
San Giacomo underwent thorough restorations in the first half of the 17th century and the second half of the 18th. On 23 November 1777, the church was reconsecrated by
It was damaged during the
The church was demolished by 30 September 1937 for the construction of Via della Conciliazione.
Description
The church's artistic importance is primarily due to its design by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and its frescoes and paintings, particularly those by the Piemontese mannerist painter Giovanni Battista Ricci and his students.[5]
Architecture
When Antonio da Sangallo was commissioned to rebuild the church, his main problem was its shape; its width, facing Piazza Scossacavalli, was longer than its depth (along Borgo Vecchio).[11] Drawings in the Uffizi indicate several solutions: a single-nave plan, oriented along its long side with a side entrance, and octagonal and oval plans.[11] The latter was adopted by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola for the church of Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri, and became popular during the 17th century.[11] Sangallo did not adopt any of these plans, instead deciding to reduce the area of the church, whose plan became a rectangle with its long side normal to Piazza Scossacavalli.[11] Its nave was flanked by four large niches, and Sangallo designed four rooms (two on each side) as sacristies.[11]
The church's appearance in the mid-16th century, shortly before its completion, is known from a woodcut by Girolamo Franzini.[10] Its facade appears almost square; at its center there was a portal with a tympanum, surmounted by a large fanlight opened by a round window.[10] On its side were three rows of pilasters with two pairs of niches, one over the other.[10] A bell-gable was on one side of the roof.[10]
When the facade was completed high
The church, without an apse and a transept,[14] maintained its original single-nave plan until at least 1627.[11] In 1662 the naves had become three, separated by two rows of square brick pillars and surmounted by vaults.[11][14] The church had five altars in 1627, increasing to six in 1649.[11] In 1726 the closing of its side gate along the Borgo Vecchio made room for another altar.[11]
Interior
On the right side, the first
On the left side, the first chapel was dedicated to the
A Ricci painting of the Last Supper was above the main altar, which was dedicated to Jesus the Redeemer;[12][15] in 1662, a fresco of the Madonna was moved there.[12] The Ardicini cardinals had the image painted on the facade of their palace in Borgo Sant'Angelo,[12] and it was venerated by the local people because of a number of miracles attributed to her intercession.[12] On the altar was an African-marble tabernacle by Giovanni Battista Ciolli,[12][15] and to the right of the entrance was a holy water font presented to the church in 1589 by Francesco Del Sodo (a member of the archconfraternity).[11] The church was the burial place of several people, whose tombstones adorned the floor; among them were the son and mother-in-law of Pirro Ligorio and Battista Gerosa, son of the Oratory of San Sebastiano architect Antonio Gerosa.[4][16]
References
- ^ a b Gigli (1992) p. 7
- ^ a b Baronio (1697) p. 65
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gigli (1992) p. 8
- ^ a b c Delli(1988) p. 857
- ^ a b c d e Cambedda (1990) p. 50
- ^ Lombardi (1996), sub voce
- ^ Borgatti (1926) p. 156
- ^ Castagnoli (1958) p. 242
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gigli (1992) p. 10
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gigli (1992) p. 12
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gigli (1992) p. 14
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Gigli (1992) p. 16
- ^ Gigli (1994) p. 32
- ^ a b c d e f Cambedda (1990) p. 51
- ^ a b c d e f Baronio (1697) p. 66
- ^ a b c d e Gigli (1992) p. 18
Sources
- Baronio, Cesare (1697). Descrizione di Roma moderna (in Italian). M.A. and P.A. De Rossi, Roma.
- Borgatti, Mariano (1926). Borgo e S. Pietro nel 1300 –1600 –1925 (in Italian). Roma: Federico Pustet.
- Ceccarelli, Giuseppe (Ceccarius) (1938). La "Spina" dei Borghi (in Italian). Roma: Danesi.
- Castagnoli, Ferdinando; Cecchelli, Carlo; Giovannoni, Gustavo; Zocca, Mario (1958). Topografia e urbanistica di Roma (in Italian). Bologna: Cappelli.
- Delli, Sergio (1988) [1975]. Le strade di Roma (in Italian) (3 ed.). Roma: Newton Compton.
- Cambedda, Anna (1990). "La demolizione della Spina dei Borghi". Itinerari Didattici d'Arte e di Cultura (in Italian). Roma: Fratelli Palombi Editori. ISSN 0394-9753.
- Gigli, Laura (1992). Guide rionali di Roma (in Italian). Vol. Borgo (III). Roma: Fratelli Palombi Editori. ISSN 0393-2710.
- Gigli, Laura (1994). Guide rionali di Roma (in Italian). Vol. Borgo (IV). Roma: Fratelli Palombi Editori. ISSN 0393-2710.
- Lombardi, Ferruccio (1996). Roma. Le chiese scomparse. La memoria storica della città (in Italian). Roma: Fratelli Palombi Editori. ISBN 978-88-7621-069-3.