Memorial to Maria Raggi (Bernini)
Encyclopedia
The Memorial to Maria Raggi is a sculptural monument designed and executed by the Italian artist Gianlorenzo Bernini, between 1647 and 1653. The monument is attached to a pillar in a nave of the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
in Rome.
. Forced to marry at an early age, she was widowed when her husband was captured by Turkish forces in 1570. She become a nun in 1571, and departed for Rome in 1584, where she was resident at the Palazzo of the de Marini family, near Santa Maria sopra Minerva
. An extremely pious woman, she spent much of her day in prayer, and reportedly continually performed miracles. After dying in 1600, there was some possibility of her being canonised, but the general antipathy of Pope Urban VIII
to such events meant the opportunity passed.
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
in Rome.
Maria Raggi
Maria Raggi (1552-1600) was a nun from the island of ChiosChios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
. Forced to marry at an early age, she was widowed when her husband was captured by Turkish forces in 1570. She become a nun in 1571, and departed for Rome in 1584, where she was resident at the Palazzo of the de Marini family, near Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
. An extremely pious woman, she spent much of her day in prayer, and reportedly continually performed miracles. After dying in 1600, there was some possibility of her being canonised, but the general antipathy of Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
to such events meant the opportunity passed.