San Marcello al Corso is a
church inThere are more than 900 Churches in Rome. Most, but not all, of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches.-Ancient Churches:...
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, devoted to
Pope Marcellus Iother=Marcellus}}Pope Saint Marcellus I, pope from May 308 to 309, succeeded Marcellinus, after a considerable interval, most probably in May or June 308....
. It is located in
via del Corso, the ancient
via Lata, connecting
Piazza VeneziaThe Piazza Venezia is a piazza in central Rome, Italy at . It takes its name from the adjacent Palazzo Venezia.The piazza is at the foot of the Capitoline Hill and near the Roman Forum. It is dominated by the imposing Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II....
to
Piazza del PopoloThe Piazza del Popolo is a large square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "piazza of the people", but historically it derives from the poplars after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name.The Piazza lies inside the...
.
While the tradition holds that the church was built over the prison of
Pope Marcellus Iother=Marcellus}}Pope Saint Marcellus I, pope from May 308 to 309, succeeded Marcellinus, after a considerable interval, most probably in May or June 308....
(d. 309), it is known that the
Titulus Marcelli was already present in 418, when
Pope Boniface IPope Saint Boniface I was pope from December 28, 418 to September 4, 422. He was a contemporary of Saint Augustine of Hippo, who dedicated to him some of his works....
was elected here. The "Septiformis"
litanyA litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes from the Latin litania, from the Greek λιτή , meaning "prayer" or "supplication"....
, commanded by
Pope Gregory IPope St. Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
in 590, saw the men moving from San Marcello.
Pope Adrian IPope Adrian, or Hadrian I, was pope from February 1, 772 to December 25, 795. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman....
, in the 8th century, built a church on the same place, which is currently under the modern church.
The history of San Marcello saw many lows. It held for three days, in the apse, the hanged body of
Cola di RienzoCola di Rienzo or di Rienzi was an Italian medieval politician and popular leader, tribune of the Roman people in the mid-14th century.-Early career:Cola was born in Rome of humble origins...
, in 1354. On 22 May 1519 a fire destroyed the church. The money collected for its rebuilding was used to bribe the
landsknechtLandsknechts were European, most often German, mercenary pikemen and supporting foot soldiers from the late 15th to the late 16th century, and achieved the reputation for being the universal mercenary of the European Renaissance.-Etymology:The term is from German, Land "land,...
s, pillaging the city during the
Sack of Rome (1527)The Sack of Rome on 5 May 1527 was a military event carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, then part of the Papal States...
. The original plan to rebuild the church was done by Jacopo Sansovino, who fled the city during the Sack and never returned to finish it. The work was picked up by
Antonio da Sangallo the Youngerthumb|250px|The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the [[Trajan's Market]] in [[Rome]], considered Sangallo's masterwork.thumb|250px|View of St. Patrick's Well in [[Orvieto]]....
who then rebuilt the church, but a
TiberThe Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
flood damaged it in 1530. It was only in 1592 that the church was completed, and later
Carlo FontanaCarlo Fontana was an Italian architect, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture.-Biography:...
built the facade.
Under the main altar, decorated with 12th century
opus sectileOpus sectile refers to an art technique popularized in Rome where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The materials were cut to thin places, polished, and then cut further according to the design...
, are kept the relics of several saints, which include those of Pope Marcellus as well as
Digna and EmeritaSaints Digna and Emerita are venerated as saints by the Catholic Church. They were martyred at Rome.Their feast day is celebrated on September 22....
. The last chapel on the left is dedicated to St. Philip Benizi. The late-baroque decoration contains sculptures by Francesco Cavallini and reliefs by
Ercole FerrataErcole Ferrata was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque.-Biography:A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants...
and
Antonio RaggiAntonio Raggi was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque.-Biography:He was born in Vico Morcote near Como. His mentor in Rome for nearly three decades was Gianlorenzo Bernini...
. The first chapel on the left has the double tomb of Cardinal Giovanni Michiel and his grandson Antonio Orso sculpted by
Jacopo SansovinoJacopo d'Antonio Sansovino , was an Italian sculptor and architect, known best for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Andrea Palladio, in the Preface to his Quattro Libri was of the opinion that Sansovino's Biblioteca Marciana was the best building erected since Antiquity...
.
Behind the facade is a
Crucifixion (1613) by Giovanni Battista Ricci. Along the first chapel is a
Annunciation by
Lazzaro BaldiLazzaro Baldi Italian painter of the of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. Baldi was born in Pistoia and died in Rome . He was part of the large studio of Pietro da Cortona, and became adept at fresco technique. He painted a David and Goliath for Alexander VII in the Palazzo Quirinale...
; in the second
Martirio delle Ss. Degna e Merita (1727) of Pietro Barbieri; in the third “Madonna with the Child”, a fresco of late 1300, episodes of the
life of the VirginThe Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the number of scenes shown varies greatly with the space...
by Francisco Salviati, fresco and painted of G.B.Ricci; in the fourth chapel a
Creation of Eve and the evangelists Mark and John, frescoes by
Perin del VagaPerino del Vaga or Perin del Vaga, nickname of Piero Buonaccorsi , was an Italian painter of the Late Renaissance/Mannerism.-Biography:...
,
Matthew and Luke begun by Perin del Vaga and finish to you from
Daniele da VolterraDaniele Ricciarelli , better known as Daniele da Volterra, was an Italian mannerist painter and sculptor.He is best remembered for his association, for better or worse, with the late Michelangelo. Several of Daniele's most important works were based on designs made for that purpose by Michelangelo...
. Inside the precious ciborio (1691) on design of Carlo Bizzaccheri; in the fifth monument for the cardinal
Fabrizio Paolucci (1726) by
Pietro BracciPietro Bracci was an Italian sculptor working in the Late Baroque manner.-Biography:He was born in Rome and became a student of Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari and Camillo Rusconi...
and a monument of cardinal Camillo Paolucci by
Tommaso RighiTommaso Righi was an Italian sculptor and stuccator with a practice in Rome. His marble and stucco funeral monument to Carlo Pio Balestra , patron of the Church of Santi Luca e Martina, in the Roman Forum, is probably his most prominent commission...
. [1776] wall paintings of
Aureliano MilaniAureliano Milani was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active in Bologna and Rome.He was a pupil of Cesare Gennari and Lorenzo Pasinelli in Bologna, although he also adhered to a style derived from the Carracci. He took up his residence in Rome, being ill able to support a family of...
. On the left nave in the fifth chapel
San Filippo Benizi (1725) by
Pier Leone GhezziPier Leone Ghezzi was an Italian Rococo painter and caricaturist active in Rome.Ghezzi was born in Comunanza, in what is now the Marche....
; in the fourth “Conversion of Saint Paul” (1560) by
Federico ZuccariFederico Zuccari, also known as Federigo Zuccaro , was an Italian Mannerist painter and architect, active both in Italy and abroad.-Biography:Zuccari was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino ....
and his brother Taddeo and sides of
History of Saint Paul. Inside of the chapel has busts of Muzio, Roberto, Lelio Frangipane, and
Alessandro AlgardiAlessandro Algardi was an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome, where for the latter decades of his life, he was the major rival of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.-Early years:...
(1630-40). In the third chapel on the left “Doloroso” by
Pietro Paolo NaldiniPietro Paolo Naldini , also known as Paolo Naldini, was an Italian sculptor.Naldini specialized in sculpting religous-themed works, primarily angels. He is known to have previously collaborated with Gian Lorenzo Bernini....
,
Sacrifice of Isaac and
discovery of Moses by
Domenico CorviDomenico Corvi was a prominent Italian painter at the close of the 18th century, active in an early Neoclassic style in Rome and surrounding sites....
; in the first
Madonna and seven Saints by
Agostino MasucciAgostino Masucci was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque or Rococo period.Born in Rome, he initially apprenticed with Andrea Procaccino, and then became a member of the studio of Carlo Maratta. He joined the Accademia di San Luca in 1724, and from 1736-1738, he was director or Principe...
.
The last Cardinal Priest of the
Titulus S. Marcelli was Édouard Gagnon but due to his death in August 2007 it is currently vacant.
The Church administered and owned by the
Servite OrderThe Servite Order is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. Its objects are the sanctification of its members, preaching the Gospel, and the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God, with special reference to her sorrows...
since 1369 under the Piedmont-Romagna Province
Cardinal Protectors since 1921
- Francesco Cardinal Ragonesi (7 Mar 1921 - 14 Sep 1931)
- Maurilio Cardinal Fossati (13 Mar 1933 - 30 Mar 1965)
- Carlo Cardinal Grano (26 Jun 1967 - 2 Apr 1976)
- Dominic Ekandem
Dominic Ignatius Ekandem , was a Roman Catholic cardinal and was the first West African Catholic Bishop.A native of Cross River State, Ekandem attended several Catholic seminaries before he became a priest. He was ordained on December 7, 1947, and became the first priest from the old Calabar...
(24 May 1976 - 24 Nov 1995)
- Edouard Cardinal Gagnon
Édouard Gagnon was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family for 16 years, from 1974 to 1990. He became a cardinal on May 25 1985.-Biography:...
P.S.S. (29 Jan 1996 - 25 Aug 2007)
External links