San Gregorio Magno
Encyclopedia
San Gregorio Magno al Celio, also known as San Gregorio al Celio or simply San Gregorio, is a church in Rome
, Italy, which is part of a monastery
. It is located on the Caelian Hill
, in front of the Palatine
.
added to a family villa suburbana
of Pope Gregory I
, who converted the villa into a monastery, ca 575-80, before his election as pope (590). Saint Augustine of Canterbury
was prior
of the monastery before leading the Gregorian mission
to the Anglo-Saxon
s seven years later. The community was dedicated to the Apostle Andrew. It retained its original dedication in early medieval documents, then was normally recorded after 1000 as dedicated to St. Gregory in Clivo Scauri. The term in Clivo Scauri reflected its site along the principal access road, which ran up the ancient slope that rose from the valley between the Palatine Hill
and the Caelian.
The decayed church and the small monastery attached to it on the now-isolated hill passed to the Camaldolese
monks in 1573. This Order still occupies the monastery. The archives of the monastery were published by the Camaldolese abbot, Gian Benedetto Mittarelli, in his monumental history, the Annales Camaldulenses ordini S. Benedicti ab anno 970 ad anno 1770 (published 1755-1773).
The current edifice was rebuilt on the old site to designs by Giovanni Battista Soria
in 1629-1633, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese
; work was suspended with his death, and taken up again in in 1642. Francesco Ferrari
(1725–1734) designed the interior.
The church is preceded by a wide staircase rising from the via di San Gregorio, the street separating the Caelian hill from the Palatine. The façade, the most prominent and artistically successful work of Giovanni Battista Soria
(1629–33), resembles in its style and material (travertine
), that of San Luigi dei Francesi
; it is not the façade of the church however, but instead leads into a forecourt or peristyle
, at the rear of which the church itself can be reached through a portico (illustration, left) that contains some tombs: these once included that of the famous courtesan Imperia, lover of the rich banker Agostino Chigi
(1511), but later it was adapted to serve as the tomb of a 17th-century prelate
. A Latin inscription commemorating Sir Edward Carne
, the ambassador
of Queen Mary I of England
and a noted scholar of ancient Greek language and culture, can be made out.
The marble cathedra
associated with Gregory the Great is preserved in the stanza di S. Gregorio in the church; a shrewd and accurate reconstruction of its ancient appearance was illustrated as Gregory's throne by Raphael
in the Disputà
. The lion-griffin protome
s that form its front and appear in Raphael's fresco are continued on the sides in an acanthus
scroll. Three more marble thrones of precisely the same model may be seen in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
, Boston, in Berlin and in the Acropolis Museum
. Gisela Richter has suggested that all are replicas of a lost, late Hellenistic original; none of the replicas has preserved the separately-carved base that would have continued the lions' legs, very much as Raphael surmised.
The church follows the typical basilican plan, a nave divided from two lateral aisles, in this case by sixteen antique columns with pilasters. Other antique columns have been reused: four support the portico on the left of the nave that leads into the former Benedictine
burial ground, planted with ancient cypress
es, and four more have been reused by Flaminio Ponzio
(1607) to support the porch of the central oratory facing into the burial ground on the far side, which is still dedicated to Saint Andrew
.
In the 1970s, the Camaldolese monks allowed the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, M.C.
, to set up a food kitchen for the poor of the city in a building attached to the monastery. It is still maintained by her religious congregation, the Missionaries of Charity
.
es by Francesco Ferrari (c. 1725), and a Cosmatesque
pavement. The main altarpiece has a Madonna with Saints Andrew and Gregory (1734) by Antonio Balestra
. The second altar on the left has a Madonna and Saints (1739) by Pompeo Batoni
. At the end of the nave, the altar of S. Gregorio Magno has three fine reliefs from the end of the 15th century by Luigi Capponi
. Also interesting is the Salviati Chapel, designed by Francesco da Volterra
and finished by Carlo Maderno
in 1600: it includes an ancient fresco which, according to the associated tradition, spoke to St. Gregory, and a marble altar (1469) by Andrea Bregno
and pupils. The chapel is presently used by Rome's Romanian community, which follows the Byzantine rite
there.
; a Virgin with Saints Andrew and Gregory by Cristoforo Roncalli, il Pomarancio
; and finally S. Silvia e S. Gregorio by Giovanni Lanfranco
.
and David and Isaiah by Sisto Badalocchio
.
, represents the rebuilding by Cardinal Baronius (1602) of the famous triclinium
where St. Gregory hosted a meal every day for a dozen poor men of Rome. At the massive marble table on antique Roman bases, at odds with Gregory's reputation for asceticism, John the Deacon tells that an angel joined the twelve poor men who gathered at the table to partake of Gregory's beneficence. The marble table-supports take the form of addorsed, winged lions whose heads sprout goats' horns.
The grounds of the oratories also include some substructures of the Roman imperial period, that may merely have been taberna
e, but one of which exhibits striking features that encourage some experts to think is an early Christian meeting place and baptismal pool
.
, a Greco-Roman marble Venus
of the Capitoline Venus
type. The sculpture soon came into the possession of the House of Chigi. The noted art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann
, described this sculpture in his History of Ancient Art (published in 1764). It is now on display in the National Roman Museum.
Churches of Rome
There are more than 900 churches in Rome. Most, but not all, of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches.The first churches of Rome originated in places where Christians met. They were divided into three categories:...
, Italy, which is part of a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. It is located on the Caelian Hill
Caelian Hill
The Caelian Hill is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill...
, in front of the Palatine
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
.
History
The church had its beginning as a simple oratoryOratory (worship)
An oratory is a Christian room for prayer, from the Latin orare, to pray.-Catholic church:In the Roman Catholic Church, an oratory is a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass...
added to a family villa suburbana
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
of Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
, who converted the villa into a monastery, ca 575-80, before his election as pope (590). Saint Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
was prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of the monastery before leading the Gregorian mission
Gregorian mission
The Gregorian mission, sometimes known as the Augustinian mission, was the missionary endeavour sent by Pope Gregory the Great to the Anglo-Saxons in 596 AD. Headed by Augustine of Canterbury, its goal was to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. By the death of the last missionary in 653, they...
to the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
s seven years later. The community was dedicated to the Apostle Andrew. It retained its original dedication in early medieval documents, then was normally recorded after 1000 as dedicated to St. Gregory in Clivo Scauri. The term in Clivo Scauri reflected its site along the principal access road, which ran up the ancient slope that rose from the valley between the Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
and the Caelian.
The decayed church and the small monastery attached to it on the now-isolated hill passed to the Camaldolese
Camaldolese
The Camaldolese monks and nuns are part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century...
monks in 1573. This Order still occupies the monastery. The archives of the monastery were published by the Camaldolese abbot, Gian Benedetto Mittarelli, in his monumental history, the Annales Camaldulenses ordini S. Benedicti ab anno 970 ad anno 1770 (published 1755-1773).
The current edifice was rebuilt on the old site to designs by Giovanni Battista Soria
Giovanni Battista Soria
thumb|250px|Façade of [[Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli]] in [[Rome]], with the [[Torre delle Milizie]] behind.Giovanni Battista Soria was an Italian architect who lived and worked mostly in Rome....
in 1629-1633, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese
Scipione Borghese
Scipione Borghese was an Italian Cardinal, art collector and patron of the arts. A member of the Borghese family, he was the patron of the painter Caravaggio and the artist Bernini...
; work was suspended with his death, and taken up again in in 1642. Francesco Ferrari
Francesco Ferrari (painter)
Francesco Ferrari was an Italian painter and architect of the Baroque period, active in Ferrara and across Northern Italy and Vienna....
(1725–1734) designed the interior.
The church is preceded by a wide staircase rising from the via di San Gregorio, the street separating the Caelian hill from the Palatine. The façade, the most prominent and artistically successful work of Giovanni Battista Soria
Giovanni Battista Soria
thumb|250px|Façade of [[Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli]] in [[Rome]], with the [[Torre delle Milizie]] behind.Giovanni Battista Soria was an Italian architect who lived and worked mostly in Rome....
(1629–33), resembles in its style and material (travertine
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
), that of San Luigi dei Francesi
San Luigi dei Francesi
The Church of St. Louis of the French is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to St. Denis the Areopagite and St. Louis IX, king of France...
; it is not the façade of the church however, but instead leads into a forecourt or peristyle
Peristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
, at the rear of which the church itself can be reached through a portico (illustration, left) that contains some tombs: these once included that of the famous courtesan Imperia, lover of the rich banker Agostino Chigi
Agostino Chigi
Agostino Andrea Chigi was an Italian banker and patron of the Renaissance.Born in Siena, he was the son of the prominent banker Mariano Chigi, a member of an ancient and illustrious house. He moved to Rome around 1487, collaborating with his father...
(1511), but later it was adapted to serve as the tomb of a 17th-century prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
. A Latin inscription commemorating Sir Edward Carne
Sir Edward Carne
Sir Edward Carne was a Welsh Renaissance scholar, diplomat and English Member of Parliament.-Life history:Carne was born around 1500 to Howell Carne of Cowbridge in Glamorgan, and his wife Cicily, the daughter of William Kemys. Carne was descended from Thomas Le Carne, who was the second son of...
, the ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
of Queen Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and a noted scholar of ancient Greek language and culture, can be made out.
The marble cathedra
Cathedra
A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...
associated with Gregory the Great is preserved in the stanza di S. Gregorio in the church; a shrewd and accurate reconstruction of its ancient appearance was illustrated as Gregory's throne by Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
in the Disputà
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament
The Disputation of the Sacrament , or Disputa, is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1509 and 1510 as only the first part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in...
. The lion-griffin protome
Protome
Protome is an adornment on utensils or works of art in the form of a frontal view of an animal head or bust of a human. Protomes are often featured in ancient art....
s that form its front and appear in Raphael's fresco are continued on the sides in an acanthus
Acanthus
Acanthus , in its feminine form acantha , is the Latinised form of the ancient Greek word acanthos or akanthos, referring to the Acanthus plant. It can also be used as the prefix acantho-, meaning "thorny"...
scroll. Three more marble thrones of precisely the same model may be seen in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
, Boston, in Berlin and in the Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum
The Old Acropolis Museum was an archaeological museum located in Athens, Greece on the archeological site of Acropolis. It is built in a niche at the eastern edge of the rock and most of it lies beneath the level of the hilltop, making it largely invisible. It was considered one of the major...
. Gisela Richter has suggested that all are replicas of a lost, late Hellenistic original; none of the replicas has preserved the separately-carved base that would have continued the lions' legs, very much as Raphael surmised.
The church follows the typical basilican plan, a nave divided from two lateral aisles, in this case by sixteen antique columns with pilasters. Other antique columns have been reused: four support the portico on the left of the nave that leads into the former Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
burial ground, planted with ancient cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
es, and four more have been reused by Flaminio Ponzio
Flaminio Ponzio
Flaminio Ponzio was an Italian architect during the late-Renaissance or so-called Mannerist period, serving in Rome as the architect for Pope Paul V.Ponzio was born in Viggiù near Varese, and he died in Rome...
(1607) to support the porch of the central oratory facing into the burial ground on the far side, which is still dedicated to Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
.
In the 1970s, the Camaldolese monks allowed the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, M.C.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, to set up a food kitchen for the poor of the city in a building attached to the monastery. It is still maintained by her religious congregation, the Missionaries of Charity
Missionaries of Charity
Missionaries of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in 1950 by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, which consists of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries...
.
Interior decoration
The decoration includes stuccoStucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
es by Francesco Ferrari (c. 1725), and a Cosmatesque
Cosmatesque
Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also used to decorate church walls, pulpits, and bishop's thrones...
pavement. The main altarpiece has a Madonna with Saints Andrew and Gregory (1734) by Antonio Balestra
Antonio Balestra
Antonio Balestra was an Italian painter of the Rococo period.Born in Verona, he first apprenticed there with Giovanni Zeffio. By 1690 he moved to Venice, where he worked for three years under Antonio Bellucci, then moved to Bologna and then to paint in Carlo Maratta's workshop in Rome. In 1694, he...
. The second altar on the left has a Madonna and Saints (1739) by Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...
. At the end of the nave, the altar of S. Gregorio Magno has three fine reliefs from the end of the 15th century by Luigi Capponi
Luigi Capponi
Luigi Capponi was an Italian Catholic Cardinal who became Archbishop of Ravenna.-Biography:Capponi was born in 1582, the son of Senator Francesco Capponi and Ludovica Macchiavelli. The Capponi family had extensive links to Italian political circles and to senior members of the Catholic Church...
. Also interesting is the Salviati Chapel, designed by Francesco da Volterra
Francesco da Volterra
Francesco da Volterra was an Italian painter. He resided in Pisa from 1370–1372, where, from the records of the Campo Santo, he painted the History of Job on the south wall...
and finished by Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno was a Swiss-Italian architect, born in Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Valle were of key importance in the evolution of the Italian Baroque...
in 1600: it includes an ancient fresco which, according to the associated tradition, spoke to St. Gregory, and a marble altar (1469) by Andrea Bregno
Andrea Bregno
Andrea di Cristoforo Bregno was an Italian sculptor and architect of the Early Renaissance who worked in Rome from the 1460s and died just as the High Renaissance was getting under way.-Early life:...
and pupils. The chapel is presently used by Rome's Romanian community, which follows the Byzantine rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
there.
Oratories
To the left of the church, tightly grouped in the garden, are three oratories commissioned by Cardinal Cesare Baronio at the beginning of the 17th century, as commemorations of Gregory's original monastery.Oratory of Saint Andrew
The central oratory has frescoes of the Flagellation of Saint Andrew by Domenichino; a Saint Andrew brought to the temple and Saints Peter and Paul by ReniGuido Reni
Guido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
; a Virgin with Saints Andrew and Gregory by Cristoforo Roncalli, il Pomarancio
Cristoforo Roncalli
Cristoforo Roncalli was an Italian mannerist painter. He was one of the three painters known as il Pomarancio.Roncalli was born in Pomarance, a town near Volterra...
; and finally S. Silvia e S. Gregorio by Giovanni Lanfranco
Giovanni Lanfranco
Giovanni Lanfranco was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.-Biography:Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the household of Count Orazio Scotti...
.
Oratory of St. Silvia
The oratory to the viewer's right is dedicated to St. Silvia, St. Gregory's mother: it is probably located over her tomb. This oratory has frescoes of a Concert of Angels by ReniGuido Reni
Guido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
and David and Isaiah by Sisto Badalocchio
Sisto Badalocchio
Sisto Badalocchio Rosa was an Italian painter and engraver of the Bolognese School.Born in Parma, he worked first under Agostino Carracci in Bologna, then Annibale Carracci, in Rome. He worked with Annibale till 1609, then moving back to Parma...
.
Oratory of St. Barbara
This oratory, with frescoes (1602) by Antonio VivianiAntonio Viviani
Antonio Viviani was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance and early-Baroque. He was also called il Sordo de Urbino , because of his self-absorption while painting frescoes. He was born in Urbino, and there became a follower of Federigo Barocci, whose nephew he is said to have been...
, represents the rebuilding by Cardinal Baronius (1602) of the famous triclinium
Triclinium
A triclinium is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek τρικλίνιον, triklinion, from τρι-, tri-, "three", and κλίνη, klinē, a sort of "couch" or rather chaise longue...
where St. Gregory hosted a meal every day for a dozen poor men of Rome. At the massive marble table on antique Roman bases, at odds with Gregory's reputation for asceticism, John the Deacon tells that an angel joined the twelve poor men who gathered at the table to partake of Gregory's beneficence. The marble table-supports take the form of addorsed, winged lions whose heads sprout goats' horns.
Ancient Roman ruins
The grounds of the oratories also include some substructures of the Roman imperial period, that may merely have been taberna
Taberna
A taberna was a single room shop covered by a barrel vault within great indoor markets of ancient Rome. Each taberna had a window above it to let light into a wooden attic for storage and had a wide doorway....
e, but one of which exhibits striking features that encourage some experts to think is an early Christian meeting place and baptismal pool
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
.
The discovery of an Aphrodite
On the grounds of the monastery was discovered the Aphrodite of MenophantosAphrodite of Menophantos
The Aphrodite of Menophantos is a Roman marble statue of Venus of the Capitoline Venus type. It was found at the Camaldolese monastery of San Gregorio al Celio. It bears the signature of Menophantos, a Greek sculptor, apparently of the 1st century BCE, of whom nothing more is known. The...
, a Greco-Roman marble Venus
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
of the Capitoline Venus
Capitoline Venus
The Capitoline Venus is a type of statue of Venus, specifically one of several Venus Pudica types , of which several examples exist. The type ultimately derives from the Aphrodite of Cnidus...
type. The sculpture soon came into the possession of the House of Chigi. The noted art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the difference between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art...
, described this sculpture in his History of Ancient Art (published in 1764). It is now on display in the National Roman Museum.