Santa Maria dell'Anima
Encyclopedia
Santa Maria dell'Anima is a Roman Catholic church in central Rome
, Italy
, just west of the Piazza Navona
and near the Santa Maria della Pace
church. It was the national church
of the Holy Roman Empire
in Rome. The church is today the national church of Germany
and hospice of German-speaking people in Rome.
According to tradition, the church received its name, from the picture of Our Lady which forms its coat of arms (the Blessed Virgin between two souls). Among the artworks housed inside is the Holy Family by Giulio Romano
. It is the resting place of the Dutch Pope Adrian VI
as well as of Cardinals William of Enckenvoirt
and Andrew of Austria.
bought three houses and turned it into a a private hospice for pilgrims, at the occasion of the Jubilee of 1350. Jan Peters may have been a Dutch
merchant or papal soldier. They named the hospice "Beatae Mariae Animarum" ("Saint Mary of the Souls"). It was erected on its present site in 1386. In the 15th century Santa Maria dell'Anima expanded to be a hostel for visitors from the entire Holy Roman Empire
, though initially the occupants were primarily from the Low Countries
and (from the middle 15th century) the Rhineland
.
The foundation of the hospice was confirmed by the bull of Pope Boniface IX
on 9 November 1399, which granted it indulgences. In 1406, it was raised to the rank of a national institution and united with a Brotherhood governed by Provisors and a Congregation. On May 21, 1406 Pope Innocent VII
in his bull Piae Postulatio declared the hospice exempted it from all but papal jurisdiction, and took it under his immediate protection. In 1418, it was greatly enriched by the legacy of its second founder, Diedrich of Niem.
The Popes of the fifteenth century, with the exception of Pope Sixtus IV
, showed it great favor. In 1431 a church was built on the place of the hospice's chapel (consecrated by Pope Eugene IV
in 1444) and the community was united with the German hospice of St. Andrew which had been founded in 1372 by the priest Nicholas of Kulm. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Santa Maria dell'Anima became the national and religious centre as well as burial place in Rome of the Holy Roman Empire.
from Strasbourg
joined the Confraternity of Santa Maria dell'Anima and rose to be its provost at the end of the 15th century. While he held this office, the decision was made to rebuild the church for the Jubilee of 1500. The present church which owes its Renaissance style to the influence of Bramante, was built by German subscriptions, between 1499 and 1522. It stands on the site of the older church, built between 1431 and 1499, and was decorated by the great artists of the period.
The church was built in the style of a hall church
that was typical for Northern Europe, but which sits awkwardly amid the Italianate churches of Rome. Andrea Sansovino
was retained as architect. The facade was completed by Giuliano da Sangallo
. The new church was consecrated only on Nov 25 1542.
near the Vatican has taken that role).
Among the artistic treasures of the church are (in chronological order):
An internal courtyard houses some ancient findings.
This article contains public domain text from the article
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, just west of the Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...
and near the Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona.The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV. The church was rededicated to the Virgin Mary to remember a...
church. It was the national church
National churches in Rome
Charitable institutions attached to churches in Rome were founded right through the medieval period and included hospitals, hostels and others providing assistance to pilgrims to Rome from a certain "nation", which thus became these nations' national churches in Rome...
of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
in Rome. The church is today the national church of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and hospice of German-speaking people in Rome.
According to tradition, the church received its name, from the picture of Our Lady which forms its coat of arms (the Blessed Virgin between two souls). Among the artworks housed inside is the Holy Family by Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism...
. It is the resting place of the Dutch Pope Adrian VI
Pope Adrian VI
Pope Adrian VI , born Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens, served as Pope from 9 January 1522 until his death some 18 months later...
as well as of Cardinals William of Enckenvoirt
William of Enckenvoirt
William of Enckevoirt, also spelled as Enckenvoirt was a Dutch Cardinal, bishop of Tortosa from 1524 to 1524, and bishop of Utrecht from 1529 to 1534.-Early life:...
and Andrew of Austria.
14th and 15th century
Santa Maria dell'Anima is one of the many medieval charity institutions built for pilgrims in Rome. The church found its origin in 1350, when Johannes (Jan) and Katharina Peters of DordrechtDordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
bought three houses and turned it into a a private hospice for pilgrims, at the occasion of the Jubilee of 1350. Jan Peters may have been a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
merchant or papal soldier. They named the hospice "Beatae Mariae Animarum" ("Saint Mary of the Souls"). It was erected on its present site in 1386. In the 15th century Santa Maria dell'Anima expanded to be a hostel for visitors from the entire Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, though initially the occupants were primarily from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
and (from the middle 15th century) the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
.
The foundation of the hospice was confirmed by the bull of Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX , born Piero Tomacelli, was the second Roman Pope of the Western Schism from November 2, 1389, until October 1, 1404...
on 9 November 1399, which granted it indulgences. In 1406, it was raised to the rank of a national institution and united with a Brotherhood governed by Provisors and a Congregation. On May 21, 1406 Pope Innocent VII
Pope Innocent VII
Pope Innocent VII , born Cosimo de' Migliorati, was briefly Pope at Rome, from 1404 to his death, during the Western Schism while there was a rival Pope, antipope Benedict XIII , at Avignon.Migliorati was born to a simple family of Sulmona in the Abruzzi...
in his bull Piae Postulatio declared the hospice exempted it from all but papal jurisdiction, and took it under his immediate protection. In 1418, it was greatly enriched by the legacy of its second founder, Diedrich of Niem.
The Popes of the fifteenth century, with the exception of Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
, showed it great favor. In 1431 a church was built on the place of the hospice's chapel (consecrated by Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
in 1444) and the community was united with the German hospice of St. Andrew which had been founded in 1372 by the priest Nicholas of Kulm. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Santa Maria dell'Anima became the national and religious centre as well as burial place in Rome of the Holy Roman Empire.
16th-17th century
Johann BurchardJohann Burchard
Johann Burchard, also spelled Johannes Burchart was an Alsatian-born priest and chronicler during the Italian Renaissance....
from Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
joined the Confraternity of Santa Maria dell'Anima and rose to be its provost at the end of the 15th century. While he held this office, the decision was made to rebuild the church for the Jubilee of 1500. The present church which owes its Renaissance style to the influence of Bramante, was built by German subscriptions, between 1499 and 1522. It stands on the site of the older church, built between 1431 and 1499, and was decorated by the great artists of the period.
The church was built in the style of a hall church
Hall church
A hall church is a church with nave and side aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was first coined in the mid-19th century by the pioneering German art historian Wilhelm Lübke....
that was typical for Northern Europe, but which sits awkwardly amid the Italianate churches of Rome. Andrea Sansovino
Andrea Sansovino
Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino was an Italian sculptor active during the High Renaissance...
was retained as architect. The facade was completed by Giuliano da Sangallo
Giuliano da Sangallo
Giuliano da Sangallo was an Italian sculptor, architect and military engineer active during the Italian Renaissance.He was born in Florence. His father Francesco Giamberti was a woodworker and architect, much employed by Cosimo de Medici, and his brother Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and nephew...
. The new church was consecrated only on Nov 25 1542.
18th-20th century
During the Napoleonic occupation, the church was plundered and the sacristy used as a horse stable. In 1844, the (new) Belgian community moved to the Church of St. Julian of the Flemings. In 1859, under the influence of the era's nationalism, the Confraternity was transformed to a German seminary and renamed the Collegio Teutonico di Santa Maria dell'Anima. Dutch Catholics retained the Anima as their national church, but after extended conflicts left it in 1939 (since 1992 the San Michele dei FrisoniChurch of Santi Michele e Magno
The Church of Saints Michael and Magnus is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel and the Bishop Saint Magnus of Anagni. It lies in Rione Borgo, and is the national church dedicated to The Netherlands. It is also known as the "Church of the Frisians"...
near the Vatican has taken that role).
Interior
- A altarpiece painted by Giulio RomanoGiulio RomanoGiulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism...
in 1521-22 for a FuggerFuggerThe Fugger family was a historically prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists like the Welser and the Höchstetter families. This banking family replaced the de'...
family, depicting the Sacred Family and donors (Mark and Giacomo Fugger). - The funeral monument of Pope Adrian VIPope Adrian VIPope Adrian VI , born Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens, served as Pope from 9 January 1522 until his death some 18 months later...
(1459–1523), commissioned by his friend, cardinal Willem van Enckevoirt and designed in part by Baldassarre Peruzzi. - An altarpiece (1532) by LorenzettoLorenzettoLorenzo Lotti, also known as Lorenzetto, , born Lorenzo di Lodovico di Guglielmo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect in the circle of Raphael....
. - The funeral monument of Willem van Enckevoirt (1464–1534), bishop of TortosaBishop of TortosaThe Bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Spain. The bishop is a suffragan of the Archbishop of Tarragona.-List of bishops of Tortosa:*San Rufo 64 - 90?*Macià s. II*Quart c. 156*Eustorqui s.III*Exuperanci ¿ - 369...
(1522–1534) and of Utrecht (1529–1534). The monument by Giovanni Mangoni was originally located next to Adrian's monument, but was moved to near the main entrance in 1575. - A Deposition (1550) by Francesco SalviatiFrancesco de' Rossi (Il Salviati)Francesco de' Rossi was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence, also active in Rome. He is known by many names, prominently the adopted name Francesco Salviati or as Il Salviati, but also Francesco Rossi and Cecchino del Salviati.-Biography:Salviati was born and died in Florence...
- A painting by Girolamo Siciolante da SermonetaGirolamo Siciolante da SermonetaGirolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta was an Italian Mannerist painter active in Rome in the mid 16th century.Native to Sermoneta, he was reputed to have been a pupil of Leonardo da Pistoia. His first known work is an altarpiece once in the Valvisciolo Abbey, now in Palazzo Caetani in Rome. In...
. - The funeral monument of Andrew of Austria (1558–1600), cardinal since 1573
- Miracles of Saint Benno and Martyrdom of Saint Lambert (1618) painted by Carlo SaraceniCarlo SaraceniCarlo Saraceni was an Italian early-Baroque painter, whose reputation as a "first-class painter of the second rank" was improved with the publication of a modern monograph in 1968....
.
An internal courtyard houses some ancient findings.
Sources
- Clifford W Maas and Peter Herde, The German Community in Renaissance Rome, 1378-1523, Rome: Herder, 1981. ISBN 3451191490 9783451191497
This article contains public domain text from the article
External links
- Official website
- Official website of the vicariate of Rome
- History of the church on the German community in Rome's website
- S. Maria dell'Anima