Sant'Andrea in Via Flaminia
Encyclopedia
Sant'Andrea in Via Flaminia (Saint Andrew on Via Flaminia) is a Roman Catholic church
dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle in Rome
, Italy. The edifice is also known as Sant'Andrea del Vignola, after its architect
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
.
It was commissioned by Pope Julius III
, to commemorate his escape from prison during the Sack of Rome
, 1527. The small church on the Via Flaminia
, scarcely more than a chapel, was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
in 1552 and completed the following year, while Vignola was also employed by Julius nearby at the Villa Giulia
.
Sant'Andrea was the first church with an elliptical dome and the first step toward the Baroque
world of elliptical forms.
masked by a high plain drum with a comparable frieze, all in the gray pietra serena more usual to Tuscany than Rome. Applied to the street front is an extremely flat pedimented temple front, whose unadorned frieze is continued alone round the sides of the building, dividing the cube in the proportions 2:3. Very flat Corinthian pilasters
, doubled at the corners, divide the applied facade in three bays, with shell-headed niche
s flanking the door.
Inside there are frescoes by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta
and Pellegrino Tibaldi
.
Julius had the church engraved, plan, elevation and in perspective (G. Vasi 1761). After being long neglected, the unadorned geometry of the structure began to have an appeal to the popular Neoclassical style
. The church was refurbished by the neoclassic architect Giuseppe Valadier
, during the Napoleonic occupation of Rome, 1805.
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:...
dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle in Rome
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. The edifice is also known as Sant'Andrea del Vignola, after its architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola was one of the great Italian architects of 16th century Mannerism. His two great masterpieces are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Church of the Gesù in Rome...
.
It was commissioned by Pope Julius III
Pope Julius III
Pope Julius III , born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was Pope from 7 February 1550 to 1555....
, to commemorate his escape from prison during the Sack of Rome
Sack of Rome (1527)
The Sack of Rome on 6 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...
, 1527. The small church on the Via Flaminia
Via Flaminia
The Via Flaminia was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to Ariminum on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had for travel between Etruria, Latium and Campania and the Po Valley...
, scarcely more than a chapel, was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola was one of the great Italian architects of 16th century Mannerism. His two great masterpieces are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Church of the Gesù in Rome...
in 1552 and completed the following year, while Vignola was also employed by Julius nearby at the Villa Giulia
Villa Giulia
The Villa Giulia is a villa in Rome, Italy. It was built by Pope Julius III in 1550–1555 on what was then the edge of the city. Today it is publicly owned, and houses the Museo Nazionale Etrusco, an impressive collection of Etruscan art and artifacts....
.
Sant'Andrea was the first church with an elliptical dome and the first step toward the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
world of elliptical forms.
Interior
The interior space is vividly expressed on the exterior. The tempio as it was long called, is an unadorned cube with a dentilled cornice without a frieze, surmounted by an elliptical low domeDome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
masked by a high plain drum with a comparable frieze, all in the gray pietra serena more usual to Tuscany than Rome. Applied to the street front is an extremely flat pedimented temple front, whose unadorned frieze is continued alone round the sides of the building, dividing the cube in the proportions 2:3. Very flat Corinthian pilasters
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
, doubled at the corners, divide the applied facade in three bays, with shell-headed niche
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
s flanking the door.
Inside there are frescoes by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta
Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta
Girolamo 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...
and Pellegrino Tibaldi
Pellegrino Tibaldi
Pellegrino Tibaldi , also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerist architect, sculptor, and mural painter.-Biography:...
.
Julius had the church engraved, plan, elevation and in perspective (G. Vasi 1761). After being long neglected, the unadorned geometry of the structure began to have an appeal to the popular Neoclassical style
Italian Neoclassical architecture
Italian Neoclassical architecture refers to architecture in Italy during the Neoclassical period .-History and influences:In the 1750s and 1760s, the rich and frivolous Rococo was going out of fashion, and there was a growing desire to return to the simple, yet elegant classicism of architecture in...
. The church was refurbished by the neoclassic architect Giuseppe Valadier
Giuseppe Valadier
Giuseppe Valadier was an Italian architect and designer, urban planner and archeologist, a chief exponent of Neoclassicism in Italy.-Biography:...
, during the Napoleonic occupation of Rome, 1805.
External links
- Official website of the VIcariate of Rome
- Chris Nyborg, 2002. "Sant'Andrea del Vignola"
- Roberto Piperno, "Ponte Milvio": following the Itinerary of G. Vasi, 1761.