Santa Caterina dei Funari
Encyclopedia
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...
in 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...
, in the rione
Rione
Rione is the name given to a ward in several Italian cities, the best-known of which is Rome. Unlike a quartiere, a rione is usually an official administrative subdivision...
of Sant'Angelo. The church is mainly known for its façade and its interior with frescoes and paintings.
History
The church stands on the same spot as the Castro Aureo of the Circus FlaminiusCircus Flaminius
The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area of land in Rome that contained a small race-track reserved for mysterious games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was located in the southern end of the Campus Martius, near the Tiber River. It was ‘built,’ or sectioned off, by Flaminius...
, built by Caius Flaminius in 221 B.C. In medieval times, the vicinity became the location of string- and rope-makers (funari), hence, the name of the church. The original church was a three-naved basilica, called "Santa Maria de Donna Rosa in castro aureo", named for the first time in 1192 in a document of Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III , born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on March 21, 1191, and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family in Rome, though he was only a cardinal deacon before becoming Pope...
. It was rebuilt in the 9th century with a single nave and dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
and later also called Santa Caterina dei Funari.
In 1534 Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
conceded this church to St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. He established in this church a Company for Poor Homeless Maidens. A few years later the Company became a Confraternity
Confraternity
A confraternity is normally a Roman Catholic or Orthodox organization of lay people created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy...
. Sponsored by Cardinal Federico Cesi, they decided to rebuild the church and name it "Santa Caterina dei Funari" It was built by Guidetto Guidetti between 1560 and 1564, together with 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...
and Ottavio Mascherino (1524-1606).
Façade
The travertineTravertine
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...
façade shows the influence of other Renaissance churches on the Lombard architect Guidetto Guidetti. He relied much for his design on the design of the church Santo Spirito in Sassia
Santo Spirito in Sassia
Santo Spirito in Sassia is a 12th century basilica church in Rome.It has been erected in Borgo Santo Spirito, a street which got its name from the church, placed in the southern part of Rione Borgo....
, built by his teacher Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
thumb|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]]....
. The careful ornamentation contrasts sharply with the austere architectural arrangement in two sections. The sections are divided by pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s with slightly modified Corinthian capitals. The lower section consists of five bays with three pilasters on each side of the entrance. Each space between two pilasters is filled with an empty semicircular niche under a festoon
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
. Above and underneath each niche is a framed rectangular panel. The aedicular
Aedicula
In religion in ancient Rome, an aedicula is a small shrine. The word aedicula is the diminutive of the Latin aedes, a temple building or house....
entrance is flanked by two Corinthian columns that support an architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
(with the text DIVAE CATHARINAE VIRG. ET MART.- St. Catharine, virgin and martyr) and a triangular pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. The top of these two capitals are adorned with cornucopia
Cornucopia
The cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form...
s and cherub
Cherub
A cherub is a type of spiritual being mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and cited later on in the Christian biblical canons, usually associated with the presence of God...
's heads. The festoon over the pediment carries two iconographical symbols of martyrdom : a palmbranch and the sword, the instrument of her martyrdom. The other festoons contain a wheel, her intended instrument of martyrdom.
The upper section consists of three bays flanked by a volute
Volute
A volute is a spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals...
on each side. The middle bay is filled with a rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
inside a quadratic frame with roses on each corner. Above the rose window stands the escutcheon
Escutcheon
In heraldry, an escutcheon is a shield which forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word is used in two related senses....
of the Cesi family between ornamental ribbons. The two other bays contain each an empty semicircular niche underneath a framed rectangular panel. The space between the capitals is filled with four ornamented oval cartouches.
On top of the façade stands a triangular pediment with four acroteria
Acroterion
An acroterion or acroterium is an architectural ornament placed on a flat base called the acroter or plinth, and mounted at the apex of the pediment of a building in the Classical style. It may also be placed at the outer angles of the pediment; such acroteria are referred to as acroteria angularia...
in the form of a vase and in the middle an iron cross.
This façade would become a model for the design of the façade of the Church of the Gesu
Church of the Gesu
The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named , its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture ,. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit...
by Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...
.
Interior
The church is built along an ground plan with a single nave, defined by half-columns with Corinthian capitals along the walls, with a vaulted ceiling and lunettes in the upper part. There are three semi-circular chapels on each side. The austere interior contrasts with a wealth of decorations executed by important artists from the late 16th and early 17th centuries.The altarpiece (1600) by Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...
in the chapel of Santa Margherita depicts the saint. He also painted the altarpiece "St. Barbara" in the first chapel on the right. The Ruiz chapel is the second chapel on the right side. Its altarpiece (a Deposition) was painted by Girolamo Muziano
Girolamo Muziano
Girolamo Muziano , was an Italian painter, active in a late-Renaissance or Mannerism style. He was born in Acquafredda, near Brescia, but active mainly in Rome....
. Together with the third chapel on the right side, they were designed by Vignola but finished by Mascherino. The altarpiece in the third chapel (the Assumption of Mary
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
) was painted by Scipione Pulzone
Scipione Pulzone
Scipione Pulzone , also known as Il Gaetano, was an Italian late Renaissance Mannerist or, more properly, "counter-Maniera" painter active in Rome...
[1598].
Federico Zuccari
Federico Zuccari
Federico 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 ....
painted several presbytery decorations (with scenes from the live of St. Catherine) and a panel. Raffaellino da Reggio
Raffaellino da Reggio
Raffaellino da Reggio was an Italian painter from Emilia, active in a Mannerist style mainly in Rome.Also variously named Raffaellino Motta or Rafaellino da Reggio or a variety of combinations, he was born at Codemondo near Reggio Emilia. Initially trained under the painter Lelio Orsi...
frescoed in the apse some monochrome friezes of putti and of the saints Romano, Agostino, Sisinio and Saturnino. The altarpiece above the main altar shows a "Glory of St. Catherine" by Livio Agresti
Livio Agresti
Livio Agresti , also called Ritius or Ricciutello, was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period, active both in his native city of Forlì and in Rome, where he died. He was one of the members of the "Forlì painting school"...
. The altarpiece in the third chapel on the left depicts "The Story of S. Giovanni" by Marcello Venusti
Marcello Venusti
Marcello Venusti was an Italian Mannnerist painter active in Rome in mid 16th century.Native to Mazzo di Valtellina near Como, he was reputed to have been a pupil of Perino del Vaga. He is known for a scaled copy of the Michelangelo's Last Judgement, commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese,...
.