Santa Maria
in Via Lata is an old church that was constructed back in the 11th
using an ancient Roman portico. This church built above an old one as a result
of the rise of the ground level. The ground level was however restored later in
the 15th century at the initiative of Pope Innocent VIII and
Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia whose coats of arms are clearly seen on the side wall
of the church. It is believed that St, Paul spent around two years in the crypt
under the church while under house arrest awaiting trial (Richardson, 2009).
The 13th
century icon of the church, Virgin
Advocate is believed to have performed a lot of miracles and it is believed
that the martyr Agapitus and the relics of the 3rd century Deacon
lie beneath it. During the reconstruction of the church in the late 15th
century, the Arcus Novus was destroyed as it was located at the church’s site.
The church was later on renovated by Coismo Fanzago in the 17th
century. This renovation led to the completion of the façade together with its
Corinthian columns imposing vertical emphasis. In this façade, its designer
appears to evoke a triumphal arch. The church’s high altar constructed in 1636,
known as Madonna Advocata is
attributed to Bernini and is one of the few paintings that the church has. The
church’s ciborium in the apses was made using lapis-lazuli and alabaster.
Along the
right hand side of the church’s nave is the first altarpiece of the martyrdom
of St. Andrew. It was constructed in 1685 by Giacinto Brandi. The second
altarpiece on the same side is that of saints Nicola, Biagio and Giuseppe that
were constructed by Giuseppe Ghezzi. When a person enters the chapel, he or she
is likely to see the apse of Madonna with child together with Saints Catherine
and Cyriac built by Giovanni Odazzi.
The
chapel’s new façade built by Pietro da Cartona comprises of a loggia and
portico (Merz, Blunt & Cortona, 2008). At the same time, this façade does
not have a curved shape with its serliana recalling the patters of the late
antiquity unlike most facades. This façade was decorated using the heraldic
symbols of Pope Alexander VII and the coat of arms. For this chapel to attain
its current spectacular design, it utilized the skills of the best architects
at the time period. We see this through the fact that Pietro da Cortona was not
involved in redesigning the interior of the chapel as this job was left to
Cosimo Fanzago who was the best architect in Naples during this time.
References
Merz, J. M., Blunt, A., & Cortona, P. . (2008). Pietro
da Cortona and Roman Baroque architecture.
New Haven [u.a.: Yale University Press.
Richardson, C. M. (2009). Reclaiming Rome: Cardinals in
the fifteenth century. Leiden: Brill.
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