Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, and is located on Piazza Capranica. The church is ancient – it was restored by

Pope Gregory III Pope Gregory III ( la, Gregorius III; died 28 November 741) was the bishop of Rome from 11 February 731 to his death. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by Byzantine iconoclasm and the advance of the Lombards, in which ...

in the 8th century, and thus must have existed before then. One theory is that it was the '' titulus Equitii'', though

San Martino ai Monti San Martino ai Monti, officially known as Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti ("Saints Sylvester & Martin in the Mountains"), is a minor basilica in Rome, Italy, in the Rione Monti neighbourhood. It is located near the edge of the Parco del Colle ...

is a more likely candidate. It is also referred to as Santa Maria della Visitazione, notably by

Pope Urban VI Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...

in 1389. The origins of the name are nebulous; most attribute it to a corruption of the term ''a Cyro'', perhaps referring in early days to a neighborhood resident named Cyrus or deriving from

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

. According to another theory ''Acyro'' refers to a corruption of the Latin word ''

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

'', a stadium for horse racing; the

Circus Flaminius The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area in ancient Rome, located in the southern end of the Campus Martius near the Tiber River. It contained a small race-track used for obscure games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was "bui ...

was located in the vicinity. In 1540 Pope Paul III granted the church to the Confraternity of Orphans, and it was restored in 1588.

Art and architecture

The most important work of art in the church is a 14th-century painting, in the apse, of the ''Madonna and Child with St Stephen'', attributed to the school of

Pietro Cavallini Pietro Cavallini (1259 – c. 1330) was an Italian painter and mosaic designer working during the late Middle Ages. Biography Little is known about his biography, though it is known he was from Rome, since he signed ''pictor romanus''. His fir ...

. This painting and the funeral lapidary monuments in the vestibule are from the medieval church of Santo Stefano del Trullo, destroyed during the pontificate of Pope Alexander VII (1655–1667). There are also paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The facade was completed by 1774 by Pietro Camporese the Elder, based on designs of

Giovanni Francesco Braccioli Giovanni Francesco Braccioli (1697 – 16 July 1762) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Ferrara. Born in Ferrara, he first trained with Giacomo Parolini, and then with Giuseppe Maria Crespi in Bologna Bologna ( ...

. The interior was redecorated by

Cesare Mariani Cesare Mariani (January 13, 1826 – February 21, 1901) was an Italian painter and architect of the late-19th century, active in Rome and Ascoli Piceno. Early life and training He was born in Rome to Pietro and Maria Agnelletti; his father worked ...

in 1866. Two chapels have paintings by followers of Caravaggio: the third chapel at right has a ''Virgin and Saints'' (1617) by

Carlo Saraceni Carlo Saraceni (1579 – 16 June 1620) 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. Life Though he was born and died in ...

, while the second chapel on the left has three canvasses – ''Deposition from the Cross'', ''Crowning with the crown of thorns'', and ''Flagellation of Christ'' (1635-1640) – attributed to the Frenchman

Trophime Bigot Trophime Bigot (1579–1650), also known as Théophile Bigot, Teofili Trufemondi, the Candlelight Master (''Maître à la Chandelle''), was a French painter of the Baroque era, active in Rome and his native Provence. Bigot was born in Arles in 1 ...

. Formerly these paintings were thought to be by the hand of Gerard van Honthorst. Interior of Santa Maria in Aquiro (Rome)

Cardinal-deacons

Santa Maria in Aquiro has been a

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

since the 11th century. The current

cardinal-deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Aquiro Titular churches Renaissance architecture in Rome Churches of Rome (rione Colonna) 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1588