Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore (, also known as San Giacomo degli Spagnoli and in Spanish, Santiago de los Españoles) is a Catholic church dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

located in Rome's

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

History

An earlier church, San Giacomo degli Spagnoli (St James of the Spanish), had been erected in the same place, on the ruins of the

Stadium of Domitian The Stadium of Domitian (), also known as the ''Circus Agonalis'', was located under the present Piazza Navona which follows its outline and incorporates its remains, to the north of the ancient Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The Stadium was com ...

, in the 12th century."Chiesa Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore a Piazza Navona", Turismo Roma, Major Events, Sport, Tourism and Fashion Department
/ref> The first mention of this church is in the will of Henry of Castile (1230-1304), son of King

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III (; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his ...

, who had given money to build it in 1259. The edifice was rebuilt for the

Holy Year A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins, debts and universal pardon. In the Book of Leviticus, a jubilee year is mentioned as occurring every 50th year (after 49 years, 7x7, as per Leviticus 25:8) during which slaves and prisoners would ...

of 1450 using a gift from Alfonso de Paradinas, canon of the

Cathedral of Seville The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (), better known as Seville Cathedral (), is a Catholic cathedral and former mosque in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alc� ...

. The façade, once facing the opposite side than now, was designed by

Bernardo Rossellino Bernardo di Matteo del Borra Gamberelli (1409–1464), better known as Bernardo Rossellino, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, the elder brother of the sculptor Antonio Rossellino. As a member of the second generation of Renaiss ...

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

, of Spanish origin, later had a square carved out in front of it, moving two hospices for Spanish pilgrims."Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore/San Giacomo degli Spagnoli", Collegamento Nazionale Santuari
/ref> Starting in 1506 San Giacomo was the national church of the kingdom of Castile in Rome. 1518 It was again remodeled in 1518 by

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (12 April 14843 August 1546), also known as Antonio Cordiani, was an Italian architect active during the Renaissance, mainly in Rome and the Papal States. One of his most popular projects that he worked on des ...

. In keeping with the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

's greater emphasis on the Eucharist, in 1549 Prince Philip of Spain donated funds to commission

Gaspar Becerra Gaspar Becerra (1520–1568) was a Spanish painter and sculptor of the School of Valladolid. Biography He was born at Baeza, Spain, Baeza in the Province of Jaén (Spain), Province of Jaén. He went to Rome in 1545, and studied with Giorgio Vas ...

to provide a gold tabernacle. {This tabernacle may have later been melted down to fashion a new Baroque tabernacle, stolen in 1741.) Philip also paid for a new altarpiece,

Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521 – c. 1580) began his career as an Italian Mannerist painter but later adopted the reformist naturalism of Girolamo Muziano in the 1560s and 70s. He was active in Rome in the mid 16th century. Nativ ...

's ''Crucifixion'', (which was later removed to

Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli The Spanish National Church of Santiago and Montserrat, known as Church of Holy Mary in Monserrat of the Spaniards (, , ) is a Roman Catholic Titular church, titulus church and National churches in Rome, National Church in Rome of Spain, dedicat ...

). The ''Crucifixion'' was flanked by two side panels depicting St. Ildefonsus and St. James. When

was completed in the 17th century, the focus of the community shifted to that church, which is now the Spanish national church. The Church of San Giacomo and its annexes were for a long time maintained by the bequests of the Spaniards of Rome. However, with no maintenance provided, in 1818 the church was abandoned by the Spaniards in favor of Santa Maria di Monserrato, where the furnishings and tombs were also transferred. San Giacomo, was deconsecrated in 1824 and sold in 1878 to the French missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

had the edifice, which was on the verge of crumbling down, extensively renovated in the late 19th century. At that time the main entrance was moved to face Piazza Navona. The apse and the transept were demolished in 1938 to open the current Corso del Rinascimento avenue.

Interior

Annibale Carracci - Mural paintings from the Herrera Chapel - Google Art Project

Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore is the earliest of the few

hall churches A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one single immense roof. ...

in Rome.''The Architecture of Rome'', (Stefan Grundmann, ed.) 1998, p. 101
/ref> Most of the works of art and funerary monuments in the church were transferred to Santa Maria in Monserrato. What remains in the church are some Renaissance works, such as a chancel in polychrome marble and the marble backdrop behind the high altar. The altarpiece of the ''Assumption of the Virgin with Glory of Angels and Apostles'' was made by

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

-born painter Francisco de Castello. The Cappella di San Giacomo is also intact. Commissioned as a mortuary chapel by Cardinal

Jaume Serra i Cau Jaume Serra i Cau (, ; died 1517) was a Spaniard, Spanish Valencian people, Valencian Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, from the city of Valencia, Spain, Valencia. He was tutor to the young Giovanni Borgia (1474), Giovanni Borgia, and a close as ...

, it was designed by

and holds a statue of St. James by

Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance arc ...

. (There is a copy in Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli. Some of the paintings of the Herrera Chapel were transferred to in Barcelona and some to

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

in Madrid.

List of Cardinal Protectors

* Cesare Zerba, title ''pro hac vice'' (February 25, 1965 - July 11, 1973 deceased) *

Mario Luigi Ciappi Mario Luigi Ciappi, O.P. (6 October 1909 – 23 April 1996) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as personal theologian to five popes from 1955 to 1989, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1977. Early life Born ...

, (June 27, 1977 - June 22, 1987 appointed Cardinal Priest of

Sacro Cuore di Gesù agonizzante a Vitinia Sacro may refer to : * Sacro - a Scottish voluntary organisation, 'Safeguarding Communities, Reducing Offending', formerly known as the Scottish Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders * In combination with other words, the sacrum (e ...

) * ''Vacant (1987-2001)'' *

José Saraiva Martins José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F. GCC (born 6 January 1932) is a Portuguese cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1998 to 2008. Biography Born in Gagos de Jarmelo in Guarda, Portug ...

, (February 21, 2001 - February 24, 2009 appointed Cardinal Bishop of

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...

) *

Kurt Koch Kurt Koch (born 15 March 1950) is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since November 2010 and president of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity since 1 July 2010. He was the bishop of Basel from 1996 until ...

(20 November 2010 - ), title ''pro hac vice'' since 3 May 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nostra Signora Del Sacro Cuore Buildings and structures completed in 1450 Churches completed in the 1450s 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Titular churches Churches of Rome (rione Parione) Piazza Navona

History

Interior

List of Cardinal Protectors

See also

References