The Minor Basilica of St. Mary in Domnica alla Navicella (Basilica Minore di Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella), or simply Santa Maria in Domnica or Santa Maria alla Navicella, is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, dedicated to the

Blessed 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 ...

and active in local charity according to its long tradition. It is one of the best examples of the

Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne's reign led to an intellectual revival beginning in the 8th century and continuing throughout the 9th ...

in Rome. It has been the titular church of Cardinal Marcello Semeraro since 28 November 2020.

Name

The appellation "in Domnica" has been differently explained. One interpretation is the derivation from "dominicum" ("of the Lord"), and by extension "church". A second interpretation is that the name derives from the Latin phrase ''in dominica (praedia)'' ("on Imperial property"). One other possible explanation is that it is almost the only one from the lesser churches in Rome that serves as a station church on a Sunday, namely the second Sunday of Lent"Sunday: Santa Maria in Domnica", PNAC
/ref> (''dominica'' means "Sunday" in Latin; the other such church is San Pancrazio which serves as station for Low Sunday), so given the huge number of churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin this might have been chosen as identifier. Another interpretation is that it refers to the name of Cyriaca, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

woman who resided nearby and whose name denotes "belonging to the Lord": "Dominica" in Latin. According to this tradition, Cyriaca was a wealthy widow, whose home was used as a meeting-place for some of the first Christians of Rome.

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

used to distribute alms here. After his death, Cyriaca arranged the burial in her family catacomb cemetery, where the basilica San Lorenzo fuori le Mura now stands. La fontana della Navicella

The appellation "alla Navicella" denotes "near the little ship", and refers to the sculpture of a Roman shipTribe, Shawn. "Minor Roman Basilicas:Santa Maria i Domnica", ''Liturgical Arts Journal'', July 29, 2022
/ref> that has been in this location since ancient times, possibly as a votive offering at an ancient temple.

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

turned it into a fountain ( Fontana della Navicella) in front of the church.

History

The basilica was built in ancient times, close to the barracks of the Fifth Cohort of the Roman

Vigiles ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the Rome, City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("Cohort (military unit), cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''triumviri, triumviri ...

on the Caelian Hill. It is mentioned in the records of a synod of Pope Symmachus in AD 499. In 678, it was one of seven churches assigned to deacons by Pope Agatho. The basilica was rebuilt from 818 to 822 by Pope Paschal I, and included mosaic decoration. Pope Paschal I is credited with

's early 9th century age of renovation and artistic splendor. Benedict, legate to the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

(1205–1207), began his career as a cardinal in Santa Maria in 1200–1201. A small Olivetan monastery was established here in 1340. The

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

family extensively modified the interior in the 16th century, because some of them were the cardinal holders of the archdeaconate through much of that century. Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici (1488), was followed by his first cousin, Giulio di Giuliano de 'Medici, (1513). Giovanni di Cosimo I de' Medici became cardinal-deacon at the age of 17 in 1560, but died of malaria in 1562. He was followed by his brother Ferdinando I de' Medici, who later became

Grand Duke of Tuscany Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

Description

Exterior

In 1488,

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

prevailed on his relative

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...

to name his son, Giovanni Cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica when he was age 13, although he was not allowed to wear the insignia until three years later. In 1513, shortly before he became

, Cardinal de' Medici, in conjunction with Andrea Sansovino, added the facade portico with Tuscan columns and the fountain. The facade of the basilica, attributed to Sansovino, is in the Renaissance style, and has a porch with five arches separated by

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

, with two square and one round window. The tympanum has the coat of arms of

in the center, and that of cardinals Giovanni and Ferdinando de' Medici on the sides. The inconspicuous

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

houses a bell from 1288.

Interior

The interior of the basilica retains its 9th century plan, and consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and two lateral aisles of equal length and separated by 18 granite columns which were spolia from an ancient temple and crowned with Corinthian capitals. The wall above the windows was frescoed by

Perin del Vaga Piero Bonaccorsi (1501 – October 19, 1547), known as Perino (or Perin) del Vaga, was an Italian painter and draughtsman of the Late Renaissance/Mannerism. Biography Perino was born near Florence. His father ruined himself by gambling, and b ...

, based on designs of Giulio Romano. The nave has frescos by Lazzaro Baldi. The coffered ceiling, donated by Ferdinando I de' Medici, has the Medici coat of arms in the center, with symbolic representations of Noah's Ark and

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

. The

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

at the apse is flanked by two porphyry columns. The mosaics of the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

from the 9th century, were commissioned by Pope Paschal I and depict Christ with two angels, and the

twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

, with

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

shown underneath. In the semi-dome, Pope Paschal (with a square halo) sitting at the foot of the

, vested as a Byzantine noblewoman, seated on a throne with the Christ Child, and surrounded by a multitude of angels.

List of Cardinal Deacons

* Friedrich von Lothringen OSB (1049–1057) * Hildebrand von Soana OSB (1059–1073) * Giovanni di Subiaco OSB (1088–1123) * Crescenzio (1112–1120) * Stefano (1120–1122) * Angelo (1122–1130) * Gerardo (1134–1145) * Simeone Borelli OSB (1158–1159 oder 1169) * Benedetto (1200–1201) * Roger (1202–1206) * Tommaso Orsini dei Conti di Manupello (1383–1390) * Pietro Morosini (1408–1424) * ''vacant'' (1424–1473) * Pedro González de Mendoza (1473–1478) * Ferry de Clugny (1482–1483) * Giambattista Orsini (1483–1484) * Giovanni de’ Medici (1492–1513) * Giulio de’ Medici (1513–1517) * Innocenzo Cibo (1517–1550) * Niccolò Gaddi (1550) * Andrea Cornaro (1550–1551) * ''vacant'' (1551–1555) * Roberto de’ Nobili (1555–1559) * Alfonso Carafa (1559–1560) * Giovanni de’ Medici (1560–1562) * Ferdinando I de' Medici (1565–1585) * Charles de Lorraine de Vaudémont (1585–1587) *

Federico Borromeo Federico Borromeo (; 18 August 1564 – 21 September 1631) was an Italian cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan, and prominent figure of the Counter-Reformation in Italy. His acts of charity, ...

(1588–1589) * Francesco Maria del Monte (1589–1591) * Flaminio Piatti (1591–1592) * ''vacant'' (1592–1596) * Andrea Baroni Peretti Montalto (1596–1600) * ''vacant'' (1600–1610) * Ferdinando Gonzaga (1610–1612) * ''vacant'' (1612–1616) * Carlo di Ferdinando de’ Medici (1616–1623) * ''vacant'' (1623–1627) *

Alessandro Cesarini Alessandro Cesarini (died 13 February 1542), bishop of Pistoia, was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Life Born in Rome, the son of Agabito Cesarini, he became close to the Medici family, particularly Cardinal Giovanni di L ...

(1627–1632) * ''vacant'' (1632–1644) *

Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili, 1st Prince of San Martino al Cimino and Valmontone (21 February 1622 – 26 July 1666) was an Italian Catholic cardinal and nobleman of the Pamphili family. His name is often spelled with the final ''lon ...

(1644–1647) * Lorenzo Raggi (1647–1652) * Carlo Pio di Savoia (1654–1664) * ''vacant'' (1664–1668) * Sigismondo Chigi (1668–1670) * Camillo Massimo (1671–1673) * Pietro Basadonna (1674–1684) * Francesco Maria de' Medici (1687–1709) * Curzio Origo (1712–1716) * ''vacant'' (1716–1725) * Niccolò Paolo Andrea Coscia; Cardinal Priest ''

pro hac vice Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retire ...

'' (1725–1755) * ''Vacant'' (1755–1803) * Giovanni Castiglione (1803–1815) * ''vacant'' (1815–1823) * Tommaso Riario Sforza (1823–1834) * Francesco Saverio Massimo (1842–1848) * Roberto Giovanni F. Roberti (1850–1863) * Domenico Consolini (1866–1884) * Agostino Bausa OP (1887–1889) * ''vacant'' (1889–1901) * Luigi Tripepi (1901–1906) * ''vacant'' (1906–1911) * Basilio Pompili (1911–1914) * Scipione Tecchi (1914–1915) * Niccolò Marini (1916–1923) * ''vacant'' (1923–1935) * Camillo Caccia Dominioni (1935–1946) * ''vacant'' (1946–1953) * Alfredo Ottaviani (1953–1967); Cardinal Priest ''pro hac vice'' (1967–1979) * ''vacant'' (1979–1983) *

Henri de Lubac Henri-Marie Joseph Sonier de Lubac (; 20 February 1896 – 4 September 1991), better known as Henri de Lubac, was a French Jesuit priest and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal who is considered one of the most influential Theology, theologia ...

SJ (1983–1991) * Luigi Poggi (1994–2004) * William Joseph Levada (2006–2016); Cardinal Priest ''pro hac vice'' (2016–2019) * Marcello Semeraro (since 2020) The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Armellini, Mariano, (1891)
"S. Maria in Domnica"
in ''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', online version by Bill Thayer, Chicago, IL. Re-accessed 4 Feb 2022. * de Nie, Giselle; Morrison, Karl Frederick; Mostert, Marco (2005). ''Seeing the Invisible in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Papers from "Verbal and Pictorial Imaging: Representing and Accessing Experience of the Invisible, 400–1000": (Utrecht, 11–13 December 2003)''. Turnhout: Brepols. ** Thunø, Erik (2005). "Materializing the Invisible in Early Medieval Art: The Mosaic of Santa Maria in Domnica in Rome", in ''Seeing the Invisible ...'', pp. 265–89. * Englen, Alia (2003). ''Caelius I: Santa Maria in Domnica, San Tommaso in Formis e il Clivus Scauri''. Roma: Bretschneider. * Goodson, Caroline (2010). ''The Rome of Pope Paschal I: Papal Power, Urban Renovation, Church Rebuilding and Relic Translation, 817–824''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * Krautheimer, Richard, (1937). ''Corpus basilicarum Christianarum Romae. The early Christian basilicas of Rome (IV-IX cent.)'' Città del Vaticano, Pontificio istituto di archeologia cristiana, pp. 309 ff. * Lansford, Tyler (2011). ''The Latin Inscriptions of Rome: A Walking Guide''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. * Macadam, Alta (1994). ''Blue Guide Rome''. London: A & C Black. . * Matthiae, Guglielmo (1965). "S. Maria in Domnica". ''Chiese di Roma illustrate'', Roma: Marietti, p. 56. * Sundell, Michael G. (2007). ''Mosaics in the Eternal City''. Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, pp. 43 ff. * Thayer, Bill
"S. Maria in Domnica"
''Gazetteer''. Re-accessed 4 Feb 2022.

External links

*High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images o
Santa Maria in Domnica , Art Atlas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Domnica 7th-century churches in Italy 9th-century churches in Italy 7th-century establishments in Italy Basilica churches in Rome Titular churches Churches of Rome (rione Celio) 9th-century establishments in Italy 822 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 820s