Santa Croce alla Lungara is a church in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

), in the

Rione A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

, facing on

Via della Lungara Via della Lungara is a street that links Via di Porta Settimiana to Piazza della Rovere in Rome (Italy), in the Rione Trastevere. History and name In the 16th century, Pope Julius II opened the new ''via recta'' ("straight road") that cut throug ...

. It is also called ''Santa Croce delle Scalette, due to the presence of a double flight of stairs (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''scale'') giving access from the street; or ''Buon Pastore'', since in the 19th century the church and the annexed cloister were entrusted to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd of

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

. The church was built in 1619 thanks to the subsidies of the Duke of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

and of Cardinal

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts and a prominent member of the House of Barberini. As one of the cardinal-nephews of Pope Urban VIII ...

, the brother of

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

; the cloister dates back to 1615 and was founded by the

carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

Domenico di Gesù e Maria ''"in order to take the indecent women away from sin"'' (Armellini). The interior of the church shows a single nave and has been altered in the 19th century with a quite neoclassical style. The high altar housed a painting portraying ''Jesus bearing the cross'', now replaced with a ''Crucifix'' by

Francesco Troppa Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: Pe ...

; the same author also painted the ''Annunciation'' on the right altar. Another noteworthy work is ''Mary Magdalene'' by Ciccio da Napoli. The annexed cloister, enlarged in the 19th century by

Virginio Vespignani Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect. Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming one of Roman neoclassical's main figur ...

, always maintained its function as a redemption or rehabilitation house; in 1950, when the nuns left the institute, the building became a detachment of the women's prison for misdemeanors. This use ended in 1979 and now the cloister houses the '' Casa Internazionale delle Donne''.

Bibliography

M. Armellini, ''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', Rome 1891
* C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milan 2000, p. 79-82 * G. Carpaneto, ''Rione XIII Trastevere'', in VV.AA, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milan 2000, Vol. III, pp. 831–923
Casa Internazionale delle Donne
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Croce alla Lungara Croce 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Rome 1619 establishments in the Papal States 1619 establishments in Italy Churches of Rome (rione Trastevere)