Santa Maria in Legarano is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

church, located in the frazione of Legarano north of the town of

Casperia Casperia is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome and about southwest of Rieti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,164 and an area of .All demograp ...

, in the

province of Rieti The Province of Rieti ( it, Provincia di Rieti) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rieti. Established in 1927, it has an area of with a total population of 157,887 people as of 2017. There are 73 '' comuni'' ...

, region of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. The church is dedicated to the

Birth of the Virgin Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

History

The church was built in early medieval centuries at the site of a rustic Ancient Roman villa. It remained a parish church until 1409, when it was made part of a

Gesuati Santa Maria del Rosario (St. Mary of the Rosary), commonly known as I Gesuati, is an 18th-century Dominican church in the Sestiere of Dorsoduro, on the Giudecca canal in Venice, northern Italy. The classical style building has a well-lit interi ...

Convent. The entrance to the church is striking because it is approached by a long external stone staircase rising to a 16th-century sculpted portal in a wall. From there, a narrow passage between tall bushes lead to the facade portico. Inside the portico, in the lunette above the entrance, is a fresco of the ''Annuciation'' (1561) completed by the brothers

Lorenzo Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

and Bartolomeo Torresani. The church has a single nave. In the left apse is a fresco depicting the ''Marriage of the Virgin'' attributed to Alessandro Torresani, son of Lorenzo. In the left transept are 16th-century terracotta statues depicting ''Mary and Joseph'' and a nativity scene (

presepe In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects repre ...

). In the chapel on the left, on the right, is a fresco depicting the ''Last Judgement'' by the Torresani brothers. In the central apse is a polychrome statue of the ''Madonna and Child'' (1489), signed by Carlo l’Aquilano. The 15th-century frescoes depict the ''Madonna and Child'' and on the ceiling, ''Christ in a

Mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in tr ...

''. In the right apse is a 15th-century polychrome crucifix. Two paintings depict ''Saint John the Baptist'' and ''St Sebastian'', painted by followers of

Antoniazzo Romano Antoniazzo Romano, born Antonio di Benedetto Aquilo degli Aquili (c. 1430 – c. 1510) was an Italian Early Renaissance painter, the leading figure of the Roman school during the latter part of the 15th century. He "made a speciality of re ...

, they are painted on a reliquary built into the wall. The Gesuati order was suppressed in 1668, and the convent was closed.Parish website
short description of the church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Legarano Casperia Roman Catholic churches in Lazio Churches in the province of Rieti