Santa Maria in Monterone 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 ...
church in
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. Its suffix originates from the
Sienese
Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
Monteroni family, whose patronage rebuilt the church and built a small hospice next to it for pilgrims from Siena. It is located on Via Santa Maria in Monterone in the
Sant'Eustachio rione. Next to the church is a
Redemptorist
The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...
monastery, whose clergy manage the church.
History
Its origins are unknown but it may first have been housed in the ruins of a 1st-century BC pagan temple or in the area around the
stagnum Agrippae, after which the surrounding region is given its suffix "della Valle". The church first appears in the documentary record in an 1186 bull of
pope Urban III
Pope Urban III (; died 20 October 1187), born Uberto Crivelli, reigned from 25 November 1185 to his death in 1187.
Early career
Crivelli was born in Cuggiono, Italy as the son of Guala Crivelli and had four brothers: Pietro, Domenico, Pastor ...
, which mentions it as one of the daughter-churches of
San Lorenzo in Damaso
The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damaso (Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Damaso) or simply San Lorenzo in Damaso is a parish and titular church in central Rome, Italy that is dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. It is incorporate ...
. It was restored in 1245 and 1597 - during the latter restoration it was raised after its repeated flooding by the
river Tiber
The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...
.
Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X (; ; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death on 22 July 1676.
Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, born in Rome in ...
granted the painting a decree of
Canonical coronation
A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...
and it took place on 1676.
Under
pope Innocent XI
Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689.
Political and religious tensions with ...
it was completely rebuilt in 1682. It remained a parish church until
pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...
(1823–29), when its parish was transferred to the nearby church of
Sant'Eustachio
Sant'Eustachio () is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...
. Once belonging to the
Mercederians
The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelona ...
, it was transferred in the 19th century to the order of the Blessed Alfonso Liguori.
Description
The building has three naves separated by ancient columns, each with an
Ionic capital of a different design, first erected in the church in the medieval era. Its main altarpiece depicts a ''Madonna and Child with Saints
Peter Nolasco
Peter Nolasco, O. de M. (''Pere Nolasc'' in Catalan, ''Pierre Nolasque'' in French and ''Pedro Nolasco'' in Spanish; 1189 – 6 May 1256) was a Catholic nobleman known for founding the Royal and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy of the Rede ...
and
Peter Pascual
Peter Pascual (c. 1227 – 1299/1300), in Latin originally Petrus Paschasius (Spanish: ''Pedro Pascual'', Valencian : ''Pere Pasqual''), was a Mozarabic theologian, bishop, and martyr.Robert Ignatius Burns''The Crusader Kingdom of Valencia: Reconst ...
'' by
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...
. On the left hand side of the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
is the baroque funerary monument of Cardinal
Stefano Durazzo
Stefano Durazzo (1594 – 1667) was an Italian Catholic cardinal and archbishop of Genoa.
Early life
Durazzo was born 5 August 1594 in Multedo, near Genoa, the seventh son of Pietro Durazzo and Aurelia Saluzzo. He belonged to the Durazzo fa ...
(1594–1667), who was once archbishop of Genoa; a skeletal
holds a bas-relief portrait of the cardinal; the sculptor is unknown.
References
Sources
* M. Armellini
''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', Rome 1891*
C. Hulsen''Le chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo'', Florence 1927*
* C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milan 2000, p. 237
* G. Carpaneto, ''Rione VIII Sant'Eustachio'', in AA.VV, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milan 2000, Vol. II, pp. 499–555
{{Authority control
Maria in Monterone
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy