Santa Maria in Trivio is a church in Rome. It is dedicated to

Mary, mother of Jesus 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 is located on Piazza dei Crociferi in rione Trevi. It is near the Fountain of Trevi. In Mariano Vasi's 19th-century guidebook, the church is referred to as Santa Maria a Trevi. According to tradition, the church was founded by the Byzantine general

Belisarius BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...

in the 6th century. Allegedly, he found the church to expiate for deposing Pope Silverius in 537. Previously the church had been known as ''Santa Maria in Fornica''. This was recorded in an 11th-century inscription on the wall of the church. In 1571 the church was given to the Order of the Crociferi. Between 1573 and 1575 the architect Giacomo del Duca rebuilt the church, designing e.g. the innovative

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

above the entrance door. The crucifix in the chapel was decorated by Giovanni Francesco Bolognese. The altarpiece of ''St Camillo de Lellis'' was painted by Gasparo Serenari. The main altarpiece was painted by Bartolommeo Morelli. Other altarpieces in side altars were by the studio of

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ('Young Palma'), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

, Luigi Scaramuccia, and

Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famou ...

. The ceiling was painted by Antonio Gherardi.Itinerario instruttivo di Roma, Volume 1, by Mariano Vasi, Rome, (1791), page 309.

References

* Rendina, Claudio (2000). ''Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosità delle Chiese di Roma''. Newton & Compton Editori. Maria Trivio Maria Trivio 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Belisarius {{Lazio-RC-church-stub