Santa Rita da Cascia alle Vergini - Interno

Santa Rita da Cascia alle Vergini 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, ...

, sited at the corner of Via delle Vergini and Via dell’Umiltà. Diagonal from the church on Via delle Vergini is the

Teatro Quirino The Teatro Quirino is an opera house in Rome opened in 1871. It hosted the premiere of Pietro Mascagni's operetta '' Sì''. Its historical name has been joined by the recognition for one of the most acclaimed Italian theatrical actors of the tw ...

History

The church has a complex history. It was first built in 1615 with the dedication 'Santa Maria delle Vergini', on the site of a pre-existing church of the same name and assigned to the care of Augustinian monks of the neighboring 'Collegio della Madonna del Rifugio'. It was too small for the college and so was almost immediately expanded and rebuilt between 1634 and 1636. In 1660 the complex was finally completed, under the direction of Domenico Castelli. Its facade dates to 1681 and is attributed to

Mattia de Rossi Mattia de Rossi (14 January 1637 – 2 August 1695) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome and surrounding towns. Biography Born in Rome to a family of architects and artisans, he rose to prominence under the mentors ...

- a

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 towe ...

was added in 1689. The church and the monastery remained with the Augustinian order until 1870, when they were confiscated by the state, which closed the monastery and deconsecrated the church. In 1904 the

Chiesa di Santa Rita da Cascia in Campitelli The Chiesa di Santa Rita da Cascia in Campitelli is a deconsecrated church in Rome (Italy), in the rione Sant'Angelo; it is located in Via Montanara, at the crossroad with Via del Teatro Marcello. The church formerly rose on the preexisting ...

was deconstructed to make way for the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument. This meant the Confraternity of the Holy Crown of thorns of Our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ and of Saint Rita of Cascia (Confraternita della Santa Spina della Corona di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo e di santa Rita da Cascia) had to move to the former church of Santa Maria delle Vergini, which it reopened, reconsecrated and rededicated to

Saint Rita of Cascia Rita of Cascia, OSA (born Margherita Ferri Lotti; 1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun. After Rita's husband died, she joined a small community of nuns, who later became Augustinians, where she was known both for prac ...

. It is the national (regional) church of

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

Description

The interior is on a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

plan, with Baroque decoration. Its dome fresco by Michelangelo Ricciolini depicts the ''Glory of Paradise''. The church houses a gilded wooden organ. To the left of the entrance is a chapel in the form of the grotto at

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

, dedicated in 1912.

Bibliography

{{Commonscat, Santa Rita da Cascia alle Vergini (Rome) * M. Armellini
''Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX'', Roma 1891
pp. 259–260 * C. Hülsen
''Le Chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo'', Firenze 1927
p. 322

pp. 326–327 * C. Rendina, ''Le Chiese di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, p. 324 * L. Pratesi, ''Rione II Trevi'', in AA.VV, ''I rioni di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Milano 2000, Vol. I, pp. 131–201 National churches in Rome Rita da Cascia Vergini