Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District ( Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century titular 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 ...

. It is in ''

Borgo Santo Spirito Borgo Santo Spirito is a street in Rome, Italy, important for historical and artistic reasons. From a historical point of view, it is considered the most interesting street in the Borgo district. Of medieval origin, it is linked to the foundation ...

'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the southern part of

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 ...

Borgo Borgo may refer to the following places: Finland * Borgå France * Borgo, Haute-Corse Italy * Borgo (rione of Rome), a ''rione'' in the City of Rome. *Borgo a Mozzano, in the province of Lucca *Borgo d'Ale, in the province of Vercelli *Borgo di ...

. The current holder of the ''titulus'' is

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Dominique Mamberti. It has been the official sanctuary of

Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy is a form of God's compassion, an act of grace based on trust or forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may initially feel victimized or wronged, goes thr ...

since 1994.

History

The church stands on the site of King Ine of Wessex's ''Schola Saxonum'', or "Saxon School", a charitable institution for West Saxon pilgrims. According to Roger of Wendover, Ine founded the Schola Saxonum in AD 727. It included a hostel and a chapel dedicated to Santa Maria. In mediaeval times a substantial number of pilgrims from Wessex, including fighting men, traveled the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome.Merkle, Benjamin R. (2009-11-02). ''The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great'' (Kindle Locations 266-275 and 366-370). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Nashville Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Co. 2009) It was rebuilt in the 12th century and subsequently restored several times. In 1475 Pope Sixtus IV commissioned joining the church to the nearby Hospital of the Holy Spirit for

foundlings Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way, with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship. The phrase is typically used to describe the physical abandonment of a ...

(which

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

had built and whose history is given in wall-paintings in the church's sacristy) and given a bell tower. In 1538–1545, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, or Baldassare Peruzzi, rebuilt the church after it had been damaged during the Sack of Rome. An organ, which survives, was added in 1547. In 1585–1590,

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

had the exterior restored, giving the church its present façade by

Ottavio Mascherino Ottaviano Nonni (1536 – 6 August 1606), called Il Mascherino, was an Italian architect, sculptor, and painter born in Bologna. Apprentice of Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, he was active in Emilia and in Rome, where he had been living in the rione of ...

, inspired by a design of Sangallo. This facade has two stories, with Corinthian

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

dividing the lower one into five sections, and the upper divided into three sections. In the upper middle section is a circular window, and above that is the coat-of-arms of Pope Sixtus V. The façade is crowned by a

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

. It is a typical example of

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

. In the stational procession for the first Sunday after the Octave of the Epiphany, instituted by Pope Innocent III (1198–1216), a procession carried the veil of Saint Veronica from

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal ...

, and the Pope celebrated Mass in this church. Indulgences were granted to those who took part, and money was distributed to the poor. The inscriptions found in Santo Spirito in Sassia, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.V. Forcella, ''Iscrizioni delle chiese e d'altri edifici di Roma, dal secolo XI fino al secolo XVI'' Volume VI (Roma: Fratelli Bencini, 1875), pp. 377-505.

n Italian and Latin N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

/ref>

Art and architecture

The church has a single nave, and ten apsidal chapels along the sides. The counter-facade has a ''Visitation'' (1545) by Marco Pino, and a ''Conversion of St. Paul'' begun by

Francesco Salviati Francesco Salviati may refer to: * Francesco Salviati (bishop) Francesco Salviati Riario was the archbishop of Pisa_in_1474_and_one_of_the_organisers_of_the_717,_Pisan_and_on_31_July_1725_ 726,_Pisan A_special_assembly_(''conventus'')_was_held_i ...

and completed by Francesco Rubiale. The first chapel to the right in the apse, has a fresco of the ''Pentecost'' by the Florentine Jacopo Zucchi and his brother. The second chapel has an ''Assumption'' by Livio Agresti, who also painted the ''Trinity'' in the fourth chapel as well as frescoes in the third chapel. The fifth chapel has an ''Annunciation'' and an ''Ascent'' (1570) by Giuseppe Valeriano. The sacristy is decorated by stories of the ''Schola Saxonum'' by

Guidobaldo Abbatini Guido Ubaldo Abbatini (1600–1656) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome and Usigni. Biography Guido Ubaldo Abbatini was a pupil of the painter Giuseppe Cesari and of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and later worked under ...

. The apse is frescoed (1583) by both Jacopo and

Francesco Zucchi 250px, ''Self-portrait'' by Francesco Zucchi, 1733 Francesco Zucchi (Venice, 1692–1764), was an Italian engraver, active mainly in Northern Italy. Biography He was the brother of Andrea Zucchi (1679–1740), and was instructed by him in Porden ...

. The fifth chapel on the left has a ''Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist'' by Marcello Venusti. The second and first chapels contain paintings by Cesare Nebbia, including a ''Coronation of the Virgin''.

Burials

* Burgred of Mercia

Cardinal-Deacons

Since the 1991 consistory of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, the church has been used as a Deaconry with a Cardinal assigned as its Cardinal Protector (a term created by Pope Paul VI in 1966). * Fiorenzo Angelini (28 June 1991 – 22 November 2014) * Dominique Mamberti (14 Feb 2015 – ''present'')

References

Sources

* Emilio Lavagnino, ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia: e il mutare del gusto a Roma al tempo del Concilio di Trento'' (Rome: Banco di Santo Spirito, 1962). * Louise Smith Bross, ''The Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia: A Study in the Development of Art, Architecture and Patronage in Counter Reformation Rome'' hD thesis, University of Chicago, 1994 * Sivigliano Alloisi and Luisa Cardilli Alloisi, ''Santo Spirito in Saxia'' (Rome: Istituto nazionale di studi romani, Palombi Editori 2002). * Gianfranco Grieco and Jòzef Bart, ''Santo Spirito in Sassia'' (Gorle: Elledici: Editrice Velar, 2007). vailable in English {{Authority control 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1580

Spirito ''Spirito'' is the sixth studio album from Italian rock band Litfiba. It is the third chapter of the "Tetralogy of elements". It is dedicated to air. Track listing #Lo spettacolo – 4:10 #Animale di zona – 4:36 #Spirito – 4:41 #La musi ...