Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli

Rome, Italy

The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven (Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli al Campidoglio) is a titular basilica located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. The shrine is known for housing relics belonging to Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine and various minor relics from the Holy Sepulchre.

The foundation of the church was laid on the site of a Byzantine abbey mentioned in 574. Many buildings were built around the first church; in the upper part they gave rise to a cloister, while on the slopes of the hill a little quarter and a market grew up. Taken over by the papacy by the 9th century, the church was given first to the Benedictines, then, by papal bull to the Franciscans in 1249-1250; under the Franciscans it received its Romanesque-Gothic aspect. The arches that divide the nave from the aisles are supported on columns, no two precisely alike, scavenged from Roman ruins. During the Middle Ages, this church became the centre of the religious and civil life of the city. in particular during the republican experience of the 14th century, when Cola di Rienzo inaugurated the monumental stairway of 124 steps in front of the church, designed in 1348 by Simone Andreozzi, on the occasion of the Black Death.

The original unfinished façade has lost the mosaics and subsequent frescoes that originally decorated it, save a mosaic in the tympanum of the main door, one of three doors that are later additions. The Gothic window is the main detail that tourists can see from the bottom of the stairs, but it is the sole truly Gothic detail of the church.

The church is built as a nave and two aisles that are divided by Roman columns, all different, taken from diverse antique monuments. Among its numerous treasures are Pinturicchio's 15th-century frescoes depicting the life of Saint Bernardino of Siena in the Bufalini Chapel. Other features are the wooden ceiling, the inlaid cosmatesque floor, a Transfiguration painted on wood, the tombstone of Giovanni Crivelli by Donatello and the tomb of Cecchino dei Bracci, designed by his friend Michelangelo.

The relics of Saint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great are housed at Santa Maria in Aracoeli, as are the remains of Saint Juniper, one of the original followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. Pope Honorius IV and Queen Catherine of Bosnia are also buried in the church. The tablet with the monogram of Jesus that Saint Bernardino of Siena used to promote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus is kept in Aracoeli.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Scala dell'Arce Capitolina, Rome, Italy
See all sites in Rome

Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Religious sites in Italy

More Information

romanchurches.wikia.com
en.wikipedia.org
www.aviewoncities.com

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Colosseum (0,8 km)
Sistine Chapel (2,6 km)
Arch of Constantine (0,8 km)
St. Peter's Basilica (2,6 km)
Altare della Patria (0,1 km)
St. Peter's Square (2,3 km)
Pantheon (0,7 km)
Vatican Historical Museum (2,8 km)
Apostolic Palace (2,5 km)


Villa d'Este (27 km)

User Reviews

Dan McCabe (19 months ago)
We came here from behind not knowing exactly where we were. We just seen the steps and as tourists do decided to see what was on the top. Another breathtaking masterclass in Art and architecture is what we found. Not to mention the gymnast practicing on the steps below keeping us entertaining coming back down the steps as we left.
Oliver Freestone (19 months ago)
No doubt at some point you will come across the Altar of the Fatherland, it's hard to miss given how imposing it is! However to the right (as you look at it) a little round the side is a long steep imposing set of steps which it would be very easy to take one look at and think "........no". I mean there isn't anything at the top except a big red brick building and there is so much else to see right? Wrong! The climb is not entirely pleasant......especially if you have already been traipsing around for the last 6 hrs, but entirely worth it. Because at the top, inside the unimposing red brick building is the Basilica di Santa Maria, a must see.
Marjana Bosnjak (19 months ago)
Most beautiful church
Zack (20 months ago)
I’ve attached a summary from hf Ullman’s “Rome Art and Architecture.” I highly recommend you buy this book.
Stefano Prina (2 years ago)
Santa Maria in Aracoeli is the city church of Rome, a 13th century minor basilica and former convent church on the Campidoglio. The postal address is Scala dell'Arce Capitolina 12. The church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Heavenly Altar ("Aracoeli").
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania
Photo from Flickr, copyright Peer.Gynt

Historic Site of the week

Saint Sophia Cathedral

The St Sophia's Cathedral was built between 1045-1050 inside the Novgorod Kremlin (fortress). It is one of the earliest stone structures of northern Russia. Its height is 38 m. Originally it was taller, for during the past nine centuries the lower part of the building became concealed by the two-metre thick cultural layer. The cathedral was built by Prince Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, and until the 1130s this principal church of the city also served as the sepulchre of Novgorodian princes. For the Novgorodians, St Sophia became synonymous with their town, the symbol of civic power and independence.

The five-domed church looks simpler but no less impressive than its prototype, the thirteen-domed St Sophia of Kiev. The cathedral exterior is striking in its majesty and epic splendour evoking the memories of Novgorod's glorious past and invincible might. In the 11th century it looked more imposing than now. Its facade represented a gigantic mosaic of huge, coarsely trimmed irregular slabs of flagstone and shell rock. In some places (particularly on the apses), the wall was covered with mortar, smoothly polished, drawn up to imitate courses of brick or of whitestone slabs, and slightly coloured. As a result, the facade was not white, as it is today, but multicoloured. The play of stone, decorative painting and the building materials of various texture enhanced the impression of austere simplicity and introduced a picturesque effect.

The two-storied galleries extend along the building's southern, western and northern sides, with a stair-tower constructed at the north-eastern corner. The cathedral has three entrances - the southern, western and northern, of which the western was the main one intended for ceremonial processions. A gate standing at the entrance is known as the Sigtuna Gate (mid-12th century); according to legend, it was brought from the Swedish town of Sigtuna in 1187. The second name of the gate derives from the town of Magdeburg, where it was made. The two leaves are decorated with biblical and evangelical scenes in cast bronze relief. In the lower left corner there are portraits of the craftsmen who created this superb specimen of medieval Western European bronze-work. An inscription in Latin gives their names, Riquin and Weissmut. The small central figure - judging from an inscription in Slavonic - is a representation of the Russian master craftsman Avraam, who assembled the gate.

There is yet another bronze gate in the cathedral, called the Korsun Gate. Made in the 11th century in Chersonesos, Byzantium, it leads from the southern gallery into the Nativity Side-Chapel. Legend has it that the gate was handed over to Novgorod as a gift of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978 - 1054).

The interior of the cathedral is as majestic as its exterior. It is divided by huge piers into five aisles, three of which end in altar apses. In the south-western corner, inside the tower, there is a wide spiral in relatively small, modest buildings of the 12th - 16th centuries.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2020 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.