Santa Maria in Aquiro

Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome. It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located on Piazza Capranica.

The church is ancient - it was restored by Pope Gregory III, and thus must have existed before then. One theory is that it was the "titulus Equitii", though San Martino ai Monti is a more likely candidate. It is also referred to as Santa Maria della Visitazione, notably by Pope Urban VI in 1389. The origins of the name are nebulous; most attribute it to a corruption of the term "a Cyro", perhaps referring in early days to a neighborhood resident. It was granted to the Confraternity of Orphans in the 16th century, and restored in 1590.

Art and architecture

The most important work of art in the church is a 14th century painting, in the apse, of the "Madonna and Child with St Stephen", attributed to the school of Pietro Cavallini. This painting and the funereal lapidary monuments in the vestibule are from the destroyed medieval church of Santo Stefano del Trullo. There are also paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The facade was completed by 1774 by Pietro Camporese the Elder, based on designs of Giovanni Francesco Braccioli. The interior was redecorated by Cesare Mariani in 1866.

Two chapels have paintings by followers of Caravaggio: the third chapel at right has a "Virgin and saints" (1617) by Carlo Saraceni, while the second chapel on the left has three canvasses - "Deposition from the cross", "Crowning with the crown of thorns", and "Flagellation of Christ" (1635-40) - attributed to the Frenchman Trophime Bi­ot.

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