- San Bernardo alle Terme
San Bernardo alle Terme is a
basilica church inRome .The church was built in
1598 in one of the tower-shape "spheristerium" (ball games arena) of the external perimeter of theBaths of Diocletian . It was initially given to a FrenchCistercian group, theFeuillant s, through the intercession of Caterina Sforza di Santafiora. Later, after Feuillants disgregation during theFrench Revolution , the edifice and the annexed monastery were ceded to the Congregation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, to whom the church is entitled.The German painter
Johann Friedrich Overbeck , founder of theNazarene art movement , is interred here. TheCardinal Priest of the "Titulus S. Bernardi ad Thermas" is Varkey Vithayathil.Art and architecture
The structure of San Bernardo alle Terme is similar to the Pantheon, since it is cylindrical, with a dome and an "oculus". The edifice has a diameter of 22 meters. The dome decoration, made of octagonal
coffer s, reminds one of the Basilica ofMaxentius . The interior is graced by eight statues of saints, each housed in wall niches, the work (c. 1600) ofCamillo Mariani . These are a good example of the so-called International Mannerism. The Chapel of St Francis is an addition to the ancient rotunda.References
* "Le chiese barocche di Roma", Federico Gizzi, Newton Compton, Rome, 1994
External links
* [http://roma.katolsk.no/bernardoterme.htm "San Bernardo alle Terme"] , by Nyborg.
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