- Santa Maria in Via Lata
Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the
Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), inRome ,Italy .History
It is claimed that St. Paul spent two years here, in the crypt next to the church, whilst under house arrest waiting for his trial. This conflicts with the tradition of San Paolo alla Regola. It is also claimed that St Peter, Paul's secretary Luke, Peter's disciple Martial, St John and St Peter.
The first Christian place of worship here was a 5th century oratory (chapel with welfare centre) in the Roman building beneath the present church. This was constructed within the remains of a large Roman warehouse, some 250 metres long, which has also been excavated. The church's upper level was added in the 9th century, and murals added to the lower level between the 7th and 9th centuries (these have been detached for conservation reasons). The
cosmatesque pavement from this phase survives.The church's 13th century
icon of the "Virgin Advocate", said to have performed many miracles, and relics of the 3rd century Deacon and martyrAgapitus lie beneath it. TheArcus Novus (an arch erected by emperorDiocletian in 303-304), which stood on this site were destroyed for a rebuild of the church in the late 15th century, c.1491 .Antonio Tebaldeo (1453-1537), poet and friend ofRaphael , was buried at the end of the north aisle in 1537, though his tomb was designed in 1776.The church was renovated in 1639 by
Cosimo Fanzago , but the facade, with its corinthian columns imposing vertical emphasis, was completed (1658-1660) based on a design byPietro da Cortona . He appears to evoke a triumphal arch in the facade. The high altar "Madonna Advocata" (1636) is one of the few paintings in churches attributed toBernini (perhaps bySanti Ghetti ). The ciborium in the apse is made from alabaster and lapis-lazuli. The first excavations of the site also occurred at this date, as commemorated by a relief in the crypt byCosimo Fancelli . The families of Joseph andLucien Bonaparte were buried here in the 18th century.The first altarpiece is a "Martydom of Saint Andrew" (1685) by
Giacinto Brandi , while the second altarpiece is a "Saints Giuseppe, Nicola, and Biagio" byGiuseppe Ghezzi . In the chapel to the left of the apse, is a "Madonna with child and Saints Cyriac and Catherine" byGiovanni Odazzi . The second altar on the left has a "Saint Paul baptizes Sabine and children" byPier Leone Ghezzi while the first altarpiece is a "Virgin and Saints" byPietro de Pietri .External links
* [http://roma.katolsk.no/mariavialata.htm Nyborg]
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