Santa Maria ai Monti
| Church of St. Mary of the Mounts Santa Maria ai Monti (Italian) S. Mariæ ad Montes (Latin) Santa Maria ng Kabundukan (Tagalog) |
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Santa Maria ai Monti
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | 41°53′40.6″N 12°29′26.7″E / 41.894611°N 12.490750°ECoordinates: 41°53′40.6″N 12°29′26.7″E / 41.894611°N 12.490750°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Year consecrated | 1580 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Titular church, parish church |
| Leadership | Cardinal Jorge Urosa |
| Website | www |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Giacomo della Porta, Carlo Lombardi, Flaminio Ponzio |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Completed | 1580 |
Santa Maria dei Monti (also known as Madonna dei Monti or Santa Maria ai Monti) is a cardinalatial titular church in Rome, Italy. The church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Situated on the sloping terrain above the ancient forums of Rome, near Via Cavour, at 41 Via della Madonna dei Monti, the church was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII in 1580 to celebrate the discovery of a miraculous 15th-century image of Our Lady with Sts Lawrence and Stephen, found in the ruins of a nearby convent of the Poor Clares, and which now hangs over the high altar. A copy is taken in procession through the streets on 26 April each year.
The church was designed by Giacomo della Porta with a façade inspired by his prior work of the Church of the Gesù. It has two rows of Corinthian pilasters that are connected with volutes. (The façade was renovated in 1991–92) Above the door is a dedicatory inscription and votive niches. The work was continued by Carlo Lombardi and Flaminio Ponzio. Original to this phase are the statues by Giovanni Anguilla of the four major prophets of the Old Testament in the niches of the dome (1599).
The apse was decorated by Giacinto Gimignani and Cristoforo Casolani. The latter also produced the frescoes of the four Evangelists in the dome and the ceiling fresco in the nave depicting The Ascension, Angels and Doctors of the Church (1624). In each of the eight sections of the dome are scenes from the life of the Blessed Virgin by several artists, while in the vault and the arches of the chapels are stucco angels by Ambrogio Buonvicino. In the first chapel to the right are frescoes of the story of San Carlo Borromeo and a Madonna and child with the saint (1624) by Giovanni da San Giovanni. The third chapel has a Walk to Calvary by Paris Nogari. The main altar has a Madonna with child with saints Stephen & Lorenzo from the early 15th century. In the third chapel on the left, is a Nativity by Girolamo Muziano, flanked by an Adoration of the Magi and Dream of St. John both by Cesare Nebbia. In the first chapel to the left (north) is an Annunciation (1588) by Durante Alberti.
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Wikipedia