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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in June 2010.
Roman History

S. Lorenzo in Lucina (Book 6) (Map B2) (Day 1) (View C6) (Rione Colonna)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 S. Lorenzo in Lucina
 Convento dei Chierici Minori

The Plate (No. 105)

S. Lorenzo in Lucina

In 1662 Pope Alexander VII pulled down Arco di Portogallo, the structure of an ancient Roman arch which made difficult the passage of carriages in Via del Corso, just before Piazza di S. Lorenzo in Lucina; the same pope enlarged Via di Campo Marzio, a street linking the square with the area near Immacolata Concezione di Maria; when in 1756 Giuseppe Vasi engraved this etching Piazza di S. Lorenzo in Lucina had become a very elegant spot with several shops.
The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Part of Palazzo Ottoboni; 2) Convento dei Chierici Minori; 3) Part of Palazzo Ruspoli. 1) and 3) are shown in detail in other pages. The small map shows also 4) S. Lorenzo in Lucina; 5) Via del Corso. The dotted line in the small map delineates the border between Rione Campo Marzio (above) and Rione Colonna (below).

Small ViewSmall Map

Today

The view today
The view in June 2010

Apart from some minor changes to the façade and bell tower of the church and to Palazzo Ottoboni, Piazza S. Lorenzo in Lucina has retained its tranquil appearance, especially early on a Sunday morning.

S. Lorenzo in Lucina

S.Lorenzo in Lucina
Façade

S. Lorenzo in Lucina is one of many Roman churches dedicated to St. Lawrence, a martyr of the IIIrd century, especially popular for the cruel way he was put to death (he was roasted on a gridiron). The church is not associated with events of the life of the saint, but it houses some relics of his martyrdom and in particular a section of the gridiron (the image used as background for this page shows a decoration based on the gridiron in the interior of the church).
The reference to Lucina is most likely a reference to a large house belonging to Lucina, a Roman matron, where the early Christians met to pray. Traces of a building of the IIIrd century have been found under the church, but at an earlier period the area was part of Horologium Divi Augusti, a gigantic sundial.
Changes made in 1857-58 and in 1918-19 have restored the medieval appearance of the façade (you may wish to see it in a 1588 Guide to Rome).

S.Lorenzo in Lucina
Portico: medieval inscriptions: (above-left) 1112 - Pope Paschal II; (above-right) 1131 - Pope Anacletus I (Antipope Anacletus II); (below) 1192 Pope Celestine III

Three interesting inscriptions in the portico provide useful information on the history of the church and on the quality of inscriptions in medieval Rome. During the 1084 sack of Rome by the troops of Robert Guiscard S. Lorenzo in Lucina was greatly damaged: Pope Paschal II started its reconstruction and he added the portico and the bell tower; the church was consecrated in 1131 by Pope Anacletus I, but the Second Lateran Council in 1139 established (after his death) that he was not to be considered a pope and therefore some sixty years later Pope Celestine III thought it better to consecrate the church a second time.
Inside the church you may wish to see the Monument to Gabriele Fonseca by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

S.Lorenzo in Lucina
Portico: (left/centre) Medieval lions which supported columns; (right) fragments of the medieval decoration

Convento dei Chierici Minori

The Monastery
The monastery

In 1606 Pope Paul V assigned the church to the Caracciolini, as the members of a religious order (Clerics Regular Minor) founded by St. Francis Caracciolo, are usually called in Italy (abroad they are known as the Adorno Fathers). The adjoining monastery was designed in 1663-65 by Carlo Rainaldi; today it is in part occupied by a Carabinieri station (a Police corps which is a branch of the armed forces).

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Chiesa di S. Lorenzo in Lucina
Due si crede, che possano essere le cagioni, per cui questa chiesa parrocchiale si dica in Lucina; la prima, si arguisce dal tempio di Giunone Lucina, che fu ridotto in chiesa da s. Sisto III. e l'altra perché edificata da Lucina Matrona Romana. Fu poi da Benedetto II., Sergio I., e Adriano I. ristaurata, e nell'anno 1196. consagrata da Celestino III. Quindi essendosi nuovo riattata dal Card. Ugo Inglese, e dal Card. Innico Avalos spagnuolo titolari della medesima, fu poi da Paolo V. conceduta a' Chierici regolari minori l'an. l606. Nelle undici cappelle della sua nave ornate di pitture, e di sculture, specialmente l'altare maggiore, fatto con magnifico disegno del Cav. Rainaldi, si vede fra gli altri il ss. Crocifisso dipinto da Guido Reni, e nella cappella accanto un quadro del Cav. Benesiani; e nell'ultima uno di Carlo Veneziano: Le pitture però nel soffitto che rappresentano la Risurrezione del Signore sono di Mommetto Greuter napoletano, e le altre dello Spadarino, e del Piccione.
E' notabile, che in questa chiesa è sepolto Niccolò Pussino celebre pittore francese: ed ancora, che cavandosi per fare i fondamenti nella rinnovazione della sagrestia, furono scoperte buona parte delle guide, e segni dell' orologio solare, che si dimostrava coll'ombra dell'Obelisco, portato in Roma da Augusto dopo aver conquistato l'Egitto. Questo ammirabile Trofeo della Romana potenza fu quì presso disotterrato l'anno 1748., e fu posto per pubblica curiosità nel vicino cortile del palazzo detto della Vignaccia.

Next plate in Book 6: S. Niccolò de' Perfetti
Next step in Day 1 itinerary: Monastero di S. Silvestro in Capite
Next step in your tour of Rione Colonna: Obelisco cavato di sotto le ruine