Santa Maria sopra Minerva

The Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva (Latin: Sanctae Mariae supra Minervam ) is designated as the only Gothic church in Rome. Located in Pigna district near the Pantheon in Piazza della Minerva, it was built on the ruins of an alleged earlier Roman temple of Minerva, hence the name (Italian sopra " about" ). Today, we know, however, that the Minerva shrine was about 200 m to the east. Two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi, began under Pope Nicholas III. 1280 with the construction, which was completed in 1370.

The church in the rank of a minor basilica was originally held in ancient canon and is considered the first vaulted construction after the Basilica of Maxentius. Modifications in the Baroque in the 19th century gave the church its present appearance. Especially today comes from the ribbed vault remodeling during the Gothic Revival.

The church is subordinate to the Dominican Order. In the past it was the site of important Inquisition processes, such as well as the trials of Galileo Galilei and Luigi Pasquali.

Saint Catherine of Siena, Matteo Orsini and the painter Fra Angelico, as well as the Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII and Benedict XIII. and Pope Paul IV are buried here. Santa Maria sopra Minerva is known ( completed statue of the Risen Christ [ Cristo Redentore ], 1521) mainly due to the numerous works of art by Michelangelo and Bernini, which houses the church.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII. elevated to titular church.

Choir

Christ Sculpture by Michelangelo

Elephant in front of the church ( statue by Ercole Ferrata )