Santa Brigida (Rome)

00186 Roma

Santa Brigida is a church in Rome. The present building was built in the early 15th century; the church was National Church of Sweden and is now the monastery church of the so-called Swedish branch of the Redeemer Order.

Location

The church is located in the Rione VII Roman Regola with the facade directly on the northwest side of the Piazza Farnese.

History and Architectural History

Originally a hospice for pilgrims Swedish had at this point in Rome found. After the canonization of the eponymous saint, St. Bridget of Sweden in October 1391 began under Pope Boniface IX. Work on a church building. The church was probably not long before the current church building is a new building from the beginning of the 15th century. 1513 the church was renovated for the first time, a second time under Pope Clement XI. at the beginning of the 18th century. It belonged, after temporary orphanhood result of the Reformation and a subsequent transfer to Olaus Magnus 1534 through the centuries various religious orders and communities. It was last renovated in 1894. Since 1931 she is also a result of the work of the blessed Elisabeth Hesselblad, seat of Birgitt Interior in Rome.

Appearance

The facade is uniaxial and single-storey. The portal is surmounted by a pediment segment. Below, in the architrave, there is an inscription that commemorates the restoration of the church in 1513: "Domus Ste. birgitte vastenen de regno Swede instaurata ano dmi. 1513 ihs. " Above the portal breaks through a large round window the wall. The facade is flanked to the sides by three-quarter columns after Kompositordnung, the capitals still bear a small eight-pointed star. The columns are backed by stepped pilasters. The facade is flashed above the architrave with the dedication inscription on the patron saint of one, just like the architrave itself cranked triangular pediment. Above the pediment is a balustrade with circular portholes was built, left and right are statues. The left, the Saint Catherine of Sweden is the daughter of the patron saint, the right church saint himself in the middle of the balustrade the heraldic symbols of the Chigi on a pedestal with a small prefixed volute are shown under the cross.

The design of the Romanesque Revival, 1894 Campanile running diagonally left behind the façade is the architect Raffaele Ingami attributed, who conducted extensive consolidation work in the church and the convent at that time.

Interior and equipment

The church is a single building, each with a central chapel on the longitudinal walls. Be broken down the walls of Tuscan pilasters order. The nave is covered by a barrel vault. The choir is surmounted by a shallow dome that contains no drum and no lantern.

During the restoration in the early 18th century the church was decorated with paintings of the Baroque painter Biagio Puccini ( 1673-1721 ), a teacher of Andrea Locatelli. 1702-05 he made ​​canvas paintings with scenes from the life of the patron saint, including Christ presented to the Holy the Lord's Supper and Mary crowns the St. Brigitta in the choir. The nave ton gives about 1709-11 a large-scale fresco Puccini, who. Using the central motif, the glory of St. Brigitta, clearly oriented towards the relief of the glory of St. Catherine of Siena of CAFA Melchiorre from the 1660s In the spandrels he executed the frescoes, pendentives almost similar to the Four Evangelists.

The high altar to the left, facing side chapel contains the altar a diptych, represented the St. Catherine of Sweden and again the church itself are patroness The work is a work of Eugenio Cisternas 1894.

The right chapel also dates from 1894, it is the work of Raffaele Ingami. The reredos contains a painting by Virginio Monti, shown is the Mother of Sorrows.

The joist of the triumphal arch contains the coat of arms of Pope Pius XI ..

The choir is rectangular, which therefore transversely oval running dome is painted with stars on a blue background. The painting was created on the occasion of the renovation in 1894. The high altar comes also this time.

In the church is still the tomb with the sarcophagus of the Swedish Count Nikolaus von Bielkes, he died 1765th