thumb|The facade of Santa Maria del Popolo.|280pxSanta Maria del Popolo is a notable
Augustinian church located in
Rome.
It stands to the north side of the
Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares of the city, between the ancient
Porta Flaminia (one of the gates of the
Aurelian Walls and the starting point of the
Via Flaminia, the road to
Ariminum (modern
Rimini) and the most important route to the north of Ancient Rome) and the
Pincio park.
In 1099, a chapel was built by
Pope Paschal II to
Our Lady, over a tomb of the
Domitia family. Tradition has it that the site was haunted by Nero's ghost or demons in the form of black crows; therefore the pope chopped down the walnut tree sheltering the crows and built a church in its place. The name
del Popolo ("of the people") probably derives from its funding by the people of Rome, but some sources say it comes from the Latin word
populus, meaning "
poplar" and referring to a tree located nearby. The chapel became a church by will of
Pope Gregory IX, and given to the
Augustinians, who still oversee the church, in the first half of 13th century.
thumb|left|Dome of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo.Santa Maria del Popolo was reconstructed by
Baccio Pontelli and
Andrea Bregno in 1472-1477, commissioned by the association of the Lombards of Rome, creating an excellent example of
Italian Renaissance architecture. In 1655-60 the facade was modified by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was asked by
Pope Alexander VII to update the Renaissance church to a more modern
Baroque style.
The church contains not only the
Cerasi Chapel canvases of
Caravaggio (
Crucifixion of St. Peter and
Conversion on the Way to Damascus) and an
Assumption of the Virgin by
Annibale Carracci, but also frescoes by
Pinturicchio, sculptures by
Andrea Bregno and
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (
Habakkuk and the Angel and
Daniel and the Lion). The
Chigi Chapel, the private chapel of banker
Agostino Chigi, was designed by
Raffaello Sanzio. The dome is decorated with Raphael's mosaics
Creation of the World.
After Bernini's intervention, the church became a favourite site of burials of rich people of the city. Among the others, the banker
Agostino Chigi and the Cardinal
Savo Millini have their tombs here.
Hyacinthe Thiandoum held as
Cardinal Priest of the
Titulus S. Mariae de Populo until his death in 2004. On
24 March 2006,
Pope Benedict XVI elevated
Stanisław Dziwisz to the position.
Burials
Image gallery
