 Introduction
History
The order itself funded the building work until the discovery in the excavations of the Borghese Hermaphroditus. Scipione Borghese appropriated this sculpture but in return (and to make up for his loss of influence due to the death of his uncle and patron) funded the rest of work on the facade and granted the order his architect Giovanni Battista Soria. These grants only came into effect in 1624 however, though work was completed two years later.
Location
Transit: Metro A, stazione Repubblica. Bus 60 61 62 63 90 492.
What's to see
The interior, with a single nave and three chapels on each side, is decorated with a series of military motifs which inspired both the ornamental motifs of the sumptuous chancel with the wooden Bernini torch holders in the choir and the allegorical themes which embellish the 18th century vault. Between 1708 and 1711, the pillars of the nave were covered with precious jasper from Sicily, already used in the Cornaro altar and in the overlooking chapel which was completed at the end of the 1600s. The interior was sequentially enriched after Maderno's death; its vault was frescoed in 1675 with triumphant themes within shaped compartments with feigned frames: The Virgin Mary Triumphing over Heresy and Fall of the Rebel Angels executed by Giovanni Domenico Cerrini.
The masterpiece in the Cornaro Chapel(Caterina Cornaro was Queen of Cyprus in the late XVth century), to the left of the altar, is Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Scipione's favoured sculptor Bernini. The statues depict a moment described by Saint Teresa of Avila in her autobiography, where she had the vivid vision of an angel piercing her heart with a golden shaft, causing her both immense joy and pain. The flowing robes and contorted posture abandon classical restraint and repose to depict a more passionate, almost voluptous trance.
There are various works held in the church, including the St. Francis adoring the Madonna with Child by Domenichino. The Dream of Joseph (left transept, Domenico Guidi, flanked by relief panels by Pierre Etienne Monnot) and the funeral monument to Berlinghiero Cardinal Gessi. There are paintings by Guercino, Nicolas Lorrain, and Domenichino.
Useful information
Open: Mon.-Sat. 9-noon and 3-6, Sun. 3-6.
Triva: The church has seen a surge in tourism thanks to the widespread popularity of author Dan Brown's novel Angels and Demons, which features the church.
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