Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella

The Chiesa Nuova, or Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, is one of the architectural gems of Roman Baroque, located in the Parione district. Its construction began in 1575, promoted by San Filippo Neri, founder of the Congregation of the Oratory. The church, initially designed by Matteo di Città di Castello, was completed in 1605 with the facade by Fausto Rughesi. The bell tower was added in 1666 by Camillo Arcucci. The facade is majestic and divided into two orders of paired pilasters, with a curved pediment above the central portal, decorated with a statue of the Madonna Vallicelliana. The inscriptions bear titles dedicated to the Madonna and San Gregorio Magno, and verses from the Song of Songs related to the Immaculate. Inside, the church has a three-nave plan with a barrel vault decorated with fifteen oval canvases depicting episodes from the Old and New Testaments, works by artists such as Lazzaro Baldi, Giuseppe Ghezzi, and Daniel Seiter. These paintings, created between 1697 and 1700, offer a rich and detailed visual representation of sacred history. The ceiling, dome, and apse were frescoed by Pietro da Cortona between 1647 and 1666. The main fresco on the vault depicts the Madonna and San Filippo Neri, celebrating a vision of the saint during the church’s construction. In the apse, the Assumption among Angels and Saints is depicted, while in the dome, the Triumph of the Trinity is represented with God the Father and Christ and the Holy Spirit in the lantern. The prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel decorate the dome’s pendentives. The transept opens into a vast space covered by the dome, with stucco decorations by Cosimo Fancelli and Ercole Ferrata, representing the allegories of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Religion. The presbytery, with a choir dating back to 1640 and organs and small choirs in gilded wood from 1698, is flanked by side chapels. The wooden pulpit in the right arm of the transept was designed by Francesco Borromini between 1638 and 1642. The main altar, built between 1596 and 1599, houses the miraculous image of the Madonna della Vallicella, framed by Pieter Paul Rubens in 1608. Rubens also painted two additional slate paintings for the side walls of the presbytery, depicting Saints Gregory the Great, Papia, and Mauro on one side and Saints Flavia Domitilla, Nereus, and Achilleus on the other. These paintings add an extraordinary dimension to the main altar, blending perfectly with the rich Baroque decoration of the church. The central nave is flanked by five chapels on each side, each rich in stucco decorations and artworks. The Chapel of the Purification, decorated by Cavalier d’Arpino, houses an altarpiece depicting the Purification of the Virgin, while the Chapel of the Magi contains an Adoration of the Magi by Cesare Nebbia. The Nativity Chapel, granted to Silvio Antoniano, is decorated with the Adoration of the Shepherds by Durante Alberti. Other notable chapels include the Visitation Chapel, with an altarpiece by Federico Barocci, the Annunciation Chapel, decorated by Domenico Cresti, and the Crucifix Chapel, with a Crucifix by Scipione Pulzone. The Pieta Chapel houses an altarpiece depicting the Pieta by Ercole Ferrata, while the Ascension Chapel, decorated by Cesare Nebbia, contains an Ascension of Christ. The Pentecost Chapel, granted to the Vettori family, is decorated by Giovanni Lanfranco.