A Church in "the Bronx" of Rome

My search for 21st Century churches in Rome led me to the neighborhood of Quartaccio, in the quarter of Torreveccia, less than 20 minutes by car west of St. Peter's in Vatican City. I came to the neighborhood from the GRA autostrada and was amazed to see attractive "contemporary" linear buildings of two and four stories.

I discovered that these homes were built as subsidized housing units according to an urban plan by Pietro Barucci, 1984-88. It is a complex of 700 apartments for 2,500 inhabitants. It is said that it "marked the return of a more human and traditional building manner. (Other buildings in the quarter are 15 stories.)

A taxi driver told me that this quarter is popularly called "the Bronx." My online reading of news stories from the last few years dealing with crime and police activity in the area confirmed this nickname.

It was here in "the Bronx" that I found the Church of Santa Maria della Presentazione. (Actually, the church name has been taken off of the fence and replaced with a canvas banner proclaiming the activities of three churches that are now united as the Parish of Santa Faustina. This location is called the Quartaccio building.)

The Diocese of Rome instituted a plan to build 50 new churches at the beginning of the 21st century. (Each site, on the periphery of Rome, included a church with a daily chapel, religious education classrooms, a sports facility, and a community gathering place.) The Nemesi Studio responded in 2002 with this Church of Santa Maria della Presentazione.

At first sight it was difficult to find the defined spaces within the construction. A large roof was supported over the complex and under it were a series of columns, ramps, stairs and other architectural elements.

The parish office seemed to be suspended in all of this.

 The gymnasium and meeting space is entered under these projecting canopies.

 I eventually found the worship space, which was closed. (The banner on the front fence indicated there was only one Mass a week, Sundays at 10:30.)

Glass doors open to a vestibule outside what appears to be a windowless sanctuary. (Maybe there is a skylight.) From drawings of plans that I have seen in Roma: Nuova Architettura, by Sebastiano Brandolini, the church is an oval shape with a sphere at the end opposite the entrance.

There was some activity of a few families going in and out of the sports center, but they seemed oblivious to the church. During my visit a middle aged Italian woman was wandering around the complex looking for where the church was. From a ramp I pointed down to the sphere and told her it was closed and probably only open for Mass on Sunday.

                     

The only religious imagery was a cross on the roof that could only be seen from a distance. Pigeons fly through the open spaces, weeds are growing in the sidewalks, trash has been blwon into corners, and even though the building is only ten years old, there is need for basic structural maintenance.

 I hope Saint Faustina's "Divine Mercy" can bring life into this space and let it become a "box of mercy and hope" for its depressed neighborhood.

Santa Francesca Romana

The Via del Teatro Marcello near the Capitoline Hill

has two doors that used to be a mystery to me.

A couple years ago I featured this door with a fresco on my Advent blog. Several days ago an anonymous person commented on the posting and told me that the door would be open to visitors on March 9th, the feast of Santa Francesca Romana. This is the door to Tor de’ Specchi, the "old" monastery and the family home of Francesca.
In one room of the "old" monastery there are some monochrome frescoes of “demons” that Francesca (Frances) encountered in her life. She was gifted with the vision of her “guardian angel” who is present in each of the panels.

Frances was born into a wealthy Roman family in 1834. When she was 11 years old she wanted to be a nun, but her family arranged a marriage for her to Lorenzo Ponziani, the commander of the papal troops. They were married when Frances was 12 and had six children. Lorenzo was often away at war, and Frances encouraged other wealthy women to join her in caring for the poor and sick. She turned the family home into a hospital. Her own husband returned from one war and Frances cared for him until he died in 1436. Frances died three years later in 1440. She was canonized in 1608.

Frances organized the women committed to her work into the Oblates of Mary, which continues today under the name of the Oblates of Francesca Romana. The Tor de’ Specchi remains the only house of the order, and the oblates continue a ministry to the poor and to young people.
This door to the “new” monastery (17th century) opens to frescoed rooms that lead to a courtyard.
From the courtyard you go up two flights of steps to the chapel.

The chapel was built in 1601. The fresco in the apse is of the Archangel Michael.
The stunning ceiling has a carved image of Francesca Romana in the center, with her ever-present guardian angel.
In 1925 Pope Pius XI declared Francesca Romana the patron saint of automobile drivers because of a legend that an angel used to light the road in front of her with a lantern when she travelled, keeping her safe from hazards.

Lenten Journey Week 2: Campidoglio

The Capitoline Hill is the smallest of Rome's seven hills, but it was the religious and political center of the city since its foundation more than 2500 years ago. The city legend of this hill starts with digging up a human skull (the word for head in Latin is caput) when foundation trenches were being made for a Temple of Jupiter. By the 16th century, the Latin Capitolinus had become Campidoglio in Italian. The English word capitol derives from Capitoline. (The name Capitol Hill for the location of the United States Congress in Washington D.C. was chosen by the founders of the US because of this ancient Roman location.)
At the southwest corner of the hill is the Tarpeian Rock from which, in Roman times, condemned prisoners were hurled to their death. This practice continued until 1850 AD. In 1385 a Roman noble ,who was sentenced to death, gave two gold fiorins so that an image of the Virgin would be placed near this spot to give comfort to the condemned. By the early 1500s a chapel and hospital had been built on the site. (Ignatius of Loyola, Philip Neri and Aloysius Gonzaga are some of the people who cared for the sick here. It was at this site that St. Aloysius contracted the plague.) The hospital was demolished in 1936 but the church remains in use.

I have gone past the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione on the Capitoline Hill many times. The piazza in front is cluttered with an open space parking area and the church looks neglected. What a surprise awaited me when I entered this church.
Above the high altar is Our Lady of Consolation. It is a 15th century fresco copy of the original medieval icon.

One of the side altars has a 13th century icon of Our Lady of Grace.

In the first chapel on the left is a marble relief by Raffaello da Montelupo (c. 1530) showing the Mystical marriage of St. Catherine. The upper part of this relief shows God the Father in a swirl of clouds and angels.

The first chapel on the right, the Capella Mattei, has frescoes with Scenes of the Passion (1556) by Taddeo Zuccari, including his masterpiece of the Crucifixion.
Other chapels, behind iron gates, have frescoes with scenes of the life of Mary and Jesus, the life of St. Andrew and St. Francis.Reflection
Sunday’s gospel form Luke is the account of the Transfiguration when the disciples were amazed when they awake from a sleep and saw Jesus in dazzling white talking with Moses and Elijah. There was a voice from a cloud that said “This is my chosen son; listen to him.” I was amazed when I entered the Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione. I never expected to be overwhelmed with so much beauty. The marble image of God the Father in the clouds that I saw in the first chapel caused me to think about God’s command to listen to the words of Jesus. And the scenes from the passion in the last chapel provided a meditation on what Jesus did for all of us by his death on a cross. The journey of Lent is a special time to listen to the words of Jesus as recorded in scripture and meditate on Christ’s passion and death. It is a journey that leads to Easter and Resurrection!

Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious
to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
From The Book of Common Prayer

20th Century Church Birdwalking II

Chiesa di Nuestra Signora di Vilme
This is the parish church connected with "The Work of the Church," a 50-year old movement started by Mother Trinidad, originally from Dos Hermanas, near Seville, Spain. It was in the town of Dos Hermanas that devotion to Mary with the title of Our Lady of Valme originated. It is said that King Fernando III carried her statue into battle in 1248 and was successful in taking Seville back from the Moors.



The church is in a dense residential neighborhood of apartment buildings on the slope of the Portuense hill as it goes down toward the Tiber River.
Chiesa di Nuestra Signora di Vilme was built between 1992-1996 and designed by Ferdinando Sciamanna and Cinzia Spina. The liturgical space is a square under a massive coffered concrete ceiling with two expansive walls of glass for the absidal wall and the entrance of the church.
Spanish (Baroque) influence can be seen in the chandeliers as well as in details of the shrine behind the altar that contains a painted image of Our Lady of Vilme.

The Eucharistic Chapel (with Perpetual Adoration) is to the left of the sanctuary, behind a glass wall covered with iron gates in a style that matches the chandeliers.

Next door "The Work of the Church" has a villa that welcomes Bishops visiting the Vatican for their Ad Limina visits. These visits are required by Canon Law. It is the obligation of bishops to send a report on the status of their dioceses to the Vatican every five years, visit the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul and "appear before the Roman pontiff."

Birdwalking on the Aventine Hill

Yesterday I took the opportunity for a couple of "birdwalks" on my way home from Sant' Anselmo on the Aventine Hill. (Birdwalking: a style of going from "A" to "B" in a way that is similar to a bird's zig-zag path as it picks at food while walking.)

My first "birdwalk" was to the the Piazza del Cavalieri di Malta and the door of the Priory of the Knights of Malta. Peeping through the keyhole you get of view of Michaelangelo's dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
My next "birdwalk" was into the courtyard and church of Sant' Alessio, originally built in the 8th century, but now mostly an 18th century building.


Leaving Sant' Alessio, I continued along the road until I came to the simple exterior of the Basilica of Santa Sabina. (The Pope gave this church to St. Dominic for his order in 1218. St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas were both residents of the adjacent monastery.) Like so many churches in Rome, Santa Sabina saw many architectural modifications over the centuries, but in the 1930's it was restored back to its 5-9th century appearance.
When I entered the church, I was captivated by the play of light coming through the windows, illuminating the beauty of marble Corinthian columns, the flat wooden ceiling and the decoration made of colored marbles on the clerestory.

The chapel on the left side of the nave maintains its' 17th century appearance. I caught a meditating Dominican in this chapel with his shoes off.

My final "birdwalk" before getting on the bus to go home was to enjoy the refreshing Bernini inspired fountain of the Tritons constructed in 1715.