Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs — Attraction in Rome

Until the mid-sixteenth century, the Baths of Diocletian, which today overlook Piazza della Repubblica, appeared to be only a pompous ancient heritage.In 1561, Pope Pius IV de' Medici (1559-1565), at the instigation of the Sicilian priest Antonio Lo Duca devoted to the cult of angels, decided to have a church built inside the Baths.An 86-year-old Michelangelo was responsible for the construction. The great artist designed the church by integrating the sacred building into the baths, without altering the Roman structure of the rectangular hall over 90 meters long; for the apse, he used the natatio, which is the outdoor cold water pool of the baths complex. The façade, with its unique concave brick shape, is one of the ancient exedrae of the calidarium of the baths.On 18 February 1564, on Michelangelo's death, the works were continued by Jacopo Del Duca, his pupil, and nephew of Antonio Lo Duca.The interior of the Basilica is composed as follows: from the entrance, you enter a round vestibule with two square exedras, the ancient tepidarium, while the transept is in the central hall of the baths. It has maintained the ancient solemnity with the eight columns of red granite and the high vaults.On the splendid floor, you can admire the Meridiana or Clementine Line, inaugurated in October 1702 by Pope Clement XI, and the work of Francesco Bianchini. He took inspiration from the work of the great astronomer Gian Domenico Grassini to create it.The sundial is a long bronze line inserted in a marble band, extending for about 45 meters. On the sides, with inlays of polychrome marble, you can admire, on the right, the zodiacal signs of the Summer and Autumn constellations and, on the left, those of the Spring and Winter constellations. At both ends are the zodiac signs of Cancer and Capricorn. The image of the sun, penetrating through the center of the coat of arms of Clement XI, runs throughout the year, starting from Cancer at the Summer Solstice and reaching Capricorn at the Winter Solstice; subsequently, it takes the opposite path. Over the centuries, the Basilica underwent several changes, including that by Luigi Vanvitelli. In 1750, he designed the facade on Piazza Esedra - now Piazza della Repubblica - the only entrance from which today you can access the church. In 1911, the Vanvitellian façade on Piazza Esedra was demolished to restore the suggestive niche of the calidarium with Roman bricks. This intervention, however, made the church less visible because it is often mistaken for ruin. In 1998, the Municipality of Rome donated a new monumental organ to the Basilica, built by Bartolomeo Formentelli, a craftsman from Verona. In 2001, the Italian-American artist Narcissus Quagliata, a De Chirico pupil, installed a stained-glass dome on the ceiling of the Basilica. The large glass structure, placed 23 meters high, has a diameter of five meters. It also acts as a sundial. You can follow the movement of the earth around the sun by observing its reflection on the floor of the round hall Inside the church, there is a pleasant permanent exhibition which, through graphics, drawings, and beautiful black and white didactic photographs, tells the story of the Baths of Diocletian and their transformation into a church by...

The basilica is dedicated to the Christian martyrs, known and unknown. By a brief dated 27 July 1561, Pius IV ordered the church "built", to be dedicated to the Beatissimae Virgini et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum("the Most Blessed Virgin and all the Angels and Martyrs"). Impetus for this dedication had been generated by the account of a vision experienced in the ruins of the Baths in 1541 by a Sicilian monk, Antonio del Duca, who had been lobbying for decades for papal authorization of a more formal veneration of the Angelic Princes. A story that these Martyrs were Christian slave labourers who had been set to constructing the Baths is modern. It was also a personal monument of Pope Pius IV, whose tomb is in the apsidaltribune.

The thermae of Diocletian dominated the Quirinal Hill with their ruined mass. Michelangelo Buonarroti worked from 1563 to 1564 to adapt a section of the remaining structure of the baths to enclose a church. Some later construction was directed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1749.

At Santa Maria degli Angeli, Michelangelo achieved a sequence of shaped architectural spaces, developed from a Greek cross, with a dominant transept, with cubical chapels at each end, and the effect of a transverse nave. There is no true facade; the simple entrance is set within one of the coved apses of a main space of the thermae. The vestibule with canted corners and identical side chapels—one chapel has the tomb of Salvator Rosa, the other of Carlo Maratta—leads to a second vestibule, repeated on the far side of the transept, dominated by the over lifesize Saint Bruno of Cologne by Jean Antoine Houdon(1766). Of the Saint Bruno, Pope Clement XIVsaid that he would speak, were it not for the vow of silence of the order he founded.

The great vaulted transept emphasized the scale of the Roman constructions, 90.8 meters long, and with the floor that Michelangelo raised to bring it up to the 16th century street level, 28 meters high. Raising the floor truncated the red granite Roman columns that articulate the transept and its flanking spaces. Michelangelo made the transept 27 meters wide, thus providing vast cubical spaces at each end of the transept.

In 2006, Polish-born sculptor Igor Mitorajcreated new bronze doors as well as a statue of John the Baptist for the basilica. In April 2010, a five metre high bronze statue of Galileo Galilei Divine Man (designed by 1957 Nobel laureate Tsung-Dao Lee) was unveiled in a courtyard within the complex.[citation needed]The statue (a dedication to the 17th century scientist and philosopher) was a donation from CCAST (China Center of Advanced Science and Technology) and WFS (World Federation of Scientists).

Santa Maria degli Angeli was the official state church of the Kingdom of Italy (1870–1946). More recently, national burials have been held in the church. The church hosts the tombs of General Armando Diaz and Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, who were successful commanders during World War I on the Italian front. Also today the Basilica is used for many ceremonies, including the funeral of soldiers...

The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri is a unique and historically significant church located in Rome, Italy. It was built within the ancient ruins of the Baths of Diocletian, the largest public baths of ancient Rome. Here are key details about this remarkable structure:

Key Features and History:

Historical Significance: • The church was designed in the 16th century by Michelangelo at the request of Pope Pius IV. Its purpose was to commemorate Christian martyrs, many of whom were believed to have worked or died in the construction of the Baths of Diocletian during the Roman Empire. • The church is dedicated to St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs, reflecting its connection to early Christian persecution. Architectural Marvel: • Michelangelo used the existing structure of the Baths of Diocletian for the church, creating a unique blend of ancient Roman and Renaissance architecture. • The facade of the church is relatively plain, as it maintains much of the original bathhouse structure, while the interior reveals grandeur with its high, vaulted ceilings and enormous space. Meridian Line: • One of the church’s most fascinating features is the meridian line, a scientific instrument installed in 1702 by the astronomer Francesco Bianchini. This line was designed to track the movement of the sun and determine the exact date of Easter. • Sunlight passes through a hole in the wall and marks the time and seasons on the meridian line, making the church a site of scientific as well as religious importance. Art and Decoration: • The basilica’s interior includes magnificent works of art, such as sculptures and frescoes. One notable feature is the statue of St. Bruno, created by French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, which is famous for its lifelike quality. • The grand altarpiece and the artistic use of light within the church highlight Michelangelo’s architectural genius. Modern Use: • Despite its historical and artistic importance, Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri is still an active church. It hosts regular religious services, including important national...