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San Lorenzo in Damaso

San Lorenzo in Damaso

English name:	St Lawrence at the House of Damasus

Dedication:	Lawrence
Denomination:	Roman Catholic
Type:	Titular church, ancient titulus


Titular church	Antonio Maria Rouco Valera
National church:	No
Built:	4th century, rebuilt 15th century



Contact data
Address:	1 Piazza della Cancelleria

San Lorenzo in Damaso is a church dedicated to the deacon and martyr St Lawrence, located at Piazza della Cancelleria 1 in the rione Parione. It has the dignity of a minor basilica, and was one of the first parish churches in Rome. Pictures of the church at Wikimedia Commons. [1]

1 History
2 Exterior
3 Interior
4 External links

HistoryEdit

The church is believed to have been founded in the home of the Pope St Damasus (366-383), by the Pope himself. There is a Latin couplet attributed to him which celebrates this: Haec Damasus tibi Christe Deus nova tecta dicavi; Laurentii saeptus martyris auxilio (This new house I, Damasus, protected by the help of the martyr Lawrence, dedicate to you O Christ God). Its first documentary reference is in the acta held by Pope Symmachus in 399, when it was known as the Titulus Damasi. In the reign of Pope Gregory the Great there was already a yearly solemn procession to celebrate the conversion of the emperor Constantine at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, which started from this church, went to the bridge via San Valentino and then returned.

The church was rebuilt by Bramante in the late 15th century, a little to the east of its former site, and has since been restored several times. The rebuilding was part of the construction of the Palazzo Cancelleria, built 1483–1511 for Raffaele Riario and funded partially with money that Cardinal Riario had won gambling with Franceschetto Cibo. The Cardinal lived at Avignon most of the time, and for a period he lent the palace to St Bridget of Sweden.

In the French occupation the church was desecrated, and the frescoes decorating its walls were damaged beyond repair. It was restored in 1820, under the direction of Giuseppe Valadier, and again in 1882 by Vespigniani. In 1944 the church was again severely damaged, this time by fire, and has since been restored once more.

The current titular of the church is Antonio Maria Rouco Valera, Archbishop of Madrid.

ExteriorEdit

The church has no street presence, because it is completely surrounded by the edifice of the palace. Entry is via an unassuming doorway towards the north end of the piazza, which has a raised lintel supported by volutes. Under this is a small tablet bearing a dedicatory inscription. The bronze door is, however, worth inspecting because of the pair of small reliefs of St Laurence near the top. Once through this door you are in a narthex which is deep and vaulted, because of the rooms in the palace above.

The plan of the church is basilical, rather short with nave and aisles and a semi-circular apse. To the south is the arcaded courtyard of the palace, in the style of a monastic cloister. There is a row of four arched windows in the upper nave wall which look over this. Next to the apse is a brick campanile on a rectangular plan, with a large arched soundhole on each long face. Not many visitors know that this is there.

InteriorEdit

Bramante's church still stands as an architectural entity, but the church was lavishly decorated in gilt and polychrome marble by Valadier and Vespigniani in the 19th century restorations and the original decorative harmony is gone. When it was restored after the fire in 1944, it was not restored to its original state of decoration since this was inadequately documented.

The narthex is five bays wide and two bays long, with chapels in the outer bays either side of the entrance. Near the entrance is the memorial of Alessandro Valtrini by Bernini, with a winged skeleton, and further in is a statue of St Charles Borromeo by Stefano Maderno. The left hand chapel is the Ottoboni Chapel, now the Blessed Sacrament Chapel with frescoes by Andrea Casali and an altarpiece of the Last Supper by Vincenzo Berrettini (1818). The right hand chapel is the Ruffo Chapel, dedicated to St Nicholas and designed by Nicola Salvi, with frescoes by Corrado Giaquinto and altarpiece by Sebastiano Conca (1743) depicting the Madonna and Child with SS Nicholas and Philip Neri. Next to the chapel is an elaborately carved late 15th century marble doorcase, a survival from the earlier church. This leads to the vestry, and beyond that (in the corner of the edifice) is the Chapter Room with an elaborately decorated ceiling of the early 16th century.

The main body of the church has five bays, with simple arched arcades having square piers and imposts. The flat wooden ceiling is coffered, in square panels. The large apse has a conch amounting to a semi-dome, and to each side of the apse is a side chapel at the end of the aisle with an entrance through the apse wall. One odd feature is that there is a row of windows above the arcade only on the left side, overlooking the palace courtyard. The opposite wall is blank, with frescoes in arched frames where the windows should be. This is because of palace accommodation on the other side of the latter wall. Only the right hand aisle has side chapels.

The high altar is by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and was made in 1640. The baldachino is supported by four veined white marble pillars. Beneath the altar are relics of Pope St Damasus, founder of the first church here, as well as of Pope St Eutychian (died 283). The altarpiece is by Federico Zuccari of 1568, depicting the Coronation of Our Lady in Heaven. The conch contains fresco roundels depicting Faith, Hope and Charity by Francesco Grandi.

The most interesting thing in the nave is the rows of paintings above the arcades, depicting scenes by Luigi Fontana from the Life of St Lawrence. Also unusual here are the wooden pews, since most major churches in Rome have thrown theirs out since the mid 20th century.

The Immaculate Conception Chapel at the end of the left aisle contains an ancient icon of Our Lady, allegedly brought from Santa Maria di Grottapinta in the 15th century (that it ever was in this church is disputed).

In the right-hand aisle near the entrance is the Fonseca Chapel or the Cappella del Crocifisso, the Chapel of the Crucifix which was designed by Bernini. It was made out of three small chapels in 1582, hence is roomy. The crucifix on the altar is medieval, and St Bridget of Sweden is known to have prayed before it when she lived in the palace in the 14th century. She is depicted in a fresco from c. 1880. In the painting, she is depicted as a Fransiscan tertiary. This is the result of a misunderstanding - for a long time, she was thought to have been a Fransiscan, but this has been disproved. Also depicted in a fresco is St Bridget's daughter, St Catherine of Sweden. She is correctly depicted as a Bridgettine abbess. The altar is intricately decorated with polychrome inlay by Gian Domenico Navone of 1758. The next chapel is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, with decoration dating from the 1820 restoration.

Among those buried in the church are Annibale Caro and Pellegrino Rossi. The former is in the left aisle, with a statue by Giovanni Antonio Dosio The latter's monument is outside the Sacred Heart Chapel, and is a work by Pietro Tenerani.

A tape-recorded description is available to visitors inside the church.