San Stefano del Cacco
From Churches of Rome Wiki
| Santo Stefano del Cacco | |
|---|---|
| | |
| English name: | St Stephen of the Croo Monkey |
| Dedication: | Stephen the Protomartyr |
| Denomination: | |
| Clergy: | Sylvestrines |
| Built: | Probably c. 630 |
| Architect(s): | |
| Artists: | |
| Contact data | |
| Address: | 26 Via San Stefano del Cacco |
Santo Stefano del Cacco is a church dedicated to the deacon and protomartyr St. Stephen.
The strange appellation, St Stephen of the Croo Monkey, comes from a statue found nearby, depicting an Egyption deity with the head of a croo monkey. In Italian, it is called a macaco, and cacco is a corruption of this word.
[edit] History
The church was built in the early Middle Ages, probably by Pope Honorius I c. 630.
It was rebuilt in the 12th century, when the apse and bell-tower were added.
The Sylvestrine monks were granted the church in 1563, and still serve it. They renovated it in 1607.
The cult of the Holy Name of Mary was introduced here in 1685, after the feast of the same name had been introduced by Pope Innocent XI after a victory over the Turks at Vienna in 1683.
[edit] Interior
Twelve columns from a temple of Isis (from which the statue mentioned above probably came) have been reused in the church.
