Sant’Antonio Maria Zaccaria is a 20th century convent church at Via Ulisse Seni 2, in the south-west corner of Trastevere near the Villa Sciarra. The main entrance to the complex is at Via Pietro Roselli 6.
The dedication is to St Anthony Mary Zaccaria.
History
This is the church of an international theological college of the same name administered by the Barnabites, which was built here in 1932 to 1933. The architect was Ugo Luccichenti.
The complex replaced the convent at San Carlo ai Catinari, which had been sequestered by the government fifty years before.
This is reputed to be the church within the city walls least likely to be visited by tourists.
Exterior
The plan is based on a Latin cross with a dome over the crossing and an external segmental apse which is lower than the presbyterium. The nave has aisles, and the ends of the transept do not project beyond the aisle walls. It is a full-sized church edifice. The roofs are pitched and tiled.
The church is sited longitudinally to the street, and the entrance façade faces a courtyard at the end of a private drive. This begins on the Largo Filippo Minutilli at the top of the street, and is gated. The actual address of Via Ulisse Seni 2 is a gateway in a wall with a segmental pediment containing a coat of arms, but this is gated as well. The right hand side of the church rises high above the steeply sloping street downslope from the gate, over a ground storey in place of a crypt.
The style is vaguely neo-Classical, with walls rendered in tan ochre and architectural detailing in white. The gable ends of the transept have projecting pediments without cornices, and the nave aisle wall facing the street has an arcade of three blank arches separated by pilasters with imposts but no capitals. Three of these arches contain rectangular windows.
From the street the dome may be seen. It is octagonal, with a drum which is very high for its diameter. The dome itself is a shallow tiled saucer in eight pitches, and bears a tall lantern. Each corner of the drum has a white pilaster running up it, and recessed arches occupy each side. The archivolts spring from imposts on the side of the pilasters, and each arch contains a rectangular window. This design repeats the motif on the street wall.
The lower part of the façade is divided by four white pilasters, while the upper part has a window with the Barnabite coat-of-arms over it.
Interior
The interior has a coffered ceiling with stucco decorations.
There is a fresco depicting the patron saint, Anthony Mary Zaccaria (who founded the Clerics Regular of St. Paul known as the Barnabites, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, and the Laity of St. Paul) by Matteo Traverso.
External links
(This church's online profile is poor.)