Santa Maria in Trivio is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

HistoryEdit

The first church here was built as a small oratory in the 6th century by the Byzantine general Belisarius. A 12th century inscription records the building, and explains that Belisarius built it in reparation for having exiled Pope St Silverius (536-573).

The present church was built 1570 – 1575, in the pontificate of Gregory XIII. The architect was Jacopo del Duca.

In 1675, the church was granted to the Order of Ministers of the Sick. The same year, it was as the first church in Rome formally dedicated to the Immaculate Virgin. It was reconsecrated by Pope Benedict XIII for the Holy Year of 1725.

It was later granted to the Clerics Minor of St Francis Caracciolo. Finally, Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) granted it to the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, who still serve the church.

ExteriorEdit

The façade, which looks as if it has been glued onto a residential house, has two stories. The lower is divided into three parts by pilasters. It has a central doorway flanked by two rectangular false windows, and three smaller rectangular windows above these openings. The upper storey has a circular window fitted in a rectangular niche in the centre, and is crowned by a triangular tympanon. The parts corresponding to the outer parts of the lower storey have volutes.

On the outside wall, around the corner, you can see the inscription dating the foundation of the church.

Adjacent to the church is the Seminary of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

InteriorEdit

The church is in the Baroque style. It has a single nave with four chapels on each side. The triumphal arch has a painting of the Triumph of the Cross.

The ceiling was painted by Antonio Gherardi in 1670, with scenes from the Presentation, the Assumption and the Circumcision. His use of perspective is very impressive.

A 15th century painting in the Graeco-Byzantine style of the Blessed Virgin with Child hangs over the high altar, surrounded by a gloria. It was crowned by the Vatican in 1677.

The organ, placed behind the altar, is from the 18th century.

In the first chapel on the right is a memorial to Pope Alexander VII dedicated by the Priests Ministers of the Sick.

The second chapel on the right is dedicated to the Madonna of Mercy, and has a copy of a miraculous icon in the Sanctuary of Rimini.

In the third chapel on the right is a crucifix in carved wood, made artisans from Valgardena in the 16th century. It is decorated with five scenes from the Passion, painted in tempera colours by Giovanni

 Antonio Grimaldi.

A stone with an inscription recording the dedication to the Immaculate Virgin in 1675 is preserved in the first chapel on the left. In the same chapel is the tomb of Venerable Giovanni Merlini, third successor of Gaspare del Bufalo, who led the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood from 1847 to 1873.

The founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, St Gaspare del Bufalo (1786-1837), is buried under the altar in the third chapel on the left, in a gilded bronze urn by Aurelio Mistruzzi. He was beatified in 1904 and canonized in 1954.

There is an inscription in the church that records a visit by Pope Blessed John XXIII on 4 January 1963; the Holy Father came to the church to pray for the success of the Second Vatican Council.

Special notesEdit

The feast of St. Gaspare del Bufalo is celebrated on October 21st. The church is normally open 08.00 or 10.00 to 12.00 and 16.00 to 19.00.