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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

Michelangelo's Last Architectural Work

24/1/2020

 
Map
Entrance to church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Rome
Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

In 1561 Pope Pius IV (r. 1559-65) commissioned Michelangelo (1475-1564) to convert the ruins of the ancient Baths of Diocletian into the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. It was to be the master's last architectural work.

The cavernous body of the church (once the frigidarium) is 90 m long, 27 m wide and 28 m high. The eight colossal monolithic columns, nearly 14 m high, are ancient Roman and made of granite; the rest of the columns in the church are made of brick and plaster and painted to look like granite! 

Embedded in the floor is a meridian, the work of Francesco Bianchini, which was inaugurated by Pope Clement XI on October 6th, 1702. It served to regulate the city's clocks until 1846. 

In the middle of the 18th century, Santa Maria degli Angeli was radically restructured by Luigi Vanvitelli (1700-73), the Neapolitan architect and engineer. 


The entrance to the church incorporates all that is left of the caldarium (hot room). The beautiful bronze doors (2005) are the work of the Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj (1944-2014), who also carved the marble head of St John the Baptist inside the church.  

In addition to the church, Pope Pius IV also had part of the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian converted into a Carthusian monastery. The design of its beautiful Chiostro Grande (Great Cloister) is ascribed to Michelangelo.  

Great Cloister, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Great Cloister
Interior of church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Interior
Holy water stoup, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Holy water stoup
Bronze doors by Igor Mitoraj, church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Bronze doors by Igor Mitoraj
Head of St John the Baptist by Igor Mitoraj, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Head of St John the Baptist by Igor Mitoraj

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque
  • Images of the Eternal City