Of ancient foundation, the church of San Marcello al Corso was rebuilt by the Florentine architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484-1546) after a fire had destroyed the original building. The fine concave facade was added by Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) towards the end of the 17th century. (Fontana succeeded Gian Lorenzo Bernini as the chief architect of St Peter's Basilica.)
The wooden ceiling in the nave has carved reliefs by the artist Giovanni Battista Ricci (1537-1627), better known as Il Novara after his home town. San Marcello al Corso is dedicated to Pope St. Marcellus (r. 308-9), who according to legend was forced by the emperor Maxentius to work in the stables of the imperial postal service until he died of exhaustion. Comments are closed.
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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 walking tours of Rome.
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November 2023
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