The Smallest Church in Rome

Map

Madonna dell' Archetto

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Tucked away at the end of a short alley, in the heart of the city, stands the Madonna dell' Archetto, the smallest church in Rome. 

Santa Maria Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, to give the church its full name, was built in 1851 by the Roman architect Virginio Vespignani (1808-82) for Alessandro and Caterina Muti Papuzzuri-Savorelli.

Its much venerated altarpiece, the Madonna Causa Nostrae Laetitiae (1690), is the work of Domenico Maria Muratori (1661-1742). The painting began life as an ordinary street shrine or Madonnella. However, it was soon said to act in extraordinary ways. In 1696, the Virgin Mary was seen to move her eyes and the shrine quickly became a site of popular devotion.

The church has a single nave of four bays. The dome above the sanctuary was designed and painted by Constantino Brumidi (1805-80), a Roman artist, who emigrated to the U.S.A., where he became an American citizen. Brumidi is best known for his fresco of The Apotheosis of Washington in the Capitol. 

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Interior