San Carlo al Corso

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Church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
San Carlo al Corso
The 17th century church of Santi Ambrogio e Carlo, better known simply as San Carlo al Corso, is dedicated to two of the great bishops of Milan, St Ambrose (died 397) and St Charles Borromeo (1538-84).

The church was designed and built by Onorio Longhi (1568-1619) and completed by his son Martino Longhi the Younger (1602-60).
Dome of the church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Dome
​Its grand dome, a prominent feature of the Roman skyline, is the work of Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669).
Nave, church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Nave
​The Baroque interior of this very large church (72 by 54 metres) is sumptuously decorated. 
Vault of the nave, church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Vault of the Nave
​The fresco in the vault of the nave depicts the Fall of the Rebel Angels (1677-79) and is the work of Giacinto Brandi (1621-91). The frescoes in the vault of the sanctuary are also by Brandi. 
Interior of the dome of the church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Interior of the Dome
The interior of the dome is decorated with a complex design of gilded stucco-work.
Apse, church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Apse
The painting on the high altar is the work of Carlo Maratta (1625-1713) and depicts the Madonna Presenting St Ambrose and St Charles Borromeo to Christ. A figure below the feet of Christ holds a tablet bearing a single word Humilitas, the virtue for which St Charles was famous.
Fresco in vault of the apse, church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Apse Vault
The sanctuary apse has a short barrel vault with a fresco by Brandi depicting The Apotheosis of St Charles Borromeo. The conch of the apse has another fresco by the same artist, showing St Charles with the Plague Sufferers. The two works were completed by 1677.
Reliquary of the heart of St Charles Borromeo, San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Reliquary of the Heart of St Charles Borromeo
San Carlo al Corso is the only church in Rome to have an ambulatory (a walkway behind the high altar). There you will find a niche with a reliquary containing the heart of St Charles Borromeo, who was canonised on November 1st, 1610 by Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21).  It was donated to the church in 1614 by his cousin, Cardinal Federico Borromeo. The reliquary incorporates a tiny bishop's mitre and a cardinal's hat.
Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Chapel of the Immaculate Conception
The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, in the right transept, was designed by Paolo Posi (1708-76) and completed in 1769. The altarpiece is a copy, in mosaic, of The Immaculate Conception with the Doctors of the Church, a painting by Carlo Maratta in the Cybo Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo.

​The two statues depict King David and Judith with the Head of Holofernes; they are, respectively, the work of André Jean Lebrun (1737-1811) and Pietro Pacilli (1720-72). The inscription at the top of the altar proclaims: TV SOLA VNIVERSAS HAERESES INTEREMISTI (You alone have destroyed all our heresies), a reference to the Virgin Mary. 
Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome
Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, in the left transept, is very similar to the one opposite. However it was created less than a century ago, during the reign of Pius XI (r. 1922-39), to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the pope's ordination as a priest. The chapel was designed by the Roman architect Cesare Bazzani (1873-1939). ​
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