Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

Map
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), by then in his eighties, 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 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.  ​
Interior, church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Rome
Interior
The cavernous body of the church 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 (r. 1700-20) on October 6th, 1702. It served to regulate the clocks in Rome 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. Vanvitelli altered the orientation of the church, moving the entrance and turning the nave into a colossal transept. He also built the choir and apse on the north east side. (Pope Pius IV is buried in a pavement tomb in the choir.)
Marble head of St John the Baptist by the Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Head of St John the Baptist by Igor Mitoraj
St Bruno by Jean-Antoine Houdon, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
St Bruno by Jean-Antoine Houdon
The statue of St Bruno (1766-67), the founder of the Carthusian Order, is by the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828).  ​
Funerary monument to the painter Carlo Maratta, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Funerary Monument to Carlo Maratta
The circular vestibule, inside the entrance, stands on the site of the tepidarium. On the right is the funerary monument of the painter Carlo Maratta (1625-1713), which he designed himself. The bust (c. 1704) is by Francesco Maratta.

​On the left is the funerary monument of the Neapolitan painter and poet Salvator Rosa (1615-73). The bust is by Bernadino Fioriti.
Great Cloister, church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Rome
Great Cloister
In addition to the creation of 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.  ​​