San Girolamo della Carità:
Cappella Spada

---

​Map

Spada Chapel

---

The spectacular Cappella Spada, in the church of San Girolamo della Carita, is one of the gems of the Roman Baroque.

Traditionally ascribed to the architect Francesco Borromini (1599-1667), the Spada Chapel (first on the right) is separated from the nave not by the traditional marble balustrade, but by a pair of genuflecting marble angels, who hold between them a long cloth carved from red jasper. The angels, the work of Antonio Giorgetti (1635-69), seem to block access to the chapel, but the wings of the angel on the right are made of wood, not marble, and can be moved aside (by means of a hinge).

Bernardino Lorenzo Spada by Ercole Ferrata

Two members of the Spada family recline on either side of the chapel, one awake and one asleep. The sleeping figure of Bernardino Lorenzo Spada is by Ercole Ferrata (1610-86), while Giovanni Spada is the work of Cosimo Fancelli (c. 1620-88). 

Giovanni Spada by Cosimo Fancelli

​Spada is the Italian word for sword and three swords make up the Spada family's coat of arms. Images of swords also make up some of the ostentatiously ornate marble decoration of the walls of the chapel.  

The floor of the chapel is a beautiful example of pietra dura work, which incorporates a myriad of flowers in its design.

---