Sant' Andrea delle Fratte

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Map of the Churches of Rome

Sant' Andrea delle Fratte

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Of ancient foundation, the church of Sant' Andrea delle Fratte was built in the 17th century. Its name translates as St Andrew of the hedges, an indication of how rural this area once was. 

Dome and Bell Tower

The brick dome and distinctive bell tower are the work of Francesco Borromini (1599-1667). The work was funded by Marchese Paolo del Bufalo, whose palace was close by. 

Bell Tower

The bell tower, which is made up of six separate storeys, is an absolute delight. The campanile is crowned with a curious form that is decorated with the head of an ox, the symbol of the Bufalo family.  

Bell Tower

​The nave is barrel-vaulted and has three main chapels on each side. 

Apse

The altarpiece above the high altar depicts The Death of St Andrew, the work of Lazzaro Baldi (c.1624-1703). It is flanked by The Crucifixion of St Andrew, the work of Giovanni Battista Lenardi (1656-1704), and The Burial of St Andrew by Francesco Trevisani (1656-1746).  ​

The Feeding of the Five Thousand by Andrea Pasqualino Marini

The fresco in the apse conch, the work of Andrea Pasqualino Marini (c.1660-c.1712), depicts The Feeding of the Five Thousand. 

Dome

​The frescoes in the dome are also by Andrea Pasqualino Marini. The fresco in the cupola depicts the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Angel with Crown of Thorns by Bernini

Angel with Superscription by Bernini

By the high altar are two beautiful marble angels by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), which were originally intended for the Ponte Sant' Angelo. 

St Anne by Giovanni Battista Maini

The left transept chapel is dedicated to St Anne. The marble sculpture under the altar is by Giovanni Battista Maini (1690-1752) and is clearly indebted to Bernini's sculpture of the Blessed Ludovica Abertoni in the church of San Francesco a Ripa. 

Chapel of San Francesco da Paola

​The right transept chapel is dedicated to San Francesco da Paola (1416-1507), who founded the Order of Minims, and was designed by Filippo Barigioni (1672-1753). The altarpiece of the eponymous saint is by the Roman painter Paris Nogari (c. 1536-1601), while the gilded stucco angels are by Giovanni Battista Maini.

Memorial to Angelica Kauffman

The Swiss painter Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann (1741-1807) is interred in the church. Kauffman died on November 5th 1807, aged sixty-six. ​​​

Cappella del Miracolo

On January 20th 1842, in the third chapel on the left, a French Jew by the name of Alphonse Ratisbonne is said to have had an apparition of the Virgin Mary. He immediately converted to Christianity and later founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, an order originally intended for the conversion of the rest of the Jews, but now working for interfaith dialogue. Hence, this chapel is called the Cappella del Miracolo, and contains a venerated image of Mary as she appeared to Ratisbonne, the work of Domenico Bartolini. There is a bust of Ratisbonne to the left of the chapel. 

Funerary Monument to Judith de Palezieux Falconnet

In the third chapel on the right there is a funerary monument that has a rather curious claim to fame. The tomb of Judith de Palezieux Falconnet (1856), by the American sculptor Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908), was the first artwork by an American artist, male or female, to be permanently installed in a Catholic Church in Rome. 

Juidth Falconnet died at the age of sixteen. On seeing the monument the English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a friend of Harriet, observed in a letter: 'The pose,--the doubt between life and death,--the relaxation of the fingers...from between which the rosary (the last hope) has fallen--simplicity & pathos altogether, make it most impressive'. 

Funerary Monument to Marianna Del Bufalo-Caffarelli (ca. 1819)

The church is home to many funerary monuments. A fine example in the neo-classical style was created for Marianna Del Bufalo-Caffarelli by Gaetano Giorgieri, a pupil of Antonio Canova. 

Lovers of Baroque music may like to know that the Sicilian composer Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was married in Sant' Andrea delle Fratte on April 12th 1678. His bride was Antonia Anzalone, a native of Rome. A year later the young Scarlatti was appointed Maestro di Cappella of San Giacomo degli Incurabili.​​

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