San Carlo ai Catinari, also called Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari ("Saints Blaise and Charles in Catinari") is an early-Baroque style church in Rome, central Italy.
The attribute ai Catinari refers to the presence, at the time of its construction, of many dishmaker shops in the same street of the church. The church was commissioned by the Order of the Barnabites and funded by the Milanese community in Rome to honour their fellow Milanese St. Charles Borromeo (Italian: San Carlo). It is one of at least three Roman churches dedicated to San Carlo, including San Carlo al Corso and San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (San Carlino). The main design was by Rosato Rosati between 1612 and 1620. The drab, travertine façade was designed by Giovanni Battista Soria and construction occurred in 1635-38.
Interior
The rather gloomy interior has yellow scagliola pilasters. The pendentives of the cupola are frescoed with the Cardinal Virtues (1627-30) by Domenichino who designed the stucco decoration in the dome and probably the other main vaults [1]. In the choir is the fresco of S. Carlo Borromeo in Glory; executed in 1646-7, this is the last painting by Giovanni Lanfranco. Directly behind the high altar is the oil painting of S. Carlo carrying the Holy Nail in Procession during the Plague by Pietro da Cortona. The high altar itself was designed by Martino Longhi the Younger. On the entrance wall are frescoes by Gregorio and Mattia Preti, showing episodes from the Life of San Carlo (1642).
To the right of the High Altar is an architecturally inventive late- Baroque chapel designed by Antonio Gherardi and built 1695-1700. The view upwards is through an oculus surrounded by angels in the centre of a dark shallow dome, to a rectangular light filled room above illuminated by windows which are not visible from below. In addition, he painted the altarpiece of S. Cecelia in the chapel. Gherardi also designed the equally inventive Avila Chapel in Santa Maria in Trastevere.
The first chapel on the right has an Annunciation (1624) by Lanfranco; in the second chapel, there is a Martyrdom of San Biagio by Giacinto Brandi.
The second chapel on the left has an altarpiece depicting the Martyrdom of Santa Anna by Sacchi. The third chapel was designed by Paolo Maruscelli with frescoes of the Persian Martyrdoms (1641) by Romanelli and lunettes by Giacinto Gimignani.
The passage behind the High Altar has canvases depicting S. Carlo in Prayer (1620) by Guido Reni and S. Carlo by Andrea Commodi, as well as a Miracle of San Biagio (1669) by Cerrini. The bronze crucifix in the sacristy is attributed to Algardi and Christ derided (1598) by D'Arpino.
References
- ^ Blunt, Anthony 1982, Granada
External links
Media related to San Carlo ai Catinari at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 41°53′39.1″N 12°28′30.9″E / 41.894194°N 12.47525°E
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