Sant'Agnese in Agone - Roma, Italy - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The church faces Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian.

Construction began in 1652 under the architects Girolamo Rainaldi and his son Carlo Rainaldi. After numerous quarrels, the other main architect involved was Francesco Borromini.

The interior decoration is extremely sumptious, and very expensive. One immediately noticeable feature is that the altarpieces are not paintings, but relief carvings in marble showing The Holy Family (to the left) with St John the Baptist and his Parents by Domenico Guidi. It was completed in 1683 and was re-inserted into the new altar. St John the Baptist is the boy kneeling in front of the Christ Child, and his parents Zechariah and Elizabeth are to the right.

The cupola is frescoed with the Assumption of Mary, begun in 1670 by Ciro Ferri and completed after his death in 1689 by Sebastiano Corbellini. The pendentives of the dome were painted with the Cardinal Virtues (1662-1672) by Bernini's protégé, Giovanni Battista Gaulli. In the sacristy, there is a canavas depicting the Glory of St Agnese by Paolo Gismondi.

The chapel of St Sebastian, facing the chapel of St Agnes, shows the statue of the saint over the altar in a neo-Classical style, by Pietro Paolo Campi who completed it in 1719. It has been claimed that this was a genuine Classical statue that was reworked, but this is inaccurate.

Above the main entrance and under the organ, you can see the funerary monument of Pope Innocent X which dates from 1730, and is by Giovanni Battista Maini. This oddly unsatisfactory work shows the pope standing behind his sarcophagus as if it was a balcony, flanked by two pairs of caryatids. The female figures sitting on the sarcophagus are Justice, to the right, and Religion. The body of the pope rests in the crypt to the left of the high altar.

Opening hours: Daily 9:00 to 13:00, 15:00 to 19:00 (20:00 on weekends).

See our 7 pictures.

Sources: Wikipedia (visit link) and (visit link)

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1652 Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Catholic If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 12:15 PM Street address of Church: Via di Santa Maria dell'Anima, 30/A, Roma, Italy 00186 Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed

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