San Bernardo alle Terme - Roma, Italy - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The church was built on the remains of a circular tower, which marked a corner in the southwestern perimeter wall of the Baths of Diocletian (its pendant is today part of a hotel building, 225 meters southeast from San Bernardo alle Terme). These two towers flanked a large semicircular exedra; the distance between the towers attests to enormous scale of the original structure.

In 1598, under the patronage of Caterina Sforza di Santafiora, this church was built for the French Cistercian group, the Feuillants, under the leadership of Giovanni Barrreiro, abbot of Toulouse. Later, after the dissolution of the Feuillants during the French Revolution, the edifice and the annexed monastery were ceded to the Congregation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, after whom the church is named.

The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Bernardi ad Thermas is George Mar Alencherry.

The structure of San Bernardo alle Terme is similar to the Pantheon, since it is cylindrical, with a dome and an oculus. The edifice has a diameter of 22 meters. The octagonal dome coffers recalls that of the Basilica of Maxentius. The interior is graced by eight stucco statues of saints, each housed in wall niches, the work (c. 1600) of Camillo Mariani. These are a good example of the Mannerist sculpture.

Several memorials have been affixed to the wall below the statues, of various ages and interest. The large and intricate neo-Renaissance one under the statue of St Catherine of Alexandria, to the left of the apse, is to the sculptor Carlo Finelli who died in 1853. It is by Rinaldo Rinaldi, who was from Padua.

The Chapel of St Francis is an addition to the ancient rotunda, and contains a sculpture of St Francis by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli. The large canvases in the lateral altars are by Giovanni Odazzi.

The German painter Johann Friedrich Overbeck, founder of the Nazarene art movement, is buried here. The abbot Barreiro is buried left of the main altar; also buried in the church are the cardinals Francesco Gabrielli and Giovanni Bona of Monreale.

The church is open from 6:30 to 12:00 and 16:00 to 19:00.

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

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1598 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: 11:00 AM Street address of Church: 94 Via Torino, Roma, Italy 00184 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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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/28/2011 Ariberna visited it