Santa Maria degli Angeli (Rome, Italy) : Interior, original groin vaults of the tepidarium, now transept

Published/Created:

Piazza della Repubblica
Rome, Lazio, Italy
1562-1566 (alteration); 1749-1750 (alteration); 298-306 CE

Physical Description:

344 ft (width, total) x 420 ft (length, total)

Date Depicted:

4/8/2009

Materials:

stone; brick; stucco; marble; rose-granite

Notes:

As part of his urban improvements to this area of Rome, Pope Pius IV took up the campaign of a Sicilian visionary Antonio del Duca (brother of the architect Giacomo del Duca) that a part of the ancient Baths of Diocletian (AD 298-306) should be re-dedicated for Christian use. Michelangelo was called in to convert the tepidarium into the Carthusian church of S Maria degli Angeli (built from 1562). He oriented it northeast/southwest, with the main door and high altar on the short axis and long "transepts" ending in side-entrances. His interventions were minimal. Because the original groin vaulting and the great rose-granite columns that supported it were largely intact, Michelangelo simply walled off the transepts from the rooms beyond, built a long barrel-vaulted choir behind the altar, whitewashed the vault and tiled the roof. The present opulent interior is the result of a major reworking by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1749-1750, which obscures Michelangelo’s intentions. Some of the original spatial and lighting effects of the baths interior can still be appreciated.

Variant Titles:

Baths of Diocletian
S. Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri alle Terme di Roma
Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

Topics:

Architecture -- Italy -- 16th century -- (YVRC)
Architecture -- Italy -- 18th century -- (YVRC)
Architecture -- Roman -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Baroque
Imperial

Culture:

Ancient Roman
Italian

Accession Number:

1A2-I-R-SMA-A8

Coordinates:

+41.903056+12.496944

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
churches (AAT)
thermae

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

buildings; institutional buildings; health facilities; public baths; buildings; religious buildings; churches architecture; Diocletian, Emperor of Rome, 245-313; Pius IV, Pope, 1499-1565; Restoration and conservation; Roman Empire; architectural reuse

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Addition Module Seven

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
4/8/2009

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4349

OID:

10472142

PID:

digcoll:1861603