San Nicola dei Lorenesi

Last updated
Church of Saint Nicholas of the Lorrains
Saint-Nicolas-des-Lorrains(in French)
San Nicola dei Lorenesi(in Italian)
Sant Nicola dei Lorenesi Rome.jpg
Façade of San Nicola dei Lorenesi.National Church in Rome of France (Duchy of Lorraine).
San Nicola dei Lorenesi
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
41°53′59.6″N12°28′20.7″E / 41.899889°N 12.472417°E / 41.899889; 12.472417 Coordinates: 41°53′59.6″N12°28′20.7″E / 41.899889°N 12.472417°E / 41.899889; 12.472417
LocationLargo Febo 17, Parione, Rome
Country Italy
Denomination Roman Catholic
Tradition Roman rite
Website Official website
History
Status national church
Dedication Nicholas of Myra and Andrew the Apostle
Consecrated 1636
Architecture
Architect(s) François Desjardins
Style Baroque
Completed1632
Administration
Province Rome

The Church of Saint Nicholas of the Lorrainers (Italian : San Nicola dei Lorenesi, French : Saint-Nicolas-des-Lorrains) is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Nicholas and the apostle Saint Andrew. It is one of the national churches in Rome dedicated to France (since the Duchy of Lorraine became part of France in 1766). Given to the Lorrainers by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, the pre-existing church of St. Nicholas was redesigned by Lorrainer architect François Desjardins (also called "Du Jardin" and italianized in "Francesco Giardini"), in 1632. [1]

Contents

The church was thoroughly renovated in 2006 and entitled to the Community of Saint John.

Interior

Interior of the church with frescoes by Corrado Giaquinto Church of Saint Nicholas of the Lorrainers HDR.jpg
Interior of the church with frescoes by Corrado Giaquinto

The architecture of the interior is characterized by a quite sober but evident baroque style with decorative effects based on the use of white and pink marbles.

Many frescoes and paintings by Lorrainer painters of the 17th and 18th centuries also decorate the interior. In particular, two works by Nicolas de Bar: "Saint Catherine" and "The Visitation".

In 1731, Corrado Giaquinto was commissioned to execute the frescoes: "Saint Nicholas water gush from cliff", "The three Theologic Virtues", "The three Cardinal Virtues" and in the cupola "The Paradise".

The French painter Nicolas Mellin is buried in San Nicola.

Notes

  1. "Saint Nicolas des Lorrains" (in French). Ambassade de France près le Saint-Siège.

Related Research Articles

Claude Lorrain French painter, draughtsman and etcher

Claude Lorrain was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in Italy, and is one of the earliest important artists, apart from his contemporaries in Dutch Golden Age painting, to concentrate on landscape painting. His landscapes are usually turned into the more prestigious genre of history paintings by the addition of a few small figures, typically representing a scene from the Bible or classical mythology.

Arezzo Comune in Tuscany, Italy

Arezzo is a city and comune in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 kilometres southeast of Florence at an elevation of 296 metres (971 ft) above sea level. In 2013 the population was about 99,000.

Piazza dei Miracoli Historic architectural complex and UNESCO World Heritage site in Pisa, Italy

The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo, is a walled 8.87-hectare area located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important centre of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. Considered sacred by the Catholic Church, its owner, the square is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile, and the Camposanto Monumentale. Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, which houses the Sinopias Museum and the Cathedral Museum.

Belisario Corenzio Greek-Italian painter

Belisario Corenzio was a Greek-Italian painter, active in Venice and Naples. He is one of few Greek painters that did not belong to the Cretan Renaissance like his contemporaries of the time. He escaped the maniera greca completely. He adopted the Venetian style. Other similar Greek painters were Marco Basaiti, Ioannis Permeniates, Antonio Vassilacchi and El Greco. He was sometimes referred to as Il Greco. His teacher was prominent Venetian painter Tintoretto. In 1590, at age 32 Corenzio settled in Naples. Corenzio was influenced by Cavalier d'Arpino. He continued to flourish in the region. His apprentices included: Luigi Rodriguez, Andrea di Leone, Onofrio De Lione and Massimo Stanzione. Corenzio painted many frescos that survived today. Some of his works are in the Church of San Severino and Certosa di San Martino. His style resembles Caravaggio. An Italian legend in Naples exists involving Corenzio, Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera, and Battistello Caracciolo. They were referred to as the Cabal of Naples. The three painters were rumored to have poisoned their competition for painting contracts. The rumors lack documented evidence. The three painters were very popular in Naples. Corenzio frescoed the Crypt that holds the remains of Matthew the Apostle at Salerno Cathedral and it depicts scenes from the Gospel of Matthew. Corenzio was one of the most celebrated fresco painters in Naples during his time. His drawings can be found all over the world namely at the Metropolitan Museum, Museo di Capodimonte and Louvre.

Corrado Giaquinto Italian painter (1703–1766)

Corrado Giaquinto was an Italian Rococo painter.

SantAndrea della Valle Church in Rome, Italy

Sant'Andrea della Valle is a minor basilica in the rione of Sant'Eustachio of the city of Rome, Italy. The basilica is the general seat for the religious order of the Theatines. It is located at Piazza Vidoni, 6 at the intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Corso Rinascimento.

Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Assisi, Italy

The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and died. It is a Papal minor basilica and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, Sacro Convento, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

San Luigi dei Francesi Church in Rome, Italy

The Church of St. Louis of the French is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to St. Denis the Areopagite and St. Louis IX, king of France. The church was designed by Giacomo della Porta and built by Domenico Fontana between 1518 and 1589, and completed through the personal intervention of Catherine de' Medici, who donated to it some property in the area. It is the national church in Rome of France. It is a titular church. The current Cardinal-Priest of the title is André Vingt-Trois, former Archbishop of Paris.

Bernardo Castello (1557–1629) was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist style, active mainly in Genoa and Liguria. He is mainly known as a portrait and historical painter.

San Pietro, Perugia

The basilica diSan Pietro is a Catholic basilica and abbey in the Italian city of Perugia.

San Carlo ai Catinari

San Carlo ai Catinari, also called Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari is an early-Baroque style church in Rome, Italy. It is located on Piazza Benedetto Cairoli, 117 just off the corner of Via Arenula and Via dei Falegnami, a few blocks south of the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle.

San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani Church in Rome, Italy

San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani is a church in Rome. It is referred to in both Melchiori's and Venuti's guides as San Niccolò di Tolentino, and in the latter it adds the suffix a Capo le Case. It is one of the two Roman national churches of Armenia. The church was built for the Discalced Augustinians in 1599, and originally dedicated to the 13th century Augustinian monk, St. Nicholas of Tolentino.

National churches in Rome

Charitable institutions attached to churches in Rome were founded right through the medieval period and included hospitals, hostels, and others providing assistance to pilgrims to Rome from a certain "nation", which thus became these nations' national churches in Rome. These institutions were generally organised as confraternities and funded through charity and legacies from rich benefactors belonging to that "nation". Often, they were also connected to national "scholae", where the clergymen of that nation were trained. The churches and their riches were a sign of the importance of their nation and of the prelates that supported them. Up to 1870 and Italian unification, these national churches also included churches of the Italian city states.

San Francesco della Vigna

San Francesco della Vigna is a Roman Catholic church in the Sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy.

San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi Church in Rome, Italy

The Church of St. Julian of the Flemings is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Julian the Hospitaller, located in Rome, Italy. Historically, the church has been the National Church in Rome of the Southern Netherlands and, in 1830, became the national church of the Kingdom of Belgium.

Vito DAnna Italian painter

Vito D'Anna was an Italian painter, considered the most prominent painter of Palermitan rococo and one of the most important artists of Sicily.

Charles Mellin French painter (1597–1649)

Charles Mellin was a French painter of the Baroque era. He was from Nancy, Lorraine, but spent his artistic career in Italy, where he was nicknamed Carlo Lorenese.

San Pellegrino in Vaticano Church in Vatican City

The Church of San Pellegrino in Vaticano is an ancient Roman Catholic oratory in the Vatican City, located on the Via dei Pellegrini. The church is dedicated to Saint Peregrine of Auxerre, a Roman priest appointed by Pope Sixtus II who had suffered martyrdom in Gaul in the third century. It is one of the oldest churches in the Vatican City.

San Nicola alla Carità Church in Campania, Italy

The church of St. Nicholas the Charitable is a church located on via Toledo, almost midway between Piazza Carità and Piazza Dante in Naples, Italy.

Nicola or Niccolò Porta was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period.

References