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A Jacobite Gazetteer - Rome
Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere
This church is located in Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. Henry, Cardinal Duke of York (later King Henry IX and I) was appointed cardinal priest of this church, February 12, 1759; when he was named cardinal bishop of Frascati, July 13, 1761, Henry retained the title of cardinal priest of this church in commendam until January 24, 1763. At the east end of the right aisle is the entrance to the "Winter Choir". This chapel goes by a number of names including Cappella della Strada Cupa, Cappella dei Canonici, and Cappella Cecchini. Henry restored the chapel in 1762; it was later restored again by the Cardinal Duke of Lucca. In the broken pediment above the entrance arch there is a large carved heraldic base with cardinal's hat and tassels upon which Henry's arms as Duke of York are painted. Within the chapel, the altar, designed by Zanobi Rossi, has a Latin inscription along the front side of its mensa (all on one single line): |
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HENRICUS EP· TUSCULANUS S·R·E· CARDINALIS DUX EBORACEN· BASILICAE COMMENDATARIUS EREXIT ET CONSECRAVIT XVIII· KALEND· DECEMBRIS MDCCLXII Henry, Bishop of Frascati, Cardinal Duke of York, Commendatory of the Basilica, built and consecrated [this altar], November 14, 1762. On either side of the altar the column bases are decorated with Henry's arms (as Duke of York) in brass (62 cms high, 42 cms wide). On either side of the chapel there are wooden choir stalls at the centre of which in carved wood are Henry's arms (75 cms high, 63 cms wide). According to one source another copy of Henry's arms is "painted in the central compartment of the ceiling". 1 |
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On the right wall of the corridor which leads to the Sacristy (outside the Cappella Altemps) there is a Latin inscription: 2
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Memorial inscription to King Henry IX and I |
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In the small reliquary chapel to the left of the Cappella Altemps (i.e. at the end of the left aisle of the basilica) there is a bejewelled cross-shaped crystal reliquary of Saint Urban I dated 1761 and presented to the basilica by Henry. It is in the centre of the second shelf above the altar. The cross-shaped leather case in which it is kept is decorated in gold leaf with Henry's arms as Duke of York. 3 Access to the reliquary chapel can only be had by special permission of the sacristan. |
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"To this day also the splendid canopy of crimson damask, that on state occasions is erected in the tribune, remains embellished with the royal arms and insignia of the Cardinal Duke, who was its original donor." 4 The church is open daily from 7.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m., and from 3.30 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. Notes 1 Richard E. Spear, "The Cappella della Strada Cupa: A Forgotten Domenichino Chapel", The Burlington Magazine 111 (January 1969): 15. When I visited the chapel in May 2001, I could not see any such ceiling decoration. 2 In the bottom line the date "CI)I)CCLXIV" is a representation of the date "MDCCLXIV", where the third and fifth letters are backward letter "C"s; this is a not unusual way of displaying a Latin date. 3 Brigitte Kuhn-Forte, Handbuch der Kirchen Roms, 4. Band, Die Kirchen innerhalb der Mauern Roms (S. Teodoro bis Ss. Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia), Die Kirchen von Trastevere (Vienna: Brüder Hollinek, 1997), 784 and 818. 4 Herbert M. Vaughan, The Last of the Royal Stuarts: Henry Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (London: Methuen, 1906), 59. In 2001 this canopy was being restored. Image 1 (Entrance to the Winter Choir): © Noel S. McFerran 2001. Image 2 (Arms of King Henry IX and I on the altar): © Noel S. McFerran 2001. Image 3 (Arms of King Henry IX and I on the choir stalls): © Noel S. McFerran 2001. Image 4 (Memorial inscription to King Henry IX and I): © Noel S. McFerran 2001. Image 5 (Leather reliquary case): © Noel S. McFerran 2001. Image 6 (Reliquary of Saint Urban I): © Noel S. McFerran 2001.
This page is maintained by Noel S. McFerran (noel.mcferran@rogers.com) and was last updated November 9, 2003. |