Santa Maria sopra Minerva (St. Mary above [the Temple of] Minerva) is one of the more interesting churches to visit in Rome's Campus Martius. It's within eyesight of the Pantheon. From the Piazza de Minerva, you could hit the Pantheon throwing a baseball...with your non-throwing arm.
Ok...what makes this church interesting, since all churches here have centuries of history? The combination of history, art, tombs, and architectural design/history combine to make this worth a visit.
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The (hopefully short) history:
The name suggest that this church is built upon a temple. That's true. It also suggests that it's the Temple of Minerva. That's probably not true. It seems that this church was built directly on top of the ruins of a temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis.
There were originally three temples in the space currently occupied by the church and former convent buildings: the Minervium, the Iseum, and the Seapeum. These were dedicated to Minerva, Isis, and Serapis, and built around 50 B.C.
An Egyptian obelisk was found near the church in 1665 (this one?) and several smaller ones over the years. Consensus is that the ruins were here until Pope Zachary's reign (741-752 A.D.), when he christianized the spot. He gave it to nuns from Constantinople who built a (currently long-gone) oratorium.
Five centuries later, Pope Alexander IV gave the site to converted women in 1255, and eventually to the Dominicans (who still own this church). Friars were on site and 1266, but didn't officially take over this church until 1275.
The church you see here darn sure took a long time to build. The Dominicans started building it in 1280. The interior wasn't completed until 1453 (by Cardinal Juan Torquemada).
Sidebar: Juan de Torquemada was one of the more famous apologists of the church, and supported Jewish "converts." His nephew Tomas de Torquemada? The first grand inquisitor (of the Spanish Inquisition). Bit of a demon, to be polite.
Back to the history...
Also in 1453, the wealthy Count Orsini personally financed construction of the facade. But, it wasn't finished until 1725. So start to finish on this church? Almost 500 years.
The stained glass and organ are from the 19th century.
Other interesting history for this church? A few times in its history (1431 and 1447), the papal conclave was held here. Whenever there were almost riots, the conclave would be held here in the church and neighboring convent because they were more easily defended than the Vatican.
World history also happened here. A lot of us learn in school about Copernicus (who proposed the heliocentric model of the galaxy) and Galileo (who supported that thought). Galileo, though, was tried by the church -- during the Roman Inquisition. His second trial, where he was forced to say that the Earth spinning around the sun was heresy...took place in a room here. (Probably in the attached convent, not the church itself.). But...on the grounds nonetheless. The result? He had to denounce what science and reason told him, and he was placed under house arrest until his death.
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The art:
Some of the more worthwhile pieces to see in this church are:
The Carafa Chapel with 15th century frescoes by Filippino Lippi. They honor St. Thomas Aquinas.
Cappella Capranica (Chapel of the Rosary) with its 1573 stucco ceiling by Marcello Venusti. Cardinal Domenico Capranica is buried here.
To the left of the main altar, you'll find Michelangelo's Cristo della Minerva, finished in 1521.
Cappella Aldobrandini was designed (but not finished) by Giacomo della Porta. He designed two of the three fountains in Piazza Navona and had a hand in San Luigi dei Francesi, among other projects around town.
Annunciation (1485) by Antoniazzo Romano is here. Cardinal Juan de Torquemada is buried nearby.
Memorial to Maria Raggi by Bernini (1647-53).
Some of the tombs are by famous artists as well.
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Among those buried here...
Pope Urban VII. (Fun facts about our man Urban: Shortest recognized papacy in history -- 13 days. Yet, in those 13 days, he decreed a smoking ban in all Catholic churches across the world. Good use of your time, my friend.)
Pope Leo X & Clement VII. They're located on opposite sides of the apse. About Leo...he was a Medici. Lover of the arts. More and more folks thik he was also a lover of men. And he was also the Pope in charge when the Reformation went down. So, quite a few things going on here. Same can be said for Clement. His reign was tumultuous with the English Reformation and sack of Rome. So yeah...that all happened.
The artist Fra Angelico is buried here. He was an early Renaissance painter and lived from 1395-1455.
Guillaume Durand (1230-1296) was a bishop and liturgical writer. He has one of the oldest tombs here.
The most famous tomb here? Saint Catherine of Siena, who is under the main altar (in the glass case). Well, most of her. Her head is in Siena, I think. Catherine was a mystic, believing herself "mystically married to Jesus." She lived from 1547-1580, having died at age 33 from a massive stroke.
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Architectural design/history:
Rick Steves' Rome advises you to, "Survey the many layers of Rome: An Egyptian obelisk sits on a Baroque elephant (by Bernini) in front of a Gothic church built over a pre-Christian pagan" temple.
He also point out the high water mark plaques to the right of the door, that show the water level of the Tiber when it would flood this area. For that reason, the lower part of a number of frescoes in the church were ruined.
This is the only Gothic church you'll find in Rome. Gothic architecture was in its prime in the 14th century -- when the Catholic church had relocated to France, leaving Rome to local barons. They didn't build much.
As for what makes this church Gothic? The criss-crossed nave ceiling, and that it's high, the stain-glassed windows, etc.
All in all, this is definitely worth a stop
