Facade of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

The Pulcino della Minerva, a famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini elephant sculpture, bearing one of the eleven Egyptian obelisks in Rome.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva is a basilica in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Campus Martius region of Rome, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. (Actually other churches in the city have a Gothic background, though obscured by subsequent modifications). The basilica gets its name because, like many early Christian basilicas, it was built directly over (sopra) the foundations of a temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva. Behind a self-effacing facade, its arched vaulting is painted with brilliant red ribbing, and blue with gilded stars, a 19th century restoration in the Gothic taste. The basilica is located on ther small Piazza Minerva close to the Pantheon, in the Pigna ("pine cone") quarter of the city. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 195 KB) Summary Photographer: sonofgroucho Title: Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Roma, Italy Taken on: 2005-04-10 Original source: Flickr. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 195 KB) Summary Photographer: sonofgroucho Title: Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Roma, Italy Taken on: 2005-04-10 Original source: Flickr. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 696 KB) Roma, Obelisco della Minerva (Pulcin della Minerva) con basamento di Bernini, davanti alla chiesa della Minerva. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 696 KB) Roma, Obelisco della Minerva (Pulcin della Minerva) con basamento di Bernini, davanti alla chiesa della Minerva. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... There are nine Egyptian obelisks in Rome. ... The Basilica of Saint Peter is the largest church in Christianity and often used by the Pope. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2. ... The Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 km² (600 acres) in extent. ... See also Gothic art. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... A foundation is a structure that transmits loads from a building or road to the underlying ground. ... The Akshardham Hindu temple, Delhi, India The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... For other uses, see Minerva (disambiguation). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A piazza is an open square in a city, often used as a marketplace, found in Italy. ... The Pantheon, Rome The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the Roman state religion, but which has been a Christian church since the 7th century. ... Logo of the rione Pigna is the name of rione IX of Rome, Italy. ...

History

Details of the ruined temple to Minerva, built by Pompey about 50 BCE, referred to as Delubrum Minervae are not known. A temple to Isis and a Serapeum may also underlie the present basilica and its former convent buildings, for in 1665 an Egyptian obelisk was found, buried in the garden of the Dominican cloister adjacent to the church. There are other Roman survivals in the crypt. The ruined temple is likely to have lasted until the reign of Pope Zacharias (741-752), who finally Christianized the site, offering it to Eastern monks. The structure he commissioned has disappeared. The present building owes its existence to the Dominican Friars, who received the property from Pope Alexander IV (1254-1261) and made the church and adjoining monastery their headquarters before later establishing it in Santa Sabina. The Dominican Order still administers the area today. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 55 BC 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48 BC 47... Isis is a goddess in the Egyptian belief. ... The Serapeum of Alexandria in Ptolemaic Egypt was a temple built by Ptolemy III (reigned 246 BC–222 BC) and dedicated to Serapis, the syncretic Hellenistic-Egyptian god who was made the protector of Alexandria. ... Events March 4 - Start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. ... The Luxor obelisk in the Place de la Concorde in Paris An obelisk is a tall, thin, four-sided, tapering monument which ends in a pyramidal top. ... Crypt is also a commonly used name of water trumpets, aquatic plants. ... Saint Zacharias (or Zachary), pope (741-752), from a Greek family of Calabria, appears to have been on intimate terms with Gregory III, whom he succeeded (November 741). ... Events June 18 - Constantine V succeeds Leo III as emperor of the Byzantine Empire. ... Events Pope Stephen II, pope for 3 days in March. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen Ansgar, the 9th century apostle of the North in an 1830 drawing. ... Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare Saint Dominic de Guzman saw the need for a new type of organization to address the needs of his time, one that would bring the dedication and systematic education of the older monastic orders to bear on the religious problems of the burgeoning population of cities, but... Alexander IV, né Rinaldo Conti (Anagni, ca. ... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... Events July 25 - Constantinople re-captured by Nicaean forces under the command of Michael VIII Palaeologus, Byzantine Empire re-formed August 29 - Urban IV becomes Pope, the last man to do so without being a Cardinal first Bela IV of Hungary repels Tatar invasion Charles of Anjou given rule of... Santa Sabina interior. ...

Two talented Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi, who had worked on the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, began the present structure in 1280, during the pontificate of Nicholas III. With the help of funds contributed by Boniface VIII, this first Gothic church in Rome was completed in 1370. It was renovated by Carlo Maderno and others, given a Baroque facade, then restored in the 19th century to its present neo-medieval state. The gates are from the 15th century. A friar is a member of a religious order of men. ... The Romanesque-Gothic facade, completed by Leon Battista Alberti in 1470 Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence. ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... For broader historical context, see 1280s and 13th century. ... Nicholas III, né Giovanni Gaetano Orsini ( 1216 - August 22, 1280), pope from November 25, 1277 to his death in 1280, was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St Nicola in carcere Tulliano by Pope Innocent IV, protector of the Franciscans by Pope... Boniface VIII, né Benedict Gaetano ( 1235 - October 11, 1303) was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. ... Events Beginning of the rule of Poland by Capet-Anjou family. ... Façade of St. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint In the arts, Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the artistic style that dominated it. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...

Saint Catherine of Siena is buried here (except her head, which is in the church of San Domenico in Siena). Beyond the sacristy, the room where she died in 1380 was reconstructed here by Antonio Cardinal Barberini in 1637. This room is the first transplanted interior, and the progenitor of familiar 19th and 20th century museum "period rooms." The frescoes by Antoniazzo Romano that decorated the orginal walls, however, are now lost. St. ... This page is about Siena, Italy. ... Events September 8 - Battle of Kulikovo - Russian forces under Grand Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols (the Golden Horde), stopping their advance at Kulikovo. ... The Barberini family was a powerful Italian family, originally of Tuscan extraction, who settled in Florence during the early part of the eleventh century. ... Events February 3 - Tulipmania collapses in Netherlands by government order February 15 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor December 17 - Shimabara Rebellion erupts in Japan Pierre de Fermat makes a marginal claim to have proof of what would become known as Fermats last theorem. ... Fresco by Dionisius representing Saint Nicholas. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

The famous early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico died in the adjoining convent, and is buried here also, as is Pope Paul IV and the Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII. Before the construction of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, the Minerva was the church of the Florentine nation, and therefore it houses numerous tombs of prelates, nobles and citizens coming from that Tuscan city. Curiously, Diotisalvi Nerone, a refugee who had took part in the plot against Piero de' Medici, was buried here in 1482, and was later joined by other members of the family. By region Italian Renaissance Spanish Renaissance Northern Renaissance English Renaissance French Renaissance German Renaissance Polish Renaissance The Renaissance, also known as Il Rinascimento (in Italian), was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution, religious reform and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ... Il Beato Fra Giovanni Angelico da Fiesole (the Beatified Friar John the Angelic of Fiesole) (Vicchio di Mugello, Florence 1395 – Rome 1455), better known in the English-speaking world as Fra Angelico (the Angelic Friar), or in Continental Europe as Beato Angelico (the Blessed Angelic One) was a famous painter... Paul IV, né Giovanni Pietro Carafa (June 28, 1476 – August 18, 1559) was Pope from May 23, 1555 until his death. ... The Medici family was a powerful and influential Florentine family from the 13th to 17th century. ... Pope Leo X Leo X, né Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici (December 11, 1475 - December 1, 1521), was the only pope who has bestowed his own name upon his age, and one of the few whose original extraction has corresponded in some measure with the splendour of the pontifical dignity. ... For the antipope (1378-1394) see Antipope Clement VII. Pope Clement VII Clement VII, né Giulio di Giuliano de Medici (1478 – September 25, 1534) was pope from 1523 to 1534. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... There were two Medici known as Piero de Medici: Piero di Cosimo de Medici (1416-1469) (the Gouty, also Piero I de Medici), father of Lorenzo the Magnificent Piero di Lorenzo de Medici (1471-1503) (the Unfortunate, also Piero II de Medici), son of Lorenzo the Magnificent This is a... Events Portuguese fortify Fort Elmina on the Gold Coast Tizoc rules the Aztecs Diogo Cão, a Portuguese navigator, becomes the first European to sail up the Congo. ...

The sacristy was the seat of two conclaves. The first, held in the March 1431, elected Pope Eugene IV, the second, in March 1447, Pope Nicholas V. con·clave (knklv, kng-) n. ... Look up March in Wiktionary, the free dictionary March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Events February 21 - The trial of Joan of Arc March 3 - Eugenius IV becomes Pope May 30 - In Rouen, France, 19-year old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake. ... Eugenius IV, né Gabriel Condulmer (1383 - February 23, 1447) was pope from March 3, 1431 to his death. ... Events March 6 - Nicholas V becomes Pope. ... Nicholas V, né Tomaso Parentucelli (November 15, 1397 – March 24, 1455) was Pope from March 6, 1447, to his death. ...

Michelangelo's Christ the Redeemer sculpture is housed here. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, (March 6, 1475 - February 18, 1564) was a Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Mariae supra Minervam is Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor. Cardinal Priests are the most numerous of the three orders of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. ... Cormac Cardinal Murphy-OConnor (born 24 August 1932 in Reading, Berkshire) is a bishop of the Catholic Church. ...

Minerva's chick

In front of the church there is one of the most curious monuments of Rome, the so-called Pulcino della Minerva. It is a statue designed by outstanding Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (and carried out by his pupil Ercole Ferrata in 1667) of an elephant bearing the Egyptian obelisk found in the Dominicans' garden. It is the shortest of the eleven Egyptian obelisks in Rome. The accompanying Latin inscription states it as an illustration that a strong mind is needed to support solid knowledge. City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2. ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint In the arts, Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the artistic style that dominated it. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Ercole Ferrata (1610-1686) was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque school. ... // Events January 20 - Poland cedes Kyiv, Smolensk, and eastern Ukraine to Russia in the Treaty of Andrusovo that put a final end to the Deluge, and Poland lost its status as a Central European power. ... The Luxor obelisk in the Place de la Concorde in Paris An obelisk is a tall, thin, four-sided, tapering monument which ends in a pyramidal top. ... There are nine Egyptian obelisks in Rome. ...

The unusual composition was inspired to Bernini by Hypnerotomachia Poliphili ("Poliphilo's Dream of the Strife of Love"), an unusual 15th century novel probably by Francesco Colonna. The novel's main character meets an elephant made of stone carrying an obelisk, and the accompanying woodcut illustration in the book is quite similar to Bernini's statue. A self portrait: Bernini is said to have used his own features in the David (below, left) Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini) (December 7, 1598 - November 28, 1680), who worked chiefly in Rome, was the pre-eminent baroque artist. ... Poliphilo kneels before Queen Eleuterylida The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (or The Strife of Love in a Dream) is an unusual book. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Francesco Colonna (1433 (?) - 1527), was an Italian Dominican priest and monk who was credited by an acrostic in the text with the authorship of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. ...

The sturdy appearance of the statue earned it the popular nickname of "Porcino" ("Piggy"), which eventually transformed in the more polite Pulcino, the Romanesco (Roman dialect) equivalent of "Chick". A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ...

Major artworks

• Aldobrandini Chapel, by Carlo Maderno, Giacomo della Porta and Girolamo Rainaldi
• Carafa Chapel with frescoes by Filippino Lippi
• Christ the Redeemer (1521) by Michelangelo
• Annunciation (1485), by Antoniazzo Romano
• The tombs of the Popes Leo X and Clement VII by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
• Tomb of Paulus IV by Pirro Ligorio (1559)
• Tomb of Urban VII
• Tomb of Beato Angelico, by Isaia da Pisa (1455)
• Tomb of Guillaume Durand, signed by Giovanni di Cosma (1296)
• Memorial to Maria Raggi, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1643)
• Tomb of Francesco Tornabuoni (1480), one of the best works by Mino da Fiesole

Façade of St. ... Giacomo della Porta (c. ... Girolamo Rainaldi (1570 - 1655, Rome) was an Italian architect in the Mannerist style. ... Filippino Lippi, self-portrait Biography Filippino Lippi (ca. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Events January 3 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. ... Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, (March 6, 1475 - February 18, 1564) was a Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet. ... // Events August 5-7 - First outbreak of sweating sickness in England begins August 22 - Battle of Bosworth Field is fought between the armies of King Richard III of England and rival claimant to the throne of England Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (or Antonio Cordiani) (April 12, 1484 - August 3, 1546) was a Florentine architect active during the Italian Renaissance. ... Pirro Ligori, (1510? - 1583) Italian architect, antiquarian and garden designer. ... Events January 15 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey. ... // Events February 9 - Wars of the Roses: Richard, Duke of York dismissed as Protector February 23 - Johannes Gutenberg prints the first Bible on a printing press May 22 - Wars of the Roses: First Battle of St Albans - Richard, Duke of York and his ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick defeat... Events March 30 - Edward I stormed Berwick-upon-Tweed, sacking the then Scottish border town with much bloodshed. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ... Events March 6 - Treaty of Toledo - Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain recognize African conquests of Afonso of Portugal and he cedes the Canary Islands to Spain Great standing on the Ugra river - Muscovy becomes independent from the Golden Horde. ... Mino da Fiesole (c. ...

Other churches with this name

In Assisi, another church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva was built in the 16th century within the surviving cella of a late Republican temple of Minerva. Its Corinthian portico still stands. Crest of the township (comune) of Assisi Assisi (Latin: Asisium) is a town and episcopal see in Italy in Perugia province, Italy, in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Mt. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... A cella, in Ancient Greek and Roman temples was the central room that housed cult statues. ... The Corinthian order as used for the portico of the Pantheon, Rome provided a prominent model for Renaissance and later architects, through the medium of engravings. ...

External links

• ((Italian)) Santa Maria sopra Minerva: official site
• June Hager, "Santa Maria sopra Minerva"
• M.P. Pollett, "Curious and unusual: Minerva's Chick": Bernini's elephant and its Roman nickname
• Google map showing the location of the church, on the east side of the Piazza Minerva (the square piazza just diagonally southeast and behind the large Pantheon dome).
• Assisi's Tempio di S. Maria sopra Minerva