Santa Maria della Pietà al Colosseo, Catholic church within the Colosseum, Rome, Italy
Santa Maria della Pietà al Colosseo occupies one of the fornices, the arched openings of the Flavian Amphitheatre's inner wall. The small church is set within the ancient masonry of the Colosseum, and its main altar carries a 19th-century bas-relief of the Madonna Addolorata, the sorrowful Virgin.
The chapel existed as a sacred shrine under Pope Paul IV in 1555. The Confraternity of Gonfalone took over the space in 1622 and transformed it over the following decades.
The church is named for the Madonna Addolorata, the sorrowful Virgin shown in the 19th-century bas-relief above the main altar. The Circolo San Pietro, which has cared for the chapel since 1936, celebrates Mass there on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings.
Mass services take place on Saturdays and Sundays under the care of the Circolo San Pietro. Access to the church requires entering through the Colosseum itself, so visiting times depend on the main monument's schedule.
The hermit who lived here after 1622 was not a resident of the Colosseum but a monk installed by the Confraternity of Gonfalone as guardian of the oratory. The same confraternity kept the church until 1936, when it passed to the Circolo San Pietro.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,585 contributors worldwide.
