Santa Maria in Publicolis, Baroque church building in Rome, Italy.
Santa Maria in Publicolis is a Baroque church in the historic center of Rome, near Campo de' Fiori, with a travertine facade that alternates curved and triangular pediments and features richly carved stone ornaments. The interior is a single nave with side altars, painted ceilings, and stucco-decorated walls.
The church is listed among the dependencies of San Lorenzo in Damaso in a bull of Urban III from 1186 as Santa Maria de Publico. It was restored by the Santacroce in 1465, then demolished in 1642 and rebuilt from that year to 1643 to a design by Giovanni Antonio De Rossi for Cardinal Marcello Santacroce. Since 1858 it has been entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
The suffix "in Publicolis" was adopted in the 16th century, when the Santacroce family, who held patronage of the church, claimed descent from the ancient Roman Valerii Publicola. Since 1858 the church has been entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founded by Saint Gaetano Errico, who made it the seat of their general house.
The entrance is on Via dei Falegnami, a quiet side street easily reached on foot from Campo de' Fiori or the Jewish Ghetto. The church tends to receive fewer visitors than the major basilicas, which makes a weekday visit more relaxed.
The church holds part of the Santacroce family burials: Alfonso, Prospero, Antonio, Marcello, Andrea and Valerio, plus Ottavia Corsini. Several 15th- and 16th-century tomb slabs are set into the floor, and the organ on the counter-facade gallery is a Mascioni instrument, opus 307, built in 1912.
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