San Gregorio della Divina Pietà, Baroque church in Rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy
San Gregorio della Divina Pietà is a Baroque church in the Sant'Angelo district near Rome's Great Synagogue. The interior features a single nave with a painted ceiling vault and altar paintings from multiple centuries.
The church was first documented in the 12th century, though its current form dates largely to the 18th century. A major renovation in 1729 transformed it into its present Baroque style under architect Filippo Barigioni's direction.
The name comes from the Congregation of the Operai della Divina Pietà, founded in 1679 to aid impoverished noble families. Until 1870, Jews from the nearby ghetto were required to attend compulsory sermons here each Sabbath; a bilingual Hebrew and Latin inscription from Isaiah 65:2–3 was placed on the facade in 1858. The church also appears in a scene of Luigi Magni's film Nell'anno del Signore.
The church faces Piazza Gerusalemme in Rione Sant'Angelo, a few steps from the Great Synagogue and the former Jewish quarter. It stands near the Pons Fabricius (Ponte Quattro Capi), which links the area to the Tiber Island. Look for the 18th-century alms slot low on the external north wall, and the second slot marked "MEMORIALI" a few yards away.
Two stone alms slots remain on the north exterior wall, with one labeled 'MEMORIALI' for collecting names of families in need of help. This artifact reveals how the church once organized community assistance in a quiet and practical way.
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