Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi, Former Catholic church near Piazza Barberini, Rome, Italy
Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi is a former church on Via delle Quattro Fontane near Piazza Barberini. Its two-storey Baroque facade has a peach-orange render framed by grey stone pilasters and cornices. A rectangular window with a projecting sill sits above a grey stone relief of a fluted shell flanked by scrolls, and dark brown wooden doors with octagonal panels fill the entrance.
Pope Clement VIII bought a Florentine nobleman's palace around 1592 to build a church dedicated to Saints Andrew and Margaret, Queen, with a college and hospice for Scottish Catholics. In 1604 the institutions moved to Via Felice, now Via delle Quattro Fontane, and Paul V gave them to the Jesuits in 1615. The rebuilt church was completed by 1646 and dedicated to Saint Andrew alone. Deconsecrated in 2004, it later housed a bank and law firm.
This church served as a gathering place for Scottish Catholics in Rome seeking to maintain their faith and heritage. The high altar features an 18th-century painting by Scottish painter Gavin Hamilton depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Andrew.
The building is no longer an active place of worship as it was deconsecrated in 2004. Visitors should be aware that access may be limited, and it is advisable to check beforehand since it may be a private or closed property.
Hinged grates on both sides of the sanctuary cover openings into tribunes where members of the exiled Stuart royal family sat during Mass. The church also holds a white marble monument to John Stewart, only son of Sir James Stewart, Bt., just inside the main entrance.
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