Santa Maria Regina dei Minori, Romanesque Revival church in Rome, Italy
Santa Maria Regina dei Minori is a church in Rome built with rounded arches, a symmetrical layout, and traditional liturgical design features. The interior displays the typical characteristics of early 20th-century religious architecture.
The church and an enclosed convent of Capuchin Poor Clares were built in 1904 by architect Luigi Senigallia; the church was dedicated in 1907 and the complex finished in 1910. The nuns left after World War II for a new convent at Corpus Christi alla Garbatella, and the Capuchin Friars moved in from nearby San Lorenzo da Brindisi in 1954, completing the transfer in 1968, when the complex became the seat of the order's general curia. The church was then rededicated to Santa Maria Regina dei Minori, a name referring to the Franciscans.
The name changed from Corpus Christi to Santa Maria Regina dei Minori, a title referring to the Minorites, as the Franciscans are officially called. It alludes to a venerated icon kept in a side chapel of the old Capuchin church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.
The church stands at via Sardegna in the Ludovisi district, a short walk from via Veneto and the Barberini metro stop. It is an annex church of the San Camillo de Lellis parish, so opening times follow parish use rather than fixed tourist hours. Visitors should dress and behave as in any active place of worship.
The church was renamed after 1954 for the icon of Santa Maria Regina dei Minori kept in the Capuchin church of Santa Maria della Concezione, not for a painting made for this building. The earlier dedication, Corpus Christi, survives in the Italian name and in the Garbatella convent the nuns moved to.
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