San Bernardo alle Terme

San Bernardo alle Terme is a Baroque style, Catholic abbatial church located on Via Torino 94 in the rione Castro Pretorio of Rome, Italy. It is administered by the Cistercians. History The church was built on the remains of a circular tower, which marked a corner in the southwestern perimeter wall of the Baths of Diocletian (its symmetrically matched tower is today part of a hotel building, 225 meters southeast from San Bernardo alle Terme). These two towers flanked a large semicircular exedra; the distance between the towers attests to enormous scale of the original structure. In 1598, under the patronage of Caterina Sforza di Santafiora, niece of Pope Julius III, this church was built for the French Cistercian group, the Feuillants, under the leadership of Giovanni Barreiro, abbot of Toulouse. In 1602, the church was consecrated by Cardinal Arnaud d'Ossat, a friend of Abbot Jean de la Barrière. in 1670, Giovanni Bona was named Cardinal priest of San Bernardo and began a thorough restoration of the church. Eight stucco statues of saints, each housed in wall niches, are the work of Camillo Mariani. They depict the saints Augustine of Hippo, Monica, Mary Magdalene, Francis of Assisi, Bernard, Catherine of Alexandria, Catherine of Siena, and Jerome. These are a good example of the late Mannerist sculpture. Mariani's figures are particularly praised for their chiaroscuro effects and bold modeling. As Cardinal-priest, Domenico Silvio Passionei had an apartment built on the second floor of the monastery. Intended for use during annual spiritual devotions, it was also used to entertain friends and house a collection of books and impressive portrait prints. Later, after the dissolution of the Feuillants during the French Revolution, the edifice and the annexed monastery were ceded to the Congregation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, after whom the church is named. The abbey was sequestered by the Italian government in 1872, and used as army barracks for several years. In 1901 it was demolished to make way for the Via Torino. The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Bernardi ad Thermas is George Alencherry. Art and architecture The structure of San Bernardo alle Terme is similar to the Pantheon, since it is cylindrical, with a dome and an oculus. Devoid of windows, it receives natural light only from the large circular hole (impluvium) placed in the center of the octagonal dome. The edifice has a diameter of 22 meters. The octagonal dome coffers recall those of the Basilica of Maxentius. The Chapel of St Francis is an addition to the ancient rotunda, and contains a sculpture of St Francis by Giacomo Antonio Fancelli. The German painter Johann Friedrich Overbeck, founder of the Nazarene art movement, is buried here. The left side altar is dedicated to Robert of Molesme; right to Bernard of Clairvaux. The large canvases are by Giovanni Odazzi. Burials Abbot Jean de la Barrière (†1600) is left of the main altar; Cardinal Francesco Sforza (†1624) Cardinal Giovanni Bona (†1674) Frédéric Napoléon Baciocchi Levoy (†1833) son of Elisa Bonaparte, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. List of cardinal protectors This church is the seat of cardinalatial title of S. Bernardi ad Thermas. References Sources Le chiese barocche di Roma, Federico Gizzi, Newton Compton, Rome, 1994 External links "San Bernardo alle Terme", by Nyborg.