page_title: Santa Susanna
section_title: Modern era
hierarchical_section_title: Santa Susanna / Architectural history / Modern era
caption_attribution_description: English: Exterior of the Santa Susanna, Rome.
context_page_description: The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian is a Roman Catholic parish church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site as far back as A.D. 280. The current church was rebuilt from 1585 to 1603 for a monastery of Cistercian nuns founded on the site in 1587, which still exists there.
  The church served as the national parish for residents of Rome from the United States from 1921 to 2017, during which period it was assigned to the care of the Paulist Fathers, a society of priests founded in the United States.
context_section_description: Pope Sixtus IV (1475–1477) proceeded to rebuild the Church, probably a single nave with two side chapels. In 1588 it became the last great rebuilding effort of Cardinal Girolamo Rusticucci, Cardinal protector of the Cistercian Order, with construction running from 1595 to 1603. One of the objectives pursued with greater commitment from Rusticucci as the Vicar General of Pope Sixtus V was to renew the life of the religious Orders. A reflection of that action can be seen in a figurative program decorating the walls of the Church. The main themes are: defense of chastity against corruption of morals and the victory of the true faith over any temptation to idolatry and heresy. They were joined by the exaltation of the virginal choice of St. Susanna and her prayerful attitude. Rusticucci wanted to highlight and connect these themes to the inseparable bond that his Church had with the Cistercian nuns whose monastery occupied the site.
  Rusticucci, a lover of "tradition", chose from the best of that time, which came from the fruitful artistic outpouring from the Counter-Reformation. Consequently, he gave the assignment to Carlo Maderno (1556–1629) for architectural renovations made to the Church. It was he who was the designer of its travertine facade. The frescoes of the Central Hall (six scenes from the life of the chaste Susanna) are by Baldassare Croce of Bologna (1563-1638). To Cesare Nebbia, a native of Orvieto (1536–1614), can be attributed the frescoes in the dome and apse curve in which are reproduced some scenes from the life of the saint.
  The altarpiece of the high altar, depicting the beheading of St.  Susanna, is by Tommaso Laureti of Palermo (1530–1602). Camilla Peretti, sister of Pope Sixtus, was a great benefactor of the Cistercian nuns, and helped build their residential quarters, including the Chapel of St. Lawrence whose frescoes are the work of Giovan Battista Pozzo (1563-1591). The painting of the altar depicting the martyrdom of the holy deacon is also by Nebbia. Large statues of the major prophets and two of Saints Peter and Paul are attributed to Giovanni Antonio Paracea, called Valsoldo. Through the glass floor of the sacristy can be seen part of the early Christian Church and the remains of the Roman house, which is said to be the home of the father of the saint. A Roman sarcophagus with fragments of painted plaster was discovered in modern times. The excavations also unearthed a tympanum depicting the Lamb of God on a blue background and flanked by Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist; a Madonna and child between Saints Agatha and Susanna; plus five beautiful busts of other saints.
  Behind the chancel, separated by an iron grating, is located the splendid monastic choir, a large rectangular room. It was built in 1596 by Cardinal Rusticucci, as attested by the coat of arms in the center of the choir's rich, carved wooden-coffered floor. The choir stalls were donated by Pope Sixtus and are repeatedly mentioned in the old guides as one of the finest choirs existent in Roman monasteries. The walls are adorned with frescoes depicting saints and scenes from the Old Testament. The artist who created these paintings was Francesco Di (1676–1702). Also in the choir, in the four branches of the two niches that preserve the reliquaries, appear St. Benedict of Nurcia and St. Scholastica (left) and St. Bernard and St. Susanna (on the right), all by the Umbrian painter Avanzino Nucci (1599). In 1719 Filippo Fregiotti painted the frescoes in a chapel inside the enclosure.
  St. Susanna Church in Dedham, Massachusetts was named by Cardinal Richard Cushing for Santa Susanna.
caption: Santa Susanna, Rome
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