SANTA MARIA DELLA PACE

Santa Maria della Pace - click to enlarge

In 1482 Pope Sixtus IV commissioned, probably Baccio Pontelli (1450-1494), the construction of Santa Maria della Pace on a previous buiding and a medallion immured in the right side of the church commemorates the Pope.

Pope Alexander VII Chigi, in 1656, commissioned Pietro da Cortona to redesign the church and Pietro made one of his masterpieces.
Pietro designed the new façade with a lively form after the style of Borromini, in which the concavity of the sides opposed the semicircular portico.
Since the square outside had become an inextricable knot of traffic, the buildings adjacent to the church were restored by Pietro and rejoined the church itself through two flyovers.

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Santa Maria della Pace - The façade by Pietro da Cortona

The ancient fifteenth-century door leads inside, formed by a short nave, with two side chapels. Most famous is the first chapel on the right, the Chigi Chapel, with frescoes by Raphael depicting prophets and sibyls, among which one can see his beloved Fornarina.

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Raphael, Chigi Chapel - Prophets	Raphael, Chigi Chapel - Sibyls

Santa Maria della Pace is a real art gallery: in addition to those of Raphael you can admire the works of Rosso Fiorentino, Baldassare Peruzzi, Lavinia Fontana, Sermoneta, Orazio Gentileschi, Carlo Maratta.
Sadly, the church is only open Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 9 to 12.

Famous is the Cloister, first Roman work of Bramante and gorgeous example of Renaissance architecture.

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Santa Maria della Pace, Cloister by Bramante

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