Church of Saint Anne in the Vatican Sant'Anna de' Parafrenieri |
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View of the Church and the Saint Anne's Gate (Porta Sant'Anna)
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Basic information | |
Location | Vatican City |
Geographic coordinates | 41°54′15″N 012°27′27″E / 41.90417°N 12.45750°ECoordinates: 41°54′15″N 012°27′27″E / 41.90417°N 12.45750°E |
Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
Country | Vatican City |
Year consecrated | 1583 |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Parish church |
Leadership | P. Bruno Silvestrini (O.S.A.) |
Website | www |
Architectural description | |
Architect(s) | Borromini, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola |
Architectural type | Church |
Architectural style | Baroque |
Groundbreaking | 1565 |
Completed | 1775 |
Specifications | |
Direction of façade | S |
Length | 28 metres (92 ft) |
Width | 12 metres (39 ft) |
Height (max) | 20 metres (66 ft) |
The Church of Saint Anne in the Vatican (Italian: Sant'Anna in Vaticano), known as Sant'Anna de' Parafrenieri (English: Saint Anne of the Grooms), is a Roman Catholic parish church dedicated to Saint Anne in Vatican City. The church is the parish church of the State of Vatican City and is placed under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate of the Vatican City and is located beside the Porta Sant'Anna (Saint Anne's Gate), an international border crossing between Vatican City State and Italy.
Commissioned by the Venerabile Arciconfraternita di Sant'Anna de Parafrenieri, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola introduced the oval plan to church design, for the first time in the churches of Sant'Andrea in Via Flaminia and Saint Anne in Vatican, pioneering a plan which was to become influential to Baroque architecture.
On 20 November 1565, Pope Pius IV authorized the Archconfraternity of the Pontifical Grooms to build a church dedicated to Saint Anne close to the Apostolic Palace. The construction began that same year on a design attributed to Renaissance architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. It was one of the first churches in Rome with an elliptical plan. According to David Watkin, Vignola introduced the oval plan to church design for the first time in the churches of Sant'Andrea in Via Flaminia and Saint Anne in the Vatican, pioneering a plan which was to become influential to Baroque architecture.
After a smooth start, the construction of the church slowed because the Archconfraternity was in financial trouble. After Vignola's death in 1573, the church was finished by his son Giacinto Barozzi, according to a payment made by the Archconfraternity. When it was consecrated in 1583 it had a temporary roof. The facade attributed to Borromini and later attached to the oval church prefigured the facade of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone in attempting to reconciled a front with five bats to two towers. The facade was completed between 1700 and 1721 by Alessandro Specchi while the dome was finally built in 1763 and completed in 1775.