Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
| Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (in Italian) Beatissimae Virginis et Omnium Angelorum et Martyrum (in Latin) |
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The church facade is the frigidarium
of the Baths of Diocletian |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | 41°54′11″N 12°29′49″E / 41.90306°N 12.49694°ECoordinates: 41°54′11″N 12°29′49″E / 41.90306°N 12.49694°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Minor basilica |
| Website | Official website |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Michelangelo Buonarroti, Luigi Vanvitelli |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 1562 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | SW |
| Length | 128 metres (420 ft) |
| Width | 105 metres (344 ft) |
| Width (nave) | 25 metres (82 ft) |
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs (Latin: Beatissimae Virgini et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum, Italian: Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri) is a titular basilica church in Rome, Italy built inside the ruined frigidarium of the Roman Baths of Diocletian in the Piazza della Repubblica.
It was constructed in the 16th century following an original design by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Other architects and artists added to the church over the following centuries. During the Kingdom of Italy, the church was used for religious state functions.
The basilica is dedicated to the Christian martyrs, known and unknown. By a brief dated 27 July 1561, Pius IV ordered the church "built", to be dedicated to the Beatissimae Virgini et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum ("the Most Blessed Virgin and all the Angels and Martyrs"). Impetus for this dedication had been generated by the account of a vision experienced in the ruins of the Baths in 1541 by a Sicilian monk, Antonio del Duca, who had been lobbying for decades for papal authorization of a more formal veneration of the Angelic Princes. A story that these Martyrs were Christian slave labourers who had been set to constructing the Baths is modern. It was also a personal monument of Pope Pius IV, whose tomb is in the apsidal tribune.
The thermae of Diocletian dominated the Quirinal Hill with their ruined mass. Michelangelo Buonarroti worked from 1563 to 1564 to adapt a section of the remaining structure of the baths to enclose a church. Some later construction was directed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1749.
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