San Filippo Neri (1627-48)
Bishop Napoleone Comitoli invited the Oratarians to Perugia in 1614. They settled for a short time in the Case della Parrocchia of the recently-suppressed parish of San Bartolomeo (see SS Annunziata). However, Bishop Comitoli soon gave them a large piece of land here bounded by Via dei Priori, Via della Stella, Via Antonio Fratti and Via Ritorta. They initially used an early Christian baptistery on this site that was known as San Giovanni Rotunda, which they later demolished. In 1624, they also acquired the nearby parish church of San Gregorio (see Walk III).
The Oratarians soon began the construction of the present church, which is formally known as the Chiesa dell' Immacolata Concezione e di San Filippo Neri and which is also known as Chiesa Nuova. Paolo Maruscelli based its design on that of the Oratorians' mother house, Chiesa Nuova (also called Santa Maria in Vallicella), Rome.
The first Mass was celebrated in the church in 1635 and work on the cupola began in 1640. Construction was interrupted first by the War of Castro (1643) and then by serious subsidence, and was completed only in 1648.
Bishop Marcantonio Oddi financed the construction of the facade in 1662-5. (He had wanted to finance the facade of the Duomo but was rebuffed by the Canons). The steps (1665) leading to the main entrance were unfortunately built over a well and had to be rebuilt in 1772 and again in the early 20th century.
The Oratarians built the nearby Oratorio di Santa Cecilia (see Walk III) in 1687-90 as a venue for the performance of sacred music.
Interior
The interior has a barrel vaulted single nave and lateral chapels, a fine cupola over the crossing and a semi-circular apse. It is richly decorated with frescoes from the 17th and 18th centuries. The church fell into a poor state in the late 20th century, and is now in restoration.
Cappella di San Filippo Neri
This chapel is in the right transept. A relic of the heart of St Philip Neri is preserved on the altar.
The altarpiece (17th century) is a copy of the Vision of St Philip Neri by Guido Reni. The original was painted for the Chiesa Nuova, Rome, which is the mother church of the Oratorians. It was originally in the Cappella di San Filippo Neri there, above the relics of the saint, but it has been replaced there by a mosaic copy. The original is now in the Stanze di San Filippo Neri in the oratory.
Immaculate Conception (1662)
This altarpiece on the high altar by Pietro Berrettini da Cortona has unusual iconography in which God creates the Virgin using the gesture that Michelangelo used in his famous fresco (1509-12) of the creation of Adam in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Rome. The Virgin stands on a cloud above a vanquished dragon that represents original sin. This fine altarpiece has been recently restored.
Frescoes (17th century)
Anton Maria Fabrizi was responsible for:
- the frescoes (1632-5) in the Cappella dell' Assunzione (3rd on the right); and
- the frescoes (1636-42) in the Cappella della Natività (3rd on the left).
Frescoes (1667-82)
Giovanni Andrea Carlone, il Genovese executed a number of frescoes in the church, including:
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| St Luke The angel above to the right holds the panel of the Madonna and Child that he was reputed to have painted |
- the Evangelists, in the pendentives of the cupola,
- the (ruined) Immaculate Conception, on the walls of the apse; and
the Presentation of the the Virgin (1682), in the Cappella Biggazini (the 2nd on the left).
Coronation of the Virgin (1728-30)
This fresco in the cupola by Francesco Mancini depicts the figures of the Trinity crowning the Virgin.
Works Removed from the Church
The original altarpieces (17th century) on the side altars formed a Marian cycle and were commissioned from some of the finest artists working in Rome. Unfortunately, they were later removed, and many have been lost.
Presentation of Jesus (1651)
This altarpiece by Andrea Sacchi is now in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 36).
Birth of the Virgin (1643)
Sofonisba Petrini commissioned this altarpiece, which is signed and dated, from Pietro Berrettini da Cortona for his family chapel. The Oratorian fathers were upset by the voluptuous representation of the female figures, but they were over-ruled. It is now in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 36).
Presentation of the Virgin (ca. 1665)
This altarpiece by Luigi Pellegrino Scaramuccia is now in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 37).
Assumption of the Virgin (1637)
Cardinal Luigi Capponi, Archbishop of Ravenna commissioned this altarpiece from Guido Reni for an altar in the church.
Return to Walk III.