San Luca (1586)

The Canons of the Holy Sepulchre built a church and hospice here in 1184 in order to help pilgrims setting out for the Holy Land.  In 1291, the church and adjacent Casa della Commenda became the headquarters of the Order.   The church and hospice of Santa Croce were dependent upon San Luca, and the residence of the Arch-prior was at San Manno in the period 1307-56.

Francesco della Rovere, the future Pope Sixtus IV was Arch-priest here in the period 1460-71; his arms on the facade of the Casa della Commenda were defaced in 1798.  The inscription on the architrave of the Casa della Commenda records its reconstruction in 1485 by the successor to Francesco della Rovere, Cataneo dei Traversari. 

The complex passed to the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem (Knights of Malta) first in 1489 and then definitively in 1560.  The Casa della Commenda was converted to use as a wool factory in the 18th century and subsequently adapted for residential use. 

History of the Church

A red and white stone wall from the original church can be seen behind the adjacent church of the Madonna della Luce.  This was originally the facade of the church, which extended as far as the Etruscan wall to the right.   [Illustration.  Now a restaurant]

When the Madonna della Luce was built in 1513, the original right wall of San Luca became the facade. 

The Knights of Malta rebuilt the church in 1586.  The inscription above the church portal records this, adding that it occurred when Giulio Bravi da Verona was the prior of San Luca and Ugo de Louben Verdalla was Grand Master of the order.   

The design of the facade (or sometimes just the upper part of it) is attributed to Bino Sozi.  The cross of the Knights of Malta can be seen on the doors.

Madonna and [Child??] with saints (1632)

This altarpiece by Giovanni Antonio Scaramuccia, which depicts the Madonna [and Child??] with SS John the Baptist and Luke, is on the high altar.