Santa Maria di Betlem
(Chiesa del SS Corpo di Cristo)
(1672 - 1700)
This church belonged to the nuns of the nearby Monastero di Santa Maria di Betlem.
History of the Nunnery
In 1379, a religious woman called Morbida di Gennaro da Montecchio acquired a small house in Via dei Monasteri for herself and two companions. The sisters, who was known as the "Povere donne di Morbida della penitenza", lived under episcopal authority but followed no recognised monastic rule.
In 1396, a secular cleric called Mariono di Pietruccio di Pietro financed the building of a church [in
express imitation of the church of David in Bethlehem, hence the name
of S. Maria di Betlem]. Pope Boniface VIII granted indulgences to those visiting it on specified feast days, thereby providing a source of finance for the sisters. Traces of this church survive at number 33 Via dei Monasteri.
The sisters faced continual pressure to accept the status of nuns and, after the death of Morbida in 1404, they succumbed. Bishop Federico Frezzi placed them under the authority of the Abbot of of Santa Maria in
Campis, a monastery that belonged to the Cistercian congregation of Corpus Christi. This was the only female community that was ever accepted by the congregation.
In 1572, the monastery of Santa Maria in Campis passed to the Olivetans: it is likely that the nuns also made this change, although the earliest surviving reference to an Olivetan nunnery here dates to 1718. The nunnery grew over the centuries, and housed more than 100 nuns by the 17th century. They therefore needed a new church (see below).
The nunnery was suppressed in the Napoleonic era. It was re-opened early in the 19th century, when it housed four nuns who adhered to the Olivetan Congregation along with a larger group that followed the Augustinian Rule. The community was suppressed and the church was closed in 1862. The nuns re-formed an Augustinian community at Palazzo Pierantoni ( 23, Via Pierantoni) in 1879 and moved to a new nunnery near Sant' Eraclio in 1981.
Present Church
In 1672, the nuns acquired a church and hospice on this site that
belonged to Santa Maria in Campis and began its reconstruction. The new church, which was built in a late Baroque style by Nicolò Mola and Domenico Ferrari, has an elliptical floor plan. It was
consecrated in 1700. Sister Maria Cecilia Roncalli financed the new
high altar in 1736 and the interior seems to have been completed by
1740.
The church was de-consecrated in 1862 and used for a period as a museum and art gallery, was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1979. It re-opened in 2003 after a major restoration and is now used for exhibitions.
The arms above the main portal, depicts two
angels holding a Eucharistic chalice, belong to the Congregation of Corpus Christi. They are mounted between tondi containing busts of
the figures of the Annunciation.
The arms above the closed door to the right of the main entrane belong to the Olivetans.
Communion of the Apostles (ca. 1737)
The important altarpiece by Francesco Trevisani, which remains on the high altar, has been recently restored.
Ring 0742 330580 to arrange a visit.
Return to Walk I.