After 1667, the old medieval church of S. Maria in Portico in Campitelli was replaced by a Baroque structure. Graphic and documentary sources confirm the existence of a ciborium dating from around 1300 that was signed by Deodato. The icon venerated in the Baroque S. Maria in Campitelli together with most of its medieval reliquaries comes from the old church of S. Maria in Portico. The history of the former medieval church that we know today as S. Maria in Campitelli goes back as far as the 12th century; the first mention is in Cencius's Liber Censuum from 1192. A dedication of the church by Pope Honorius III in 1218 suggests a renewal and confirms the presence of numerous relics in the sanctuary. There are no remains of the medieval church, no surviving descriptions or images, except for a bell tower illustrated in Antonio Tempesta's map of 1593. A reliquary dating back to around 1300 has been preserved. In 1662, under the pontificate of Alexander VII, work began on the new church of S. Maria in Campitelli and was completed in 1675. An important relic, a Marian icon, was transferred from the old church to the new one in 1667 and became the centrepiece of the high altar. The Capizucchi family financed Deodatus' work on the relic ciborium, which reflected the architectural style of the late 13th century. The structure consisted of a tabernacle supported by four columns, and contained relics protected by grates that could only be opened with two keys. This ciborium, although not standing since 1655, was depicted in a 1690 engraving by Ciampini, when the ciborium was already in a fragmentary state, based on drawings by the Capizucchi family. To have a relic ciborium in a relatively modest parish church suggests an important rivalry between noble families and a desire to attract pilgrims; the presence of prestigious relics, such as the thorns from Christ's crown, indicates the churches' aspiration to compete with the major Roman shrines for the attention of the faithful.

Abb. 61-MariainCampitelli_001.tifDownload
Rom, S. Maria in Campitelli, Ausschnitt Tempesta-Plan 1593 (nach Ehrle, Tempesta 1932)
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Abb. 62-MariainCampitelli_002.tifDownload
Rom, S. Maria in Campitelli, Teile eines ehemaligen Reliquienziboriums (nach Ciampini, Vet. Mon. 1690)
BY-NC-SA 4.0
Number in map
59
Church name
S. Maria in Campitelli
Existing
Coordinates
41.89304, 12.47922
Address
Piazza di Campitelli 9
Rione
Campitelli (X)
Nolli's map #
989
Chronology
12th century; second half 13th century
Keywords
Baroque reconstruction, Deodatus, relics, Liber Censuum, Cencio Camerario, Pope Honorius III, bell tower, Pope Alexander VII, Marian enamel image, tabernacle, ciborium for relics; Deodatus, Deodatus, Capizucchi family, reliquary, thorn of Christ's crown
Research status
Completed
2D