Santo Stanislao dei Polacchi

41°53′41″N 12°28′45″E / 41.8948°N 12.4793°E / 41.8948; 12.4793Location15 Via delle Botteghe Oscure, Sant'Angelo, RomeCountryItalyLanguage(s)PolishDenominationCatholicTraditionRoman RiteWebsiteduszpasterstwopolakowwrzymie.comHistoryStatusnational churchFounded1735DedicationStanislaus of SzczepanówArchitectureArchitect(s)Francesco Ferrari Architectural typeBaroqueCompleted1735AdministrationDioceseRome

Santo Stanislao dei Polacchi (Saint Stanislaus of the Poles, Polish: Kościół św. Stanisława Biskupa i Męczennika w Rzymie), also known as San Stanislao alle Botteghe Oscure, is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, sited on Via delle Botteghe Oscure [it] in the Sant'Angelo rione. It is the national church of Poland in Rome.

History

It is on the site of the medieval church San Salvatore in pensilis^[1] de Sorraca,^[2] built on the remains of the Circus Flaminius (and recorded in several documents between 1174 and 1209). An inscription now housed in the entrance of the Palazzo Busiri on via Aurora (all that remains of the medieval church) refers to this church's rebuilding being completed on 28 October 1285 "per venerabilem Hieronymum episcopum Prenestinum".

Pope Gregory XIII granted the church to the Polish cardinal Stanislaus Hosius, who completely rebuilt the church in 1580 – it became Poland's national church in Rome, re-dedicated to the country's patron saint, Stanislaus of Kraków. Its present appearance dates to its rebuilding in the 18th century by Ignazio Brocchi, architect to Stanisław August Poniatowski, king of Poland. Its façade is by Francesco Ferrari and dates to 1735.

Description

Its interior is a single nave, with a ceiling painting by Ermenegildo Costantini of The Glory of Saint Stanislaus. The high altarpiece by Antiveduto Gramatica (late 16th century) shows Jesus and saints Stanislaus and Hyacinth. The church also contains works by Taddeo Kuntze and other Polish artists of the 18th century.

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