Publisher's Synopsis
The volume describes the history of the Church of Saints Vincent and Anastasius - located in the Rione Trevi, Rome - from its medieval origins to the early twentieth century. The original design of the Early Medieval building is traced through its transformations, both architectural and decorative, until the total reconstruction promoted from 1646 by Cardinal Giulio Mazarin, Chief Minister of France. Following this initiative, the church was associated for a certain period with the French factions in Rome, culminating in the funeral services of the Cardinal, celebrated there in 1661. The subsequent decorative phases of the church are read in light of the succession of different congregations - first the Order of the Friars of Saint Jerome, then the Caracciolini, followed by the Camillians and finally the Cistercians - and the related constant rearrangement of the interior, each time responding to the changing needs of worship, devotion and taste. Finally, the volume examines a crucial feature of the church throughout its history, namely its status as parish church for the Quirinal Palace, which led it to become the place where the precordia and embalmed hearts of the popes from Sixtus V to Leo XIII are conserved. This final theme includes research on aspects related to the papal ceremonial and the worship of the pontiff's body.
