It was built in 1628 by the Roman humanist Giovanni Vittorio de Rossi in the vineyard he owned at the top of Monte Mario. In 1651 it was enlarged by the friars of the monastery of Sant'Onofrio, to whom the church had passed into their ownership, and the work was entrusted to the architect Camillo Arcucci. Abandoned for a while, in the early 18th century it was again restored and enlarged in 1726 by architect Filippo Raguzzini, who renovated the façade and interior. After the ruins and abandonment by the Napoleonic armies, the church was restored by Gregory XVI, who added the double flight of stairs. A parish church from 1828 to 1904, the adjoining convent has been home to a community of cloistered Dominican nuns since 1931. The self-portrait of the Dominican nun Anna Vittoria Dolara (1764-1827) is preserved there.
As mentioned, a double flight of stairs leads to the façade, with a single order and tripartite Ionic pilaster strips; a plaque commemorating the presence of the composer Franz Liszt in the convent between 1862 and 1866 is walled in. The church is surmounted by a dome and flanked by a small bell tower.
The interior has an elliptical plan, with a high altar and two chapels on each side. On the high altar, enclosed in a stucco-framed niche, is a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary. Among the most valuable works preserved in the church are:
a Madonna and Child, a 15th century painting by Antoniazzo Romano
a canvas depicting St Dominic and St Catherine of Siena by Michelangelo Cerruti;
a painted wooden panel, a 7th-8th century Byzantine icon, called the Madonna of St Luke, because it is traditionally attributed to the evangelist; it has been in Rome since 1219.
The left hand of St Catherine of Siena is preserved in the monastery.
Information
For the timetable of the masses and visiting conditions, please consult the contacts.
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Location
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