Church of Sant'Egidio

Overlooking a small but lively square in the Rione Trastevere, the church stands close to the foundation site of the older San Lorenzo in Janiculo or de curtibus. In the early 17th century, the little church was in poor condition: the Chapter of the nearby Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere then granted it to a wealthy and devout butcher called Agostino Lancellotti, who undertook to restore it, re-dedicated it to the saint hermit Giles and gave it to the Discalced Carmelite nuns. In 1630, through the generosity of Prince Filippo Colonna, the nuns decided to rebuild the church from the ground up, also dedicating it to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as can still be read on the entrance portal: “B.V. Mariae de Monte Carmelo dicatvm a. salutis MDCXXX”.

The simple façade has a single storey, with a large decorated window and Corinthian pilasters supporting an entablature and triangular pediment. The interior has a single nave and preserves the funerary monument of the marchioness Veronica Rondonini Origo, designed by Carlo Fontana, and a canvas depicting St. Giles by Pomarancio. After 1870 the Carmelite nuns’ monastic complex was expropriated by the Italian state. Part of the former convent now houses the Museo di Roma in Trastevere while another part is the main headquarters of the Community of Sant’Egidio.

Painted on the side wall of the church, there is one of the largest and most striking Roman “Madonnella”, dedicated to “Our Lady of Mount Carmel”: the Virgin Mary is depicted in heaven, seated on the clouds and with her arms raised, among angels and cherub heads.