Church of San Stanislao alle Botteghe Oscure (national church of Poland)

The small church along Via delle Botteghe Oscure, between Piazza Venezia and the sacred area of Torre Argentina, was called in the earliest times San Salvatore in Pensilis and under this name is recorded in some documents of 1174 and 1209. In 1578, however, it was granted by Pope Gregory XIII to the Polish cardinal Stanislaus Hosius, who rebuilt it, dedicating it to St. Stanislaus, patron saint of Poland, and founding a hospice complex for needy Polish pilgrims and expatriates in Rome.

Its present appearance, however, derives from a radical renovation carried out in the first half of the 18th century and involving the side buildings, which preserve beautiful stucco cornices. The church, by then in an advanced state of decay, was in fact entirely rebuilt at the time by Francesco Ferrari, including the façade, divided into two storeys by a band with the original dedicatory inscription. The single-nave interior is rich in stucco works, decorations and paintings by 18th-century Polish artists. The barrel vault is also richly decorated and has a 1774 fresco by Ermenegildo Costantini depicting the glory of St. Stanislaus in the center.

Since 1982, San Stanislao has been the national church of Poland in Rome and has kept alive a number of typical Polish religious traditions: throughout Holy Saturday, for example, the faithful bring small baskets filled with food to be blessed (święconka), which include colored and painted eggs (pisanki), cold cuts, bread and cheese, to be eaten on Easter Sunday.