Santa Maria dell'Archetto

It is considered the smallest church of Rome. Located in the end of a narrow street, it was built in 1851 with neoclassical taste.The building of the church is tied to a miraculous event: in 1690 Marchioness Papazzurri made one stick up the image of the Virgin along the narrow street.On the 9th of July 1796 the image supposedly moved the pupils. The fact recalled many pilgrims to the exent that the narrow street was closed withan iron gate. On that place a small newsstand was built, substituted with a little church by Virginio Vespignani dedicated to the Madonna dell’Archetto. The church was then open to the public in 1859. The interior is based on a Latin cross with a panelled ceiling with golden stucco. On the altar stands the image of the Virgin within a frame of gilded wood.