Santa Maria della Vittoria

Doug was able to get to this church which was missed on our last trip due to the thunderstorms on the day planned. This is considered the best example of Baroque church design. Saint Mary of Victory, was built from 1608 to 1620, as a chapel dedicated to Saint Paul for the Discalced Carmelites. After the Catholic victory at the battle of White Mountain in 1620, which was attributed to a miracle of the enemy blinded by light from the Chaplain's medallion, the church was rededicated to the Virgin Mary and fundraising allowed for a much more elaborate design. When the Borghese Hermaphroditus was discovered in the excavations, Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, appropriated this sculpture and in return, funded the work on the façade and lent his architect.

The vault was frescoed in 1675 with triumphant themes within shaped compartments with feigned frames: The Virgin Mary Triumphing over Heresy and Fall of the Rebel Angels executed by Giovanni Domenico Cerrini in 1675.

The masterpiece here is Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Scipione's favored sculptor, Bernini. The statues depict a moment as described by Saint Teresa of Avila in her autobiography, where she had the vivid vision of a Seraph piercing her heart with a golden shaft, causing her both immense joy and pain. The flowing robes and contorted posture abandon classical restraint and repose to depict a more passionate, almost voluptuous trance. to much controversy among Italian versions of the Puritans.Read more