Santa Barbara dei Librai, Rome

Santa Barbara dei Librai[1] is a small Roman Catholic church in Rome, Italy. It was once known as Santa Barbara alla Regola after the rione in which it was located. Today it now considered within the rione of Parione, near the Campo de' Fiori.

Façade

History

Giuseppe Vasi dates the consecration of the church by 1306, although it is probable that a church existed at the site since the 10-11th century. Inscriptions inside claim that the church was established by Giovanni di Crescenzio de Roizo and his wife Rogata, who was a senator of Rome in the second century. In 1600, it was granted to the confraternity of the Bookmakers (bookbinders, publishers, and scribes) or Librari, who titled the church after St Thomas Acquinas and St John of God as patrons.

During the papacy of Innocent XI, the church was restored. In 1634, after a fire, the confraternity of book makers bought out adjacent properties. The baroque façade was remade by Giuseppe Passeri. The statue of St Barbara over the door was sculpted by Ambrogio Parisi, and the angel painted on a wall is attributed to Guido Reni. The church has paintings by Luigi Garzi; a fresco of St Saba by Giovanni Battista Brughi, pupil of Baciccio, in the chapel of Specchi; and frescoes by Francesco Ragusa and Domenico Monacelli.

The church was used by the confraternity till 1878, but fell into abandon and was deconsecrated. In 1982, it was restored.[2]

The adjacent oratory is sited in the ruins of the Theater of Pompey.

Tryptich by Leonardo da Roma

Among the works of art inside the church are:

  • Tryptich of Madonna and child with John the Baptist and Archangel Michael (1453) by Leonardo da Roma.
  • Crucifixion by Garzi

Sources
  1. Diocese of Rome Archived 2016-07-30 at Archive.today
  2. Itinerario istruttivo per ritrovare con facilità tutte le Magnificenze di Roma e di alcune città, e castelli suburbani. Settima Giornata in Romeartlover.it

C. Hulsen, Le chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo, Firenze 1927 F. Titi, Descrizione delle Pitture, Sculture e Architetture esposte in Roma, Roma 1763

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