Name of Monument:

Church of Assunta

Also known as:

Ariccia Rotunda

Location:

Ariccia, Rome, Latium, Italy

Date:

1662–64

Artists:

Architecture: Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680); interior stucco decoration: Pietro Paolo Naldini (1619–91); paintings: Guglielmo Cortese (1628–79), Ludovico (1643–97) and Giacinto Gimignani (1611–81), Emilio Taruffi (1633–96), Alessandro Mattia da Farnese (1631–post 1681), Raffaello Vanni (1587–1673) and Bernardino Mei (1612–76)

Denomination / Type of monument:

Religious architecture, church

Patron(s):

Pope Alexander VII Chigi (1655–67)

History:

The ancient and dilapidated basilica of Santa Maria Assunta was located in the lower part of the village in a location that Pope Alexander VII did not deem representative of the country. It was decided, therefore, that the old church should be demolished and a new church built opposite the palace to act as the background to Piazza di Corte – helped also by the presence of two side wings that resemble the colonnade of St. Peter’s – and at the same time, to be a connecting element between the palace and the village below it. It was built between 1662 and 1664.

Description:

In designing the central-plan building, Bernini was deliberately and clearly inspired by the Pantheon both in terms of the large low dome, and the three-arched vestibule surmounted by a tympanum with the coat of arms of the pope that forms its entrance. The interior has three chapels on each side and a large apse at the end. It is characterised by a series of decorative stucco devices by Pietro Paolo Naldini in dazzling white barely interrupted by the gold of the inscription that runs along the cornice and the dove of the Holy Spirit in the lantern. The Chigi coat of arms, or the individual elements that make it up (star, mountains, oak), is present almost obsessively in the cupola, on the floor and on the balustrade of the high altar, on the entrance door and on the top of the entrance arches of the chapel. The bowl-shaped vault of the apse is frescoed by Guglielmo Cortese with the Assumption of the Virgin, from 1664, in which the artist, adapting and contributing to Bernini’s project, combines the classical approach of the individual figures of the apostles at the bottom, with the illusionistic Baroque language that can be seen in the representation of the masses, in movement according to a circular and upwards movement, that culminates in the representation of the Virgin in heaven. The paintings of the altars – albeit with different interpretations depending on the influence exerted on them by Bernini’s strong artistic personality ­– from the complex content often laden with allegorical meanings, underline the intention to characterise this church as a Court church intended for a cultured and theologically prepared public. In this building many of the typical elements of the language of the Roman Baroque are brought together, for example, reference to the ancient, the function of urban development interpreted scenically, the coexistence in a single project of the various arts (architecture, sculpture, painting and the minor arts) and, finally, a dynamic and animated design that represents the intention to underline theatrical effects and fundamental illusionism to touch the spectator emotionally.

The central-plan building, also called the Ariccia Rotunda is deliberately and clearly inspired by the Pantheon both in terms of the large low dome, and the three-arched vestibule surmounted by a tympanum with the coat of arms of the pope that forms its entrance. The interior, with three chapels on each side and a large frescoed rear apse painted with the Assumption of the Virgin, is characterised by a series of decorative stucco devices and paintings of the altars, the subjects of which characterise the church as a Court church, intended for a cultured and theologically prepared public.

Selected bibliography:

Mignosi Tantillo, A. M., “I Chigi ad Ariccia nel ‘600”, L’arte per i papi e per i principi nella campagna romana, II, Rome 1990, pp. 69–114.
Petrucci, F., “Bernini, Flavio Chigi ed Ariccia: un Rinascimento barocco”, L’Ariccia del Bernini, Rome 1998, pp. 25–29.
Baiocchi, G. and Indrio, L., “Chiesa dell’Assunta”, I Principi della Chiesa, Milan 1998, pp. 210–211.
Petrucci, F., “La piazza di Corte nel tempo” in Piazza di Corte: il recupero dell’immagine berniniana …, (M. Natoli, ed.) Rome 2000, pp. 1–20.

Citation of this web page:

Laura Indrio "Church of Assunta" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;it;Mon13;26;en

Prepared by: Laura Indrio
Translation by: Laurence Nunny
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: IT1 26