Santa Maria Portae Paradisi

Santa Maria Portae Paradisi is a catholic church in Rome, in the Rione Campo Marzio, along via di Ripetta.

History
The church, already known in the 9th century with the name Santa Maria in Augusta, received the title in Porta Paradisi, or simply Portae Paradisi (Latin: "of the Gates of Heaven"), because it stood near one of the doors of the walls that surrounded the nearby Mausoleum of Augustus, also called paradiseiois. Another explanation is that nearby there was the cemetery (closed in 1836 for health reasons, due to a cholera outbreak) of the Hospital of San Giacomo in Augusta, also called degli Incurabili (Italian: of the incurable). The church was used for funeral ceremonies as it was close to the ancient hospital cemetery.

In the 16th century the church was rebuilt by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and on that occasion took the current name. Its facade, giving on via di Ripetta, is preceded by a little porch and incorporates a marble relief depicting a Madonna and Child, attributed to Andrea Sansovino. The interior has an octagonal plan and preserves works of art of the 17th century by Pietro Paolo Ubaldini, Cosimo Fancelli, Paolo Naldini. The pipe organ  opus 447 , made in 1962 by organ builder Tamburini, with 18 registers on two manuals and pedal, is located above the counter-façade.

Related pages

 * San Giacomo degli Incurabili