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The Church of St Vincent Ferrer in Mandela: Roman Baroque in the village loved by Horace
In the heart of Mandela, the Castello del Gallo is flanked by the Church of St Vincent Ferrer, built between 1726 and 1730 at the behest of Marquis Vincenzo Nuñez Sanchez. The design is by the architect Girolamo Theodoli, who also worked on Santa Maria dei Miracoli (St Mary of the Miracles) in Rome. The result is a luminous and restrained Baroque style, set within the Aniene valley that Horace celebrated two thousand years ago.
The frescoes and artworks
The interior, consisting of a single nave with a barrel vault, houses frescoes by two masters of the Accademia di San Luca: Michelangelo Cerruti, on either side of the high altar, and Giovanni Odazzi, on the central altarpiece. Both depict episodes from the life of the Valencian Dominican saint. In the first chapel on the left is one of the earliest statues dedicated to the Immaculate Conception following the proclamation of the dogma in 1854. On the right is a Black Madonna, which according to tradition is the original statue of Loreto.
The crypt
The Nuñez Sanchez and del Gallo families lie in the crypt beneath the church, including Luigi del Gallo, bishop and secretary to four popes.
