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Church of the Holy Stigmata of St Francis: the Baroque that hid Mameli
Just a stone's throw from the chaos of Largo di Torre Argentina in Rome, the Church of the Santissime Stimmate di San Francesco lies hidden in plain sight. Many people walk past it, yet inside is a Baroque masterpiece connected to the school of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Its history is remarkable: built on an ancient site, it guards a precious reliquary and a secret from the Italian Risorgimento.
A marble theatre on the façade
The façade, the work of Antonio Canevari, is itself a small theatre. A grand window frames the statue of St Francis receiving the stigmata. The sculptor is almost certainly Antonio Raggi, for thirty years one of Bernini's most trusted collaborators. It is a detail that reveals the extraordinary artistic quality of this place, so often overlooked by tourists.
From lime kilns to the blood of St Francis
But it was not always known by this name. In the Middle Ages, this was the site of the calcare, the kilns that burned ancient marble to produce lime. The original church was dedicated to the "Santi Quaranta Martiri de calcarario" (Forty Holy Martyrs of the Lime-Kiln). A Confraternity rebuilt it in the 18th century, and dedicated it to the saint. Today, the sacristy preserves a unique relic: a vial containing the blood of St Francis.
The hiding place of a Risorgimento hero
The church also holds a secret connected to Goffredo Mameli. After the fall of the Roman Republic in 1849, the body of the composer of the Italian national anthem was buried here in secret. Only after the Breach of Porta Pia in 1870 were his remains sought, found here, and finally transferred to the Janiculum Hill.
The church is located in Largo delle Stimmate. It is an active place of worship; entrance is free, in respect of religious services.
