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Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Ronciglione: where the relics of a martyr are preserved
The Church of the Most Holy Rosary is located in Ronciglione, along the road that Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had built in 1575. Constructed as an oratory for the Confraternity of the Rosary between 1592 and 1626, it is an example of harmonious and well-proportioned Baroque architecture.
From Via Farnesiana to Via del Rosario
Via del Rosario did not exist before the Farnese family. The inscription on the façade of the former Palazzo Cacciati tells how Cardinal Alessandro Farnese ordered the clearing of an area overgrown with brambles and the construction of a road there. It was called Via Farnesiana, but later took the name of the church that was built along it.
The skeleton of St Faustus and two Berninian angels
On the altar of the presbytery, inside a copper urn with glass panels, the skeleton of St Faustus the Martyr can be seen. The relics arrived from Rome on 3 October 1673, recovered from the catacombs during explorations initiated by Bosio. In the chapel to the right of the main altar there are two marble statues from the Bernini school: an Angel with the Veil of Veronica and an Angel with a Crown of Thorns.
Beyond the façade
The façade is made of stone and lime, in Baroque style. The church has a single nave with an easy-to-miss transept and a dome, three altars, marble-tile flooring, a wooden coffered ceiling, and a bell gable with a single bell. The church still preserves its original organ and some banners from the Battle of Lepanto.
