119.

Chiesa di S. Grisogono

After S. Maria in Trastevere, Plate 60, S. Crisogono (1) is the largest church in Rione Trastevere (Trastevere meaning across the Tiber, that is, across the river from the main part of the city). The early Christian church was rebuilt on a larger scale in the 12th century, at which time the tall bell tower was added. Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Paul V (1605-1621), commissioned the architect Soria to design both portico and new facade in the 1620s as evidenced by the Borghese dragon and eagle sculptures which crown the portico. The same cardinal also ordered the building of the Oratorio del SS. Sacramento (3) which faces the church across the intervening open space. The street (2) on which it aligns, goes to S. Maria dell’Orto. The side door of S. Crisogono (visible to the left of the bell tower) opens toward the Via della Lungaretta, the main street of Trastevere in Vasi's day, along which we see the prelate striding in the lower right hand corner. In the 1890s the new Viale Trastevere cut through the space between the church and oratorio, causing the latter's demolition along with the monastery attached to S. Crisogono and all the buildings seen in the distance. The satellite image reveals that Viale Trastevere runs roughly perpendicular to the Via della Lungaretta which it replaced as the new main street and expansion axis of modern Trastevere.