Arciconfraternita dei Bolognesi in Rome

History

a little bologna in rome

With the final annexation of Bologna to the Papal State occurred in 1506 at the hands of Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere, 1503-1513), the Papal State – torn apart by the divisions of the previous pontificate of Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia, 1492-1503) – found its political unity and further expanded its borders. Julius II, playing the role of re-founder of the greatness of Rome in the light of Christian doctrine, immediately launched a far-reaching building-monumental program, a renovatio Urbis capable of looking at the ancient to re-propose the greatness of the new Christian Rome.

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archconfraternity’s

history

The Arciconfraternita dei Bolognesi in Rome was officially established with a bull dated April 1^st, 1576 by Gregory XIII (1572-1585) (fig. 17), with which the Bolognese Pope, Ugo Boncompagni, actually confirmed the association, already approved orally by him, «vivae vocis oraculo”, on the 24^th of September, 1575.

Formally, he supported a desire of the Bolognese residents in Rome to establish a national brotherhood in view of the Holy Year and to welcome fellow countrymen pilgrims, but Gregory’s biographer suggests that it was the Pope himself who urged it…

The myth of Algardi’s tomb

Among those buried in the church of Saints John the Evangelist & Petronius, the best known is undoubtedly the sculptor Alessandro Algardi. Born in Bologna in 1594, Algardi probably arrived in Rome in 1625 and remained there until his death, in 1654. The artist is especially known for his great relief in marble of Pope Leo I and Attila in San Pietro; the marble group of the Beheading of Saint Paul in the church of San Paolo in Bologna; the delicate stucco decoration of the Casino del Bel Respiro in Villa Pamphilj in Rome; and the numerous bronze statuettes and reliefs made from his models. Algardi also made numerous busts and portraits, many of which are in church tombs in Rome and other places. However, a sepulchral monument to his memory apparently does not exist …