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Santa Maria del Carmine e del Monte Libano is a tiny deconsecrated 18th century chapel, also known as the Tempietto del Carmelo, at Vicolo dei Costaguti on the edge of the Ghetto in the rione Sant'Angelo.

The dedication is to the Blessed Virgin Mary

History[]

The chapel was erected in 1759 and restored in 1825, as a small subsidiary dedicatory inscription declares. It was originally built by a local family to contain an icon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which seems to have been lost since.

However, it became associated with proselytising sermons to which the Jewish inhabitants of the Ghetto were forced to listen. After the conquest of the Papal States such activity ceased, and the chapel was deconsecrated. It served as a cobbler’s workshop until the 1960’s, and was very badly treated. The dome fell in in 2000, so a restoration was undertaken in 2004.

2011 Carmel casula

Exterior[]

The structure has a slightly elliptical dome, emerging from the building behind (the dome is cut off behind its apex), supported by six columns with Doric capitals. Two of these are at the rear, and the others form two pairs either side of the wide entrance. They support an architrave with an inscription reading Gloria Libani data est ei, decor Carmeli et Saron (from Isaiah 35:2, “The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the beauty of Carmel and Sharon”). There are no walls, instead of which original iron railings are in between the columns.

Interior[]

The Carrara marble and bardaglio floor is a reconstruction based on the derelict fragments of the original.

In the inside of the dome is an image of the dove of the Holy Spirit in stucco.

The building now contains wrought iron sculptures by Ivan Barlafante Abruzzo and Goncalo Mabunda.

External links[]

Italian Wikipedia page

Photo

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