Santi Giovanni Evangelista e Petronio

Santi Giovanni e Petronio dei Bolognesi is a Roman Catholic church in central Rome, Italy. It is named after the Saints John the Evangelist and Petronius, who are patrons of the city of Bologna. This church was made the "national church" of the Bolognese in Rome in 1581, by order of Pope Gregory XIII. It is located in the Rione of Regola, on Via del Mascherone, across the street and just south of the Gardens behind the Palazzo Farnese. It is today the "regional church" of Emilia-Romagna.

Santi Giovanni Evangelista e Petronio
Church of Saints John the Evangelist and Petronius
Santi Giovanni e Petronio dei Bolognesi
Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni Evangelista e Petronio
Facade
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
41°53′39″N 12°28′14″E
Location	Via del Mascherone 61, Rome
Country	Italy
Language(s)	Italian
Denomination	Catholic
Tradition	Roman Rite
Website	sangiorgioinvelabro.com
History
Status	titular church, regional church
Dedication	John the Evangelist and Petronius of Bologna
Dedicated	1700
Architecture
Architect(s)	Ottaviano Nonni
Style	Baroque
Groundbreaking	10th/11th century AD
Completed	1582
Administration
Diocese	Rome

Latin inscription ("To the Divine John the Evangelist and Petronius dedicated 1700")

Mention of a parish church on the site was mentioned by 1186, and it was attached to the church of San Lorenzo in Damaso. At the Time it had a name of Sanctae Thomae de Yspanis (of Spain), and later San Tommaso dei Muratori, or della Catena, or dei Frati. The church was in disrepair, when Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni, commissioned the Bolognese architect Ottaviano Mascherino to rebuild it as the national church of his countrymen. An adjacent oratory was built in 1601, but later razed. The facade was rebuilt in the late 17th century. The church property was once expropriated but returned to the church in 1940.

Most of the artists originally decorating the church were Bolognese, but many of the paintings were removed and some are lost. The painting to the right of the altar about the Transit of St Joseph was painted by Francesco Gessi, while the painting of Santa Caterina da Bologna (now lost) was painted by Giovanni Giuseppe dal Sole. The main altarpiece with a Virgin, Baby Jesus, and Saints John the Evangelist and Petronio was painted by Domenichino; it is now in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini of Rome. The missing altarpieces are replaced by works from unattributed artists. The tomb of Alessandro Algardi was destroyed. The virtues frescoed on the pennants were by Pompeo Aldrovandini.

It is a titular church. Its Cardinal-Priests have been:

• Giacomo Biffi (1985–2015)
• Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo (2016–present)

Sources

• Nyborg
• Titi, Filippo (1763). Descrizione delle Pitture, Sculture e Architetture esposte in Roma. Marco Pagliarini, Rome. pp. 105–106.