Chiesa Nuova

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  • Address
    Piazza della Chiesa Nuova, Parione
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  • Phone
    06 687 52 89
  • Transport
    bus: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II

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Lonely Planet review

Something of a misnomer, Chiesa Nuova is far from new. It was built in 1575 as part of a larger complex to house members of Filippo Neri's Oratorian order. A popular and charismatic figure, Neri founded his order in the mid-16th century to help Rome's poor and needy. Originally he'd wanted a large, plain church, but after his death in 1595 the artists moved in.

Rubens contributed the paintings over the high altar, and Pietro da Cortona decorated the dome, tribune and nave. Neri was canonised in 1622 and is buried in a chapel to the left of the apse. Next to the church is Borromini's Oratorio dei Filippini and behind it is the Torre dell'Orologio, a clock tower built to decorate the adjacent convent.