Address, hours, tickets

The address of the Chiesa dei Santi Bartolomeo and Alessandro dei Bergamaschi is Via di Pietra, 70 – Rome (tel. +39 0669920723). Bus: 51, 62, 63, 81, 83, 85, 117, 160, 492, 628, N12, N25, N4, N5, N6.. Opening hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.. Sunday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Entrance fee: free of charge.

History and description

The Santi Bartolomeo and Alessandro dei Bergamaschi Church was built in 1562. It belonged to the Ospedale dei Pazzarelli (“Hospital of the Crazy Ones”) and was then still called Santa Maria dell Pietà. In 1725 the church was restored by Carlo de Dominicis and given its current name. Another church, previously dedicated to the two patron saints of Bergamo, continued from then on under the name of San Macuto.

The interior of the church is characterized by a single nave. There are three chapels on each side. The vault is decorated with plasterwork and frescoes by an unknown master of the 19th century.

In reality, the church, along with the Oratory of the Brotherhood of the Bergamaschi, is part of a complex located between Piazza Colonna, Via dei Bergamaschi, Piazza di Pietra and Via di Pietra.

The architect tasked with renovating the entire complex was Gabriele Valvassori. Work on the oratory itself lasted from 1729 to 1733.

There is no real facade, but the entrance to the complex is in the courtyard of the building.

The walls and vault are much more lavishly decorated than the austere architecture of the building would suggest. The wooden carved panels on the walls date from the 16th century and were originally featured in the first Oratorio dei Bergamaschi in the San Macuto Church. Many of the paintings adorning the oratory, depicting mainly ecclesiastical dignitaries, also used to grace what is now the San Macuto Church.

Most of the complex still belongs to the fraternity.

Via di Pietra, 70 – Rome