Nuovi e antichi presbiteri a Roma. I prototipi di Paolo Emilio Sfondrati attraverso le Instructiones borromaiche

This study recalls the Lombardian cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati’s renovation of two martyrial sanctuaries in Rome, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere and Sant’Agnese fuori le mura, from the liturgical and functional perspective. After the famous event of the “inventio” (rediscovery) of the relics of St Cecilia in 1599, the presbytery of the basilica was renewed through the conservation of some medieval elements, like the Arnolfo’s altar canopy, but with a completely new layout: the stairs leading to the clergy space were moved from the nave to the aisles; and the space below the altar was transformed into the martyr sanctuary, displaying the sculpture to the faithful’s worship instead of the relics. The separation of spaces for liturgical action, that of the clerics from that of the faithful, leads to an original architectural model used by Sfondrati in Sant’Agnese fuori le mura. Continuing Alessandro Dei Medici’s renovation of the early medieval building in 1605, Sfondrati built the new square sanctuary as a monument to the martyr, where the altar and the marble canopy are focused on the St Agnes statue more than on the liturgical celebration. In both churches the layout proposed in Borromeo’s Instructiones, corresponding to the model of the presbytery of the old St Peter and followed by Cesare Baronio in his church renovation works, is replaced by a different scheme due to devotional and liturgical needs. While the structure of St Cecilia’s sanctuary was often repeated during the XVII century (e.g. Bernini’s confessio of St Francesca Romana in Santa Maria Nova), it is possible to see the main concept of the St Agnes basilica in the unexecuted project for the Lombards’ church in Rome, San Carlo al Corso, promoted by Sfondrati. The hexagonal cyborium, shown in the 1632 plan by Onorio and Martino Longhi, was set at the centre of the presbytery as a “panoptic temple” to show the relic of St Carlo Borromeo’s heart. The analysis of Sfondrati’s work allows the identification of certain guidelines, followed in the restoration of many Roman churches during the XVII century. Despite being a great promoter of St Carlo Borromeo’s worship, Sfondrati testifies, on an architectural level, the limits of the influence of the Instructiones in Rome, where liturgical arrangements derived mainly from specific worship and devotional issues.

Lo studio, anche dal punto di vista liturgico e funzionale, dell’intervento di rinnovamento della basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, voluto e guidato dal cardinale milanese Paolo Emilio Sfondrati a partire dal 1599, permette di identificare alcune linee guida che hanno informato i numerosi interventi nelle aree presbiteriali delle chiese romane nel corso del Seicento. Il principio di ideale separazione dello spazio dell’azione liturgica da quello devozionale del fedele, codificato nella chiesa trasteverina, viene declinato in Sant’Agnese fuori le Mura, a cui Sfondrati lavora dal 1605, secondo un modello architettonico differente, che prevede la sistemazione del santuario martiriale come monumento isolato e autonomo nello spazio della basilica altomedievale. Un’eco di tale prototipo si può scorgere nella fabbrica di San Carlo al Corso, chiesa dei Lombardi a Roma, promossa dal cardinale, dal 1612 al 1618, nel previsto ciborio esagono per l’altare maggiore, noto attraverso l’incisione del 1632 con il progetto di Onorio e Martino Longhi. Pur essendo un grande promotore del culto di Carlo Borromeo, Sfondrati testimonia, a livello architettonico, i limiti della ricezione delle Instructiones nell’ambiente romano. Il completamento dell’arredo liturgico della chiesa, avvenuto solo sul finire del secolo per volere del milanese Luigi Alessandro Omodei, prevede un altare parietale dotato di pala ed una differente sistemazione della reliquia del cuore di San Carlo, destinata all’altare, nella cappella del deambulatorio.