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The name of the church derives from a small temple dedicated to the
goddess Minerva by Domitian, which stood in an area occupied by many religious buildings,
among them the Isaeum of Campus Martius. Today’s
church, one of the few gothic-style churches in Rome, was built around year 1280, but was
greatly restyled during the 19th century. Both the church and the adjacent
convent constitute one of the most important strongholds of the Dominican Order. The
façade displays plaques recording the level reached by the waters during some of the
worst floods of the Tiber. Many illustrious people are
buried in the church, including Santa Caterina da Siena and Fra’ Giovanni da Fiesole,
a Florentine Dominican better known as Fra’ or Beato Angelico.
 This outstanding artist
died in Rome, where he had arrived to execute some frescoes in the Vatican Palace. His
tomb is visible from the first chapel on the left of the main altar. Saint Catherine
instead lived in a house nearby (in via Santa Caterina) and the entire room in which she
died was reconstructed in the sacristy of the church; his tomb is visible under the main
altar. Many chapels along the naves belong to some of the most illustrious families and
hold some real artistic treasures. One must not miss the Carafa chapel, frescoed by the
Florentine artist Filippino Lippi in 1489 (Stories of Saint Thomas Aquinas) the statue of
the Saviour sculpted by Michelangelo between 1519 and 1520.
Accessibility
The church is not easily accessible for those using wheel-chairs. This is because, in
spite of the fact that there are ramps them inside the church, the front entrance stairway
(six steps measuring about 16 centimetres) plus the raised step at the entrace itself have
no ramp. For some visitors, the back entrance on via Beato Angelico (three steps).
in the photo: interior of the church |
