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The church was erected at the end of the 15th century but the
construction we see today and the works inside date mainly to the 17th and 18th
centuries. The church itself is linked mainly to the memory of San Camillo de Lellis,
(1550-1614) an energetic Saint who cared above all for the destitute and the sick. From
his seventeenth to his twenty-fifth birthday Camillo was a soldier of fortune.
 Being
addicted to gambling, he eventually lost all his property, and became a day labourer. He
was converted after hearing a sermon in year 1575, and tried vainly to join the Franciscan
Order, but was refused because he had meanwhile contracted a disease of the leg. He thus
decided to turn his energies towards the reformation of the Roman hospitals, where he
found gross inadequacies, brutalities, and ignorance. He sent out the first recorded
nursing unit to troops in the field. He died overcome by his sickness, having founded a
new religious order that bears his name to this day.
The church itself has a delightful façade which can truly be called one of the most
successful creations of the late Baroque style called rococò: niches, statues,
broken architraves and stucco decorations lighten up the small piazza. Inside we find the
same amazing variety of inlaid stone, marbles and gilded stuccoes. The church has a
beautiful organ, and splendid frescoes by the Portuguese painter Esteban Parrocel decorate
the dome. If you have time, ask to see the church sacristy: the architecture, the frescoes
and the 18th century furniture form a very pleasant harmonious interior.Accessibility
The church is not accessible for people in wheelchairs, as there is are three steps (12
centimetres high) leading to the entrance.
in the photo: façade of the church of La Maddalena |
