Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore


Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in Rome's Piazza Navona.
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History

An earlier church, San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, had been erected in the same place, on the ruins of the Stadium of Domitian, in the 12th century.
The first mention of this church is in the will of Henry of Castile, son of King Ferdinand III of Castile, who had given money to build it in 1259.
The edifice was rebuilt for the Holy Year of 1450 using a gift from Alfonso de Paradinas, canon of the Cathedral of Seville. The façade, once facing the opposite side than now, was designed by Bernardo Rossellino. Pope Alexander VI, of Spanish origin, later had a square carved out in front of it, moving two hospices for Spanish pilgrims.
Starting in 1506 San Giacomo was the national church of the kingdom of Castile in Rome. 1518 It was again remodeled in 1518 by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger.
In keeping with the Council of Trent's greater emphasis on the Eucharist, in 1549 Prince Philip of Spain donated funds to commission Gaspar Becerra to provide a gold tabernacle.

Interior

Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore is the earliest of the few hall churches in Rome.
Most of the works of art and funerary monuments in the church were transferred to Santa Maria in Monserrato. What remains in the church are some Renaissance works, such as a chancel in polychrome marble and the marble backdrop behind the high altar. The altarpiece of the Assumption of the Virgin with Glory of Angels and Apostles was made by Flemish-born painter Francisco de Castello.
The Cappella di San Giacomo is also intact. Commissioned as a mortuary chapel by Cardinal Jaume Serra i Cau, it was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and holds a statue of St. James by Jacopo Sansovino. (There is a copy in Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli.
Some of the paintings of the Herrera Chapel were transferred to Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona and some to Museo del Prado in Madrid.

List of Cardinal Protectors