Sant'Andrea delle Fratte

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Sant'Andrea delle Fratte is a 17th century basilica church in Rome, devoted to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis is Ennio Cardinal Antonelli.

Facade of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte.

The current church was built over a pre-existing one, erected in 1192, called infra hortes ("between orchards", whence the name fratte, "woods") for it was located in a countryside area. It was the national church of the Scottish people in Rome, until 1585, when Pope Sixtus V donated it to the Minor Friars of San Francesco di Paola.

In 1604 the construction of the new church was begun, under the design of Gaspare Guerra. The project, halted eight years later, was revamped in 1653 by Francesco Borromini, who is responsible of the apse, the tambour of the cupola and the fine square campanile with four orders. After his death, the construction was continued by Mattia De Rossi. The late Renaissance style façade, with two orders divided by parastades, was completed in 1826.

The dome and Borromini's bell tower.

The interior has a single nave. The decoration of the cupola is by Pasquale Marini. Along the nave in the first chapel is a wooden ‘’tempietto’’ (temple) (1674) painted by Borgognone and on the wall is a “Baptism of Christ” of Ludovico Gimignani. In the third chapel, is a funeral monument of the Cardinal Carafa sculpted by Pietro Bracci. In the cloister, the lunettes are frescoed with stories from the life of San Francesco by Marini, Francesco Cozza, and Filippo Gherardi. In the transept, the altar (1736) was designed by Filippo Barigioni, the altarpiece of San Francesco di Paola was painted by Paris Nogari, the stuccoed angels were added by Giovanni Battista Maini. The presbitery dome has a fresco of the Multiplication of bread and fish by Marini. Behind the altar, is a Crucifixion of Sant’Andrea by Giovanni Battista Lenardi, the Entombment of Sant’Andrea by Francesco Trevisani, and a Death of Sant’Andrea of Lazzaro Baldi. The sides of the presbitery are Angels (1668-9) sculpted by Bernini for the Ponte Sant’Angelo, but then moved here and replaced on the bridge with copies. In the left transept, the altar was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli and Giuseppe Valadier with an altarpiece of Saints Anne, Young John the baptist, and Mary by Giuseppe Bottani. In the third chapel on the left is a Madonna of the Miracle of Domenico Bartolini, to commemorate the place where supposedly, on 20 January 1842, Mary, mother of Christ, appeared to a Jewish young man, Maria Alphonse Ratisbonne, causing him to convert to Catholicism. In order to honor this visitation, the benches of the church are oriented to this altar.