The essay examines the complex events of the block where the Roman Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori monastery in Trastevere
stands, from its development which dates back to a private emphyteutic apportionment under the reign of Pope Sixtus V to
its slow transformation into a nunnery complex under the initiative of Duchess Camilla Virginia Savelli from 1641 onwards.
Over a period of almost twenty years, the noblewoman appropriated all the property on the block, it either being donated
by Marquis Giulio Cesare Pandini or acquired from his heirs under the iuris congrui law of Gregory XIII, and progressively
transformed the property into a nunnery. The acquisition, completed in 1658, was preceded by the ex-novo construction of a
monumental wing and church designed by Borromini (from 1642).
The architect had to draw up his plans around a context that
had been entirely constructed but was still largely undefined. The essay reconstructs the urban context, the consistency of the
pre-existing elements incorporated into the monastery as well as the architectural origins of Borromini’s plans.
The architect
from Ticino, indulging his client, developed the church plan and its relationship to the nun’s residence by strictly conforming
to Carlo Borromeo’s Instructiones for nunneries.
