Santa Maria Sopra Minerva was the second Dominican Basilica in Rome. In the late 13th century, the site was ceded to the Dominicans by the nuns of Santa Maria. The transfer was ratified in 1279 by Aldobrandino Cavalcanti, a Dominican and Vicar to Gregory X, and construction on the current site began in 1280. Calvalcanti's relationship to Gregory X highlights the importance of Papal connections for the advancement of the order. These connections is what brought the well-positioned Basilica into Dominican hands. Its proximity to the center of Rome, north of Tiber bend, allowed easier access to the urban population. It would eventually become the preeminent Dominican church of Rome, demonstrating the importance of space for the success of these churches and their orders. Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is a rare example of Gothic architecture from medieval Rome, replicating Santa Maria Novella in Florence. It’s pointed arches, quatrefoil compound piers, small stained-glass windows, and vaulted aisles/nave are all elements of Gothic design, which was typically very unpopular in medieval Rome due to its more traditional aesthetic leanings. The original Dominican Gothic structure had a nave six bays long, a transept, a polygonal apse, two side chapels, and two aisles. In the 14th century, six other side chapels were added to the building. Like most Dominican churches, it was split into an Eastern friar’s church and a Western laymen church, but Santa Maria had no clear dividing line and allowed visitations to the Eastern side chapels, displaying a less rigid spatial structure than Santa Sabina and perhaps a more ministerial purpose. Large parts of the original church were transformed in the Renaissance, Baroque, and premodern periods, including the facade, which was a 16th century Renaissance construction. Much of the churches design received modifications in the 19th century when Girolamo Bianchedi redesigned the church into a Neo-Gothic look, pointing more arches and windows, adding ribbed vaultings, and replacing the 16th century windows with rose designs. Near the main altar is a 19th century marble effigy of St. Catherine, a Dominican Saint who died in Rome in 1380, marking her current burial place. She was originally housed in the chapel of Saint Dominic, to the left of the transept. After her canonization in 1461 by Pope Pius II, she was moved in 1466 by Cardinal Angelo Capranica to the Capranica chapel, elevating the importance of the family space. In 1449 the chapel was originally given to Cardinal Domenico Capranica, who had a relationship with Pius, to house the family tombs and was later inherited by his family. The wall frescoes were commissioned by the Capranica family in the 16th century as part of an agreement with the Dominican Pope Pius V for allowing the chapel’s name to change to Rosary. They depict scenes from the life of Saint Catherine. Other decorations show the Rosary, the Capranica family, and the Madonna. These range from the 16th to 18th century.
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