MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma)

Interior view

begun 1562
Photo
Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome

As part of his urban improvements to this area of Rome, Pope Pius IV took up the campaign of a Sicilian visionary Antonio del Duca (brother of the architect Giacomo del Duca) that a part of the ancient Baths of Diocletian (AD 298-306) should be re-dedicated for Christian use. Michelangelo was called in to convert the tepidarium into the Carthusian church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (built from 1562). He oriented it north-east/south-west, with the main door and high altar on the short axis and long 'transepts' ending in side-entrances. His interventions were minimal. Because the original groin vaulting and the great rose-granite columns that supported it were largely intact, Michelangelo simply walled off the transepts from the rooms beyond, built a long barrel-vaulted choir behind the altar, whitewashed the vault and tiled the roof. The present opulent interior is the result of a major reworking by Luigi Vanvitelli in the 18th century, which obscures Michelangelo's intentions.

The photo shows the transept with Roman columns.