CHURCH OF MERCY (Chiesa della Misericordia)

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION

THE EXTERIOR

Erected in the Rione della Rocca, it is the oldest church in the village of Soriano, as evidenced by medieval wall remains, with narrow single-lancet arched windows, still evident, on the right wall of the building. In the Renaissance period it underwent substantial changes, a period in which the two portals were built: one on the facade, the other on the left side. On the outside of the building, a stone oval, which encloses a painting with a male face, bears the inscription S. Giov of God. During the eighteenth century, Mercy took on its current baroque appearance. The restorations of the building were recently carried out by the Rione Rocca Committee with the collaboration of the Surveyor Dante Fornaciari, as the plaque, dated 1984, placed outside the church recalls.

THE INTERIOR

The building, of modest size, has a single nave. At the entrance, on the right side, there is an ancient wooden confessional.
A marble altar is surmounted by an eighteenth-century aedicule that opens on the right wall, decorated with modeled and painted stuccoes. In the center there is a crucifix on which the Dove of the Holy Spirit is placed.
Below, on the same side, there is a 17th century crucifix from the Roman area, made of painted, carved and gilded wood; the cross is covered with a velvet drapery, useful for carrying in procession.
The wall also houses another crucifix, placed on a wooden gold support with silver decorations, an example of Roman craftsmanship of the 18th century.
A reliquary carved into the wall, closed by an iron gate on which a banner is placed, houses various objects. The church preserves artifacts found during the last renovation, such as a skull placed on the right side of the building. On the floor, next to the main altar, there is a trap door dated 1693.
Particularly interesting is the high altar, which rises on the front wall, on which an eighteenth-century stucco aedicule contains the precious painting of the Roman school with the Beheading of St. John the Baptist; it is an oil on canvas of 1880, copy of the prototype by Giorgio Vasari, placed since 1553 in the Roman church of S. Giovanni Decollato.
Below you can admire a crucifix and an 18th century tabernacle in carved and painted wood.
Two stucco aedicules on the sides of the altar decorate the wall.
At the end of the nave there is a painting depicting the Last Supper. The same left side of the church is occupied by three crucifixes: the first is devoid of the sculpture of Christ, but shows the symbols of the Passion; the second, in wood, simpler than the atria kept at the Misericordia, presents the traditional iconography of Jesus nailed to the Cross; the third, also in wood, is embellished with gilded ornaments; the cross is covered with a drapery. A bas-relief depicting the Madonna of Loreto, made in the eighteenth century by a Roman stucco artist, dominates the niche of the left altar. At the back of the church, a banner of the Confraternity of Mercy hangs on the balustrade of the counter-façade, showing the icon of the Madonna della Misericordia, represented by the Virgin with the Child in her arms. The organ of 1878 in carved wood, located inside the choir loft, is the work of Roman craftsmanship.
In the premises of the Misericordia a canteen is set up for the needy.

ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

D’ARCANGELI V., Monumenti archeologici e artistici del territorio di Soriano nel Cimino e delle zone limitrofe, Soriano nel Cimino (Vt) 1967.
D’ARCANGELI V., Soriano nel Cimino nella storia e nell’arte, Viterbo 1981.

Thanks to the Diocese of Civita Castellana (Vt) for the cataloging cards provided.
Valentino D’Arcangeli, Francesca Ceci (edited by), The ancient church of San Giorgio in Soriano nel Cimino, Soriano 2016.