# Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome > Santa Maria della Vittoria is a small Baroque church near Piazza della Repubblica that people visit for one sculpture: Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, made in 1647–1652. It's less a statue than a whole stage, with marble spectators in theatre boxes and a cascade of gilded rays. Entry is free; it opens mornings and late afternoons, and 20 minutes is enough. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-della-vittoria - City: [Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome), Italy - YesGo score: 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 20 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free - Opening hours: ≈ 9:00–12:00 and 15:30–18:00 - Highlight: Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Cornaro Chapel - Lighting: Coin-operated - Time needed: 20 minutes - Location: Via XX Settembre 17; Metro A Repubblica, 5 minutes - Coordinates: 41.90466, 12.49434 - Facts checked: 10.11.2026 ## Key facts - **1608–1620** — Carlo Maderno built the church (source: English Wikipedia) - **1647–1652** — Bernini created the Cornaro Chapel and the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (source: English Wikipedia) - **Cornaro** — Cardinal Federico Cornaro commissioned the chapel for his family (source: English Wikipedia) - **Theatre boxes** — marble Cornaro family members watch from either side (source: English Wikipedia) - **Teresa of Ávila** — the 16th-century Spanish mystic who described the vision (source: English Wikipedia) ## The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa In the left transept is the **Cornaro Chapel**, created by **Gian Lorenzo Bernini** in **1647–1652** for Cardinal Federico Cornaro. At its heart is the marble group of **Saint Teresa of Ávila** swooning on a cloud while a smiling angel holds a golden arrow above her — the vision Teresa herself described, of an angel piercing her heart with divine love. **Gilded rays** pour down over the figures, and real light falls from a hidden window above, so the marble seems to glow. Drapery, clouds and the saint's face look as if the stone had turned soft. Many consider it the summit of Baroque sculpture. ## A chapel built like a theatre The surprise is on either side: Bernini carved **eight members of the Cornaro family** — cardinals and a doge of Venice — seated in marble **theatre boxes**, chatting and watching the miracle. You, in the nave, become the audience and the chapel the stage. Bernini, who also staged plays, fused sculpture, architecture, painting and light into a single performance. ## The church **Carlo Maderno** built the church in **1608–1620**; Giovanni Battista Soria finished the façade in 1626. Inside is a small but lavish Baroque interior of coloured marble, gilding and ceiling frescoes. Its name, 'of the Victory', comes from a venerated icon of the Madonna brought here in the 1620s; the icon was later lost, but the name stuck. ## Who was Saint Teresa? **Teresa of Ávila** (1515–1582) was a Spanish Carmelite nun, reformer of her order and author of mystical writings describing her visions. She was canonised in 1622 and in 1970 became the first woman named a **Doctor of the Church**. The church belongs to the Carmelites, hence the dedication. Bernini followed her own account almost word for word: an angel with a golden, fire-tipped spear piercing her heart, leaving her with a sweetness she could not describe. ## Piazza San Bernardo Opposite the church stands the **Moses Fountain**, built by Domenico Fontana in 1585–1588 for Pope Sixtus V as the showpiece of the Acqua Felice aqueduct. Two more churches face the square — round San Bernardo alle Terme, set in a tower of the Baths of Diocletian, and Santa Susanna. ## What to see - **Ecstasy of Saint Teresa** — left transept, Cornaro Chapel. - **The Cornaro 'boxes'** — either side of the sculpture. - **Chapel floor** — inlaid marble skeletons, reminders of mortality. - **Ceiling frescoes** — the triumph of the Virgin. - **Moses Fountain** — across the road on Piazza San Bernardo. > **Seeing the sculpture** The chapel is lit by a coin-operated lamp — keep €1 handy. Stand slightly left of centre to catch the turn of Teresa's face and the angel's smile. It's rarely crowded, but the church closes at lunchtime and visitors shouldn't wander during Mass. ## How to get there 1. Metro line A to **Repubblica**, then 5 minutes along Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando. 2. From **Termini**, 10 minutes on foot via Piazza della Repubblica. 3. From the [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian), 5 minutes. 4. From [Palazzo Barberini](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-barberini), 7 minutes up Via Barberini. ## Is it worth visiting? Yes, for anyone who loves Bernini or sculpture: one of the masterpieces of the Baroque, free and seldom busy. Twenty minutes does it. It's five minutes from Piazza della Repubblica and Termini, near the Baths of Diocletian and [Palazzo Massimo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-massimo). ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Check the hours — closed at midday - [ ] Bring a coin for the lights - [ ] Cover shoulders and knees - [ ] Spot the Cornaro boxes - [ ] See the Moses Fountain across the road ## Rome's churches: compare and choose Churches and basilicas in Rome rated by YesGo. - [Pantheon](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/pantheon) — YesGo score 82/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · ≈ €5 - [St Peter's Basilica](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/st-peters-basilica) — YesGo score 71/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free; dome ≈ €8–15 - [Sistine Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/sistine-chapel) — YesGo score 64/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Vatican Museums ticket ≈ €25 - [Archbasilica of St John Lateran](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/lateran-basilica) — YesGo score 64/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free; cloister ≈ €5 - [Santa Maria Maggiore](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-maggiore) — YesGo score 62/100 (Yes, go) · 40 min · Free - [Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/st-paul-outside-the-walls) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · Free - [Church of the Gesù](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/church-of-the-gesu) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free - [Sant'Ignazio](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/sant-ignazio) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free - [Santa Maria sopra Minerva](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-sopra-minerva) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free - [Piazza del Popolo](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/piazza-del-popolo) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free - [Santa Maria in Trastevere](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-in-trastevere) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free - [Mouth of Truth](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/bocca-della-verita) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Donation ≈ €2 - [Catacombs of Rome](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/rome-catacombs) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ €10–12 with guide - [San Pietro in Vincoli](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-pietro-in-vincoli) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [San Luigi dei Francesi](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-luigi-dei-francesi) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Santa Maria della Vittoria](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-della-vittoria) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-carlo-alle-quattro-fontane) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Tempietto](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/tempietto) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Santa Sabina](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-sabina) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Trastevere](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/trastevere) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Free - [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Basilica free; museum ≈ €10–12 - [Basilica of San Clemente](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-clemente) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Upper free; excavations ≈ €10–12 ## Baroque around Repubblica Palazzo Barberini, Borromini's San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Bernini at Santa Maria della Vittoria and the Baths of Diocletian. 1. [Palazzo Barberini](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/palazzo-barberini) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ €15 2. [San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/san-carlo-alle-quattro-fontane) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free 3. [Santa Maria della Vittoria](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/santa-maria-della-vittoria) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free 4. [Baths of Diocletian](https://yesgo.io/italy/rome/baths-of-diocletian) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Basilica free; museum ≈ €10–12 ## Don't mix it up The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is here; Bernini's Blessed Ludovica Albertoni is in San Francesco a Ripa in Trastevere — a different sculpture. ## Tips - A coin lights the sculpture. - The Cornaro boxes are the surprise. - Closed at lunchtime. - Repubblica metro is 5 minutes away. ## Questions ### Where is the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa? In the Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Via XX Settembre 17. ### Is it free? Yes; the lighting costs a coin. ### When was it made? Bernini worked on the chapel in 1647–1652. ### What are the opening hours? Usually 9:00–12:00 and 15:30–18:00. ### How do I get there? Metro A to Repubblica, 5 minutes' walk. ### How long do you need? About 20 minutes. ## How we checked History of the church, the chapel and the sculpture from English Wikipedia. Opening hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome and Ecstasy of Saint Teresa --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.