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SAN SALVATORE IN LAURO

The church is defined "in Lauro" due to the laurel wood that would grow around the building once upon a time. Founded during C.VII, the church was rebuilt around the first half of C.XV and then tragically destroyed due to a fire in 1591. Three years later, Ottaviano Mascherino started the new construction. In 1669 it was bought by the Confraternita dei Piceni (for their "nation"). The works were completed under the leadership of Ludovico Rusconi Sassi, who one owes the dome, the bell-tower, and the sacristy, works by Nicola Salvi. The classical façade is enriched by a big basrelief by Rinaldo Rainaldi, portraying the "Trasporto della Santa casa di Nazareth". The interior, wide and bright, is Mascherino’s masterpiece. One may also admire "la Nascita di Gesù" by Pietro da Cortona. The adjacent convent of San Giorgio has a gracious Renaissance cloister.