Altar dedicated to Saint Cecilia

The altar dedicated to Saint Cecilia features a panel dedicated to the death of the saint by Antonio Raggi, who is known to have worked with both Algardi and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The composition is exceptionally pictorial: we see the dying Cecilia, visited by Pope Urban I, Saint Hippolytus of Rome, and her husband Valerian, as angels approach with the palm of martyrdom.

The stucco ceiling decoration was executed by Ercole Ferrata according to a design by Ciro Ferri. One of the motifs is the pipe organ, said to have been invented by Saint Cecilia. Beginning in the 1400s, Cecilia gained fame as the patron saint of music due to an incorrect interpretation of her Passion story.

→