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The birth of the Congregation of
the Oratorio is due to St. Filippo Neri who, born in
Florence (1515) lived and worked in Roma from 1533
to the year of his death in 1595. He began, as a
laic, a fruitful activity as apostolate and of
prayer. He restored the old visit to the Seven
Churches, helped the infirm and founded the
brotherhood of the HolyTrinity of the Pilgrims for
the reception of the pilgrims (1548).
He became priest and gave life to the oratorio: a
common form of prayer that included the use of music
and song, but especially, the active involvement of
the participants. As original and joyous forms
Filippo and his followers knew how to draw people
near to God, obtaining agreement not only amongst
the humbler classes of the people, but also among
the nobles and the ecclesiastic hierarchy. With the
official institution by Gregory XIII, 1575, the
congregation had its home in the church of St. Maria
in Vallicella, which was rebuilt in the present form
and embellished by artists such as Barocci,
Caravaggio, Rubens and Pietro da Cortona, becoming
one of the main pastoral and cultural centres of the
city.
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The first document that speaks of
the works of the architect from Ticino for the
Filippini is from 1636, when he, still not known
byanyone, was employed in the re-working of the
altar in the sacristy of the New Church. Very soon,
Borromini was appointed "house architect'; working
in the so-called room of St. Filippo Neri, rebuilt
and decorated inside the convent (1638). Later, he
occupied himself with the construction of the
oratorio, overcoming a series of technical
difficulties that ensued from the anticipated site
next to the church.These difficulties were
brilliantly resolved by the architect who was
awarded the commission, making a fa<;:ade scanned by
the asymmetry of the windows.
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The construction was, incredibly,
completed in only two years (1638-40). The Fac;:ade was
conceived by the architect as "daughter" to that of the
church, it is smaller, it is constructed with "inferior
but noble materials'; bricks in contrast to the luminous
travertine of the church. Inside, there are various
rooms like the oratorio (today used as a conference
room), the porter's lodge with the cardinals' residence
above, the Vallicelli Library, the Vallicelli Refectory
and the Recreation Room with the famous Borromini
Fireplace.The building also contains the Capitoline
Archives with the annexed Roman library and the
headquarters ofthe Roman Society for Native History.
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