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The name of the Dominican church
erected in the area which was at one time reserved
for Egyptian worship, the Iseum has always been
associated with the nearby temple of Minerva
Chalcidica. The interior houses exceptional works
from the end of the 13th century to the 19th century,
when the building underwent a radical restoration.
Besides the superb cycle of frescoes by Filippino
Lippi, the funeral monuments of five Pontiffs from
Leo X to Benedict XIII are important.
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The 1600s are well represented by the
sculptures in the Aldobrandini Chapel and a famous work by
Bernini. Catherine of Siena, patron saint of Italy and
co-patron saint of Europe; and the Dominican painter, Fra
Angelica are buried in the church.
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The first version of the Christ carrying
the cross, ca rried out on the 15th June, 1514 for Metello
Vari, was left unfinished because of a fault in the marble.
The present version, outlined in Florence by Michelangelo in
1518, was completed in Roma by students in 1521. Despite the
fact that the figure of Christ - whose nudity (later covered
by cloth) shows him, an almost pagan hero, in the guise of
the Redeemer while holding the instruments of the Passion -
appears of great influence, even though it is no longer in
the aedicule which was originally on the left-hand pillar of
the presbytery, destroyed in the 18th century.
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