This photo of the Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso is part of one of the panoramic images found on the PanoramicEarth.com Tour of Rome. There are over 100 images taken from around Rome linked to an interactive map.
S Ambrogio e Carlo (Ambrose and Charles) is a fantastically ornate church situated on Via del Corso, about half way between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Venezia. It is very close to the Piazza di Spangna. The church was built in the 17C by Onorio Longhi for the Lombard community in Rome and dedicated to the two canonized bishops of Milan, the capital of the Lombard movement. It replaces an earlier 15C building.
The interior has a Gothic architectural style, resembling the style of the Duomo in Milan. While sumptuous the ‘marble’ pillars are fake. It is the only church in Rome to contain an ambulatory, where the aisles encircle the sanctuary. The altarpiece shown here from 1685 and shows both Ambrogio and Carlo (Ambrose and Charles). St Charles' heart is preserved in the chapel found behind the altar in a richly decorated reliquary. The relics of a Roman martyr St Saturninus are interred in the altar. This is almost the internment of the unknown martyr since nothing more is known about him.
To the left of the altar the Chapel of St Olav of Norway, the martyr king who was slain in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. The king was a Viking I his youth and the painting depicts his victory over his own past, represented by a dragon. It was given to Pope Leo XIII for the 50th anniversary of his episcopal ordination. Bishop Fallize of Norway asked that it be placed in this church, where an altar had been set aside. Leo XIII supported this idea of a Norwegian chapel in Rome, permitting the painting to be placed here.
A full panoramic image showing the inside of S Ambrogio e Carlo, and the Chapel of Olav is found on the Rome tour by PanoramicEarth.com. An enlargement of this photo can be found on Flickr.
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