Here there are some photo of the extraordinary Church of the saints Luca e Martina at the Forum of Rome, near the Arch of Septimius Severus, which can only be visited on Saturday morning. Often one does not notice the white facade of this church, so close to the archaeological wonders offered by the Roman Forum. But believe me, it is worth entering here even just for a few moments. We are, in fact, in front of a Christian place of worship whose original nucleus was built by pope Honorius I in the seventh century, and which is closely linked to the famous Accademia di San Luca. What is it?

It was a sort of corporation born at the end of the sixteenth century at the behest of Federico Zuccari, a painter who was  very active in Rome at that time (and also a man with an eclectic spirit, as shown by the project a building that is very particular here in the Eternal City). His main mission was to elevate the role of the artist, and of the painter in particular, from a mere craftsman to something more. A true professionist, a man worthy of trust to whom he could give even important tasks, a social figure who had to have the right recognition for the jobs he did, especially for the more well-to-do classes. Basically, a few years earlier it was the genius of Michelangelo who changed, forever, the role of the painter in Western society, making the artist something more than a "mere" craftsman. To do this, Zuccari dedicated the Academy to San Luca, who was elected patron of painters in the early seventeenth century since, according to tradition, he was the one who made the first portrait in the history of the Virgin Mary. But let's come to this beautiful church with markedly baroque features. As we see it today, it is the result of the reconstruction by Pietro da Cortona, a famous architect (but also painter) of the Baroque age, who with his clear scenographic taste completed the renovation of the building, creating the beautiful dome but also the family tomb.

Thanks to his high-ranking acquaintances (he was very much in sight at the court of pope Urban VIII Barberini), he obtained special permission to build his personal and family tomb here. But it was a historic event that determined the success, and the new funding, of the church. In 1634, while digging beneath the central altar to begin the preparatory work for the construction of the underground crypt, the workers under the guidance of Da Cortona made a sensational discovery: a chest with an engraved plate on which was written "Here lie the remains of the body of Santa Martina". A bombshell, which immediately led the pope to enlarge his wallet and pay flowers of money to erect a church over the tomb of a martyr, as was the custom not only at the time but also in previous centuries. For a Christian place of worship, being able to host relics, especially if they were found in situ as in this case, meant a renewed prestige, not just religious. In fact, in the period of the Counter-Reformation, which had already changed the artistic style in general at the end of the sixteenth century, in which the Church also had to recover popular consent, there could be nothing better! From that moment on, the church will always be remembered as the one dedicated to Santa Martina and San Luca, to commemorate how, for centuries, this place of worship was the main building in which the artists of the Accademia di San Luca and their princeps (a title reserved for the most deserving, and which artists such as Da Cortona or Bernini boasted) could discuss, work, meet. In short, a church with a thousand faces, not only for its architectural beauty of Rome but also for its political and social value.