Church of the Holy Spirit (Chiesa di Santo Spirito)

The church of the Holy Spirit is one of the main religious buildings constructed in the area of ​​the Addizione Erculea during the 16th century. The result of successive transformations, it reached its present configuration in the late 16th century, while the façade was only completed in 1630 (the church was then consecrated in 1656). To the north of the church extends the vast convent building, which housed the community of Franciscan minors throughout the Modern Age. The church has a structure similar to a Greek cross, but without a cross dome (perhaps existing before the earthquake of 1570) and a large apsidal choir. The façade, also in exposed brickwork like all the external elevations of the church, has a slight overhang in the central body and is organised on two levels, marked by pairs of Doric pilasters framing niches at the lateral ends of the façade, illuminated by three simple oculi. The convent extends around a spacious, airy cloister with large mullioned windows in the centre of the four sides, which break the continuity of the façades overlooking the internal lawn. Inside the convent building, the presence of stone artefacts (marble, columns and in particular an internal snail staircase) from the ancient Delizia di Belvedere demolished in the early 17th century to build the papal fortress commissioned by Paolo V Borghese is worth mentioning. Renovated at the end of the 20th century, the convent has now lost its original religious functions, although it has maintained its residential use, after both apartments and a student residence were created inside. The church was declared unfit for use following the earthquake of May 2012 and is not currently open to visitors.