Church of Saint Ivo of the Bretones - Rome

The church dates back to VII century. At the time, there was a church dedicated to Saint Andrew of the Marmorari on the same site. In 1455, the church was assigned to the Community of the Bretons in Rome, who restored it, adding a hospice and a hospital. In the early XIX century, Sant Ivo gradually fell into disrepair until the controversial decision to demolish the church was taken in 1873 and Filippo Chiari was asked to draw up a new building project. The few parts of the original structure that were saved include the external majolica medallion made by Luca Della Robbia. The new building was completed by Luca Carimini in 1876-1878. In 2002 the restoration of the façade became necessary owing to the typical deterioration phenomena connected with the use of Serena Sandstone, such as gradual crumbling, loss of consistency and detachment of entire portions of the relief decoration (see section "Stone materials and stuccoes"). A maintenance intervention on the façade was commissioned in 2015. It included a thorough assessment of the state of preservation of the façade, consolidation of the areas presenting loss of cohesion, and reapplication of the same final water-repellent treatment as that applied during the restoration of the façade.
(Photo by P.Soriani)