The face of Bologna Images, traditions and places of a nation in Rome

This paper aims to define the role of the Bolognese 'nation' in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Rome. The church of Saints John the Evangelist and Petronius, built in 1576 under the Bolognese Pope Gregory XIII, represents the first instance of this congregation's architectural presence in the Eternal City. The community began defining its unique character through a specific figurative language, stimulated by the need to express its own spirituality and local culture as well as to celebrate the role played by a number of famous Bolognese citizens within the congregation and in the Roman Curia. A detailed analysis of the decorative and liturgical programme of this church, as well as archival research in various Bolognese and Roman institutions shed light on the religious, social and artistic practices through which this 'nation' aimed to express its identity.