Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows is a 17th century convent church located on the slopes of the Gianicolo in the Trastevere district.
For reference, a plan of the church is available
here.
The church was begun in 1643 by
Francesco Borromini, as part of a project by the Augustinian oblates community, whose order was founded around 1640, by Camilla Virginia Savelli Farnese, Duchess of Latera.
Francesco Contini took over to finishing the interior from 1659 to 1665. The entrance façade of the church was never completed, and as a result is in unadorned brick.
There was a restoration by
Gaspare Salvi in 1845 which resulted in the present polychrome interior.
During the Roman Republic of 1849 the convent buildings were confiscated and used as a military hospital, and they were seriously damaged in a bombardment when Rome was conquered by the Kingdom of Italy in 1870.
During the Nazi occupation of Rome in the Second World War, the monastery of the Augustinian Oblates was one of the main places of refuge for Roman Jews; here the nuns welcomed 103 Jews.
In 2007 there was another major restoration of the church wing. In the later 20th century the convent was converted to a hotel, the Hotel Donna Camilla Savelli.
