Sant'Isidoro a Capo le Case is a 17th century convent church in the modern rione Ludovisi. The dedication is to St Isidore the Farmer (also known as Isidore the Labourer), who is patron of the city of Madrid in Spain, and to St. Patrick. This is the national churches of Ireland. The church is served by the Irish Reformed Franciscaa Observants.
For reference, a plan of the church is available
here.
The church and convent were founded by Spanish "Reformed Observant" Franciscans in 1622, the same year that
St Isidore of Madrid was canonized. Construction began in 1622, the architect was
Antonio Felice Casoni. However, things must have gone badly wrong because the brethren went back to Spain only two years later and left the project abandoned.
In 1625 by a bull of Pope Urban VIII, the Pontifical Irish College was founded as a college and seminary for Irish candidates for the priesthood. Casoni continued work on the church until 1634. The main altar and presbiterium were designed by
Mario Arconio, 1630.
Domenico Castelli worked on the choir and portico in the year after 1640, but the façade was left unfinished. The church was finally consecrated in this state in 1684, with a secondary dedication to St Patrick. In 1703 the façade was completed by Carlo
Francesco Bizzaccheri.
The convent was forcibly closed during the
Napoleonic occupation, after 1798.
The Cappella de Sylva was restored in 2002.
