Basilica di San Domenico (Siena)

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Aerial view of the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena
The Basilica di San Domenico seen from the Terzo di Città

The Basilica di San Domenico (also called Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico ) is a mendicant order church in Siena . It is consecrated to the founder of the Dominican Order, but is also closely linked to the veneration of St. Catherine of Siena . The designation as "basilica" does not refer to the type of building , but to the ecclesiastical rank of basilica minor conferred on it in 1927 .

location

The church is located on the edge of the historic city center, but has only been inside the city ​​walls of Siena on Via Camporegio since 1430 . The basilica on the Colle di San Domenico at Campo Regio (Königsfeld) is located in the third third of the city, Terzo di Camollia, in the Contrada Drago, the main church of which it is next to the Chiesa di Santa Caterina del Paradiso. In addition to the church, the building complex also includes the chapter house , the sacristy , the refectory , the dormitory and the cloister . The facade overlooks Piazza Madre Teresa di Calcutta and Viale dei Mille, the nave extends over the Fontebranda Valley and the crypt is connected to Via Camporegio. On the northern side of the basilica is the Stadio Artemio Franchi , whose southern curve was called Curva San Domenico until 2010.

history

San Domenico with apse and transept seen from Fontebranda

The church was built by the Dominicans on behalf of the Senese family Malavolti from 1226 , shortly after St. Domingo de Guzmán visited the city (around 1215). On March 24, the Malavolti gave the Dominican Gualtiero 1226 pieces of land outside the city walls on Campo Regio to build it. The nave was built from 1246 to around 1300 . The stones used for the transept come from the city tower of the Counts d'Elci (Panocchieschi), which collapsed in 1338 in the Terzo di Camollia. On May 25, 1352, the funeral of Guidoriccio da Fogliano took place in San Domenico . The name Basilica Cateriniana refers to Catherine of Siena , a Dominican saint. After Katharina's death in Rome in 1380, Raimund von Capua brought the head and a finger of the saint back to Siena in 1383, which are now in San Domenico.

The church was enlarged in the 14th century. A second dormitory was built between 1417 and 1420. In 1430 the church was incorporated into the city wall ring of Siena. The campanile was built between 1490 and 1517, but the bell was attached as early as 1513. Fires in 1307, 1443 and 1531 affected the church. The fire of December 4, 1531 spared the relics of St. Katharina, but destroyed that of Blessed Ambrogio Sansedonis, whose chapel was built by Frate Magio in 1287 at the city's expense. The restoration work after the fire of 1531 was led by Baldassare Peruzzi .

The occupation of the church by the Spanish militias around Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503–1575) for Charles V 1548–1552 also led to damage because they converted the church into a fortress and pitched their camp here. The chapel of the deceased of the German nation was built in 1570; it was previously consecrated to St. Barbara . Eight years later there was a consecration by the Senese Archbishop Francesco Bandini, another new consecration on June 5, 1647 by the Senese Archbishop Ascanio II Piccolomini. Because of the frequent lightning strikes on the campanile, the spire was removed in 1694. In addition, the Campanile was restored in 1704. On May 26, 1798, an earthquake caused considerable damage to the church. As a result of this, the campanile had to be shortened considerably. The upper sound arcade was demolished in 1802. The report on the need for restoration from 1888 comes from Giuseppe Partini . Pope Pius XI elevated the church to a basilica minor in 1927 , and since 1955 it has also been a Monumento nazionale (national monument). From 1941 to 1962 the church was completely refurbished and re-consecrated by Archbishop Ismaele Mario Castellano .

architecture

The withdrawn, unadorned shape of the hall church built in the Gothic period corresponds to the simplicity desired by the mendicant orders and the function as a sermon room. The brick outer skin is deliberately left unclad and only slightly structured. Only the choir chapels have vaults , but are simply closed in a rectangular shape. The nave is of monumental size, but has no side aisles. The little structured unit room clearly shows its purpose as a preaching church. The transept and nave are closed with an open roof . For the choir, which towers over a slope and faces the city, enormous substructures had to be built, similar to the cathedral.

Interior fittings

Interior of San Domenico

Right side of the nave

The right wall of the nave contains the works Apparizione della Vergine al Beato Gallerani by Stefano Volpi (1640), Madonna col Bambino and San Giovanni Battista e un cavaliere by Pietro Lorenzetti , Adorazione dei pastori by Francesco di Giorgio , the marble figure Gesù benedicente by Gano di Fazio and a lunette by Matteo di Giovanni and the Natività della Vergine by Alessandro Casolani (1585). The Cappella di Santa Caterina is also located in the center .

Left side of the nave

The altars on the left side of the nave contain the works Madonna col Bambino by Francesco di Vannuccio, Sant'Antonio Abate che libera una indemoniata by Rutilio Manetti (1628), Sposalizio mistico di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria by Sebastiano Folli and San Giacinto che salva da un incendio una statua della Vergine e un ostensorio by Francesco Vanni (1600).

Monastery and facade as seen from San Prospero (Siena Cathedral in the background)

Transept with main altar and apse

The main altar has a ciborium and two angels by Benedetto da Maiano . The apse was designed by Arcangelo Salimbeni (Morte di San Pietro Martire, 1579) and Galgano Perpignani (San Tommaso di fronte al papa) . The right side of the transept contains an altar dedicated to Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni, which was erected by Francesco Rustici between 1611 and 1612. The left transept is from the altar of St. Dominikus, which was built in the 19th century by Enea Becheroni and Tito Sarrocchi .

Chapels

The six chapels of the transept

The first chapel is to the right of the main altar and contains the Borghesi family tomb. The second chapel on the right serves the memory of German students who died during their study stay in Siena around the 16th century. The third chapel on the right is dedicated to the memory of the dead of both world wars. The fourth (left) houses Matteo di Giovanni's work Madonna col Bambino ed i Santi Girolamo e Giovanni Battista . The fifth chapel houses the largest altar and works by Raffaello Vanni (Crocifissione con i Santi Eugenio e Benedetto, 1649) and Francesco di Valdambrinos and Martino di Bartolomeo Sant'Antonio Abate (1426). The sixth chapel contains a Maestà by Guido da Siena , a Madonna col Bambino ei Santi Gregorio, Giacomo, Girolamo e Sebastiano by Benvenuto di Giovanni , the Santa Barbara con le Sante Maria Maddalena e Caterina d'Alessandria by Matteo di Giovanni (1479) as well the fresco Storie di San Giacinto e del Beato Sansedoni by Giuseppe Nicola Nasini .

Cappella di Santa Caterina

Cappella di Santa Caterina with frescoes by Sodoma

The chapel of St. Catherine was designed by Niccolò Bensi in 1466, the altar by Giovanni di Stefano. The relics of the saints have been there since 1711 (with a short interruption due to the 1798 earthquake) in a reliquary by David Menetti and Angelo Giorgi (1931, the previous work by Giovanni di Stefano and Francesco d'Antonio from 1466 was lost, the successor work by Giovanni Piamontini himself is exhibited there as a work of art), integrated into two frescoes by Sodoma ( Svenimento and Estasi della Santa ) and his work Morte di Niccolò di Tuldo . Other works by the Chapel of St. Catherine are Santa che libera un'ossessa by Francesco Vanni (1593–1596) and the marble floor by Francesco di Giorgio .

Cappella delle Volte

The chapel, also called Capella dei Miracoli ("Chapel of Miracles"), is located directly behind the facade and was previously separated from the nave by a wall. This was removed during restoration work. The chapel was first mentioned in 1368. It is said to have been Katharina's favorite chapel. It includes the Canonizzazione di Santa Caterina (1672/73) by Mattia Preti and works by Crescenzio Gambarelli ( Santa dona l'abito a Gesù pellegrino e riceve da Cristo la crocetta , Morte della Santa and Santa che recita l'uffizio con Cristo , Gloria della Vergine , all 1602), Deifebo Burbarini's Apparizione di Caterina a Santa Rosa da Lima and the fresco Caterina e una devota (around 1380), perhaps created by Andrea Vanni while the saint was still alive .

crypt

Crypt, left transept and campanile as seen from the Bastone del Pappagallo on the Camporegio

The crypt lies below the left transept of the church and is accessible from Via Camporegio or Camporegio (Königsfeld). In the winter months, Holy Mass is celebrated there, as the crypt does not have to be heated as much due to its underground location. There is a representation of the crucified by Sano di Pietro and a crucifixion by Ventura Salimbeni (1600).

Cloister

The cloister is on the right side of the facade and was built in 1425. In 1941 it was restored. The frescoes are by Lippo Memmi and Lippo Vanni . The grave of the painter Andrea di Bartolo is also in the cloister, near the refectory.

literature

Web links

Commons : Basilica di San Domenico in Siena  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Peter Anselm Riedl, Max Seidel: The churches of Siena
  2. ↑ Beato Ambrogio Sansedoni Domenicano at santiebeati.it, accessed on March 17, 2014 (ital.)
  3. ↑ Mauro Mussolin: Il culto dell'Immacolata Concezionenella cultura senese del Rinascimento. Tradizione e iconografia. In: Mario Lorenzoni, Roberto Guerrini (Ed.): Forte Fortuna. Religiosità e arte nella cultura senese dalle origini all'umanesimo di Pio II ai restauri del XIX secolo. Quaderni dell'Opera 7-8-9, Opera della Metropolitana, Siena 2006, p. 216 ( online version at academia.edu , accessed on March 17, 2014 (Italian))
  4. ↑ Hurtado de Mendoza, Diego at Enciclopedie on line Treccani , accessed on January 16, 2014 (ital.)
  5. ↑ Ettore Pellegrini: Fortificare con arte. Mura, porte e fortezze di Siena nella Storia. Betti Editrice, Siena 2012, ISBN 978-88-7576-228-5 , p. 158 ff.
  6. ↑ Marina Gennari: La orribil scossa della vigilia di Pentecoste. Siena e il terremoto del 26 maggio 1798. In: Rivista Accademica n. 8 - Accademia dei Rozzi. Online version , accessed on March 18, 2014 (Italian, pdf)
  7. ↑ Touring Club Italiano: Toscana. P. 567.
  8. ^ Ministro dell'Interno: Basilica di San Domenico.
  9. ↑ Ornella Francisci Osti: ANDREA di Bartolo. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani . Volume 3 (1961)

Coordinates: 43 ° 19 ′ 12.2 "  N , 11 ° 19 ′ 36.6"  E