Santa Maria Donnalbina
| Chiesa di Santa Maria Donnalbina
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| Patronage : | Maria or Maria Immaculata |
Coordinates: 40 ° 30 '14.6 " N , 14 ° 9' 3.3" O Santa Maria Donnalbina ( "Saint Mary, white lady") is the name of a baroque church in the center of Naples , in the same street.
history
The church has actually been around since the 11th century. In the 16th century, however, a new building began, which was completed in the 17th century. The leading architects were Bartolomeo Picchiatti and later Arcangelo Guglielmelli .
description
The church is an important masterpiece of the Neapolitan Baroque. The interior has a single nave with four chapels on each side. In symbolic agreement with the nickname Donnalbina (white lady), which refers to the immaculate purity of the Virgin Mary refers (and most likely on their immaculate conception ), the walls and pilasters with their composite - capitals in white and very pale gray held and decorated with elegant stucco . Over the arcades of the side chapels there are richly ornamented gilded grilles, and between the windows in the upper wall zone there are paintings of saints by Nicola Malinconico .
The splendid carved and gilded coffered ceiling was created by Antonio Guidetti in 1701. Three further paintings by Malinconico are set in the ceiling: The Assumption of Mary , Sant'Agnello expelling the Saracens from Naples and The Martyrdom of St. Agatha (all from 1701).
The dome over the crossing was frescoed by Francesco Solimena between 1692 and 1695 , with virtues and saints , and as the main image: Christ shows Saint Benedict the spread of his order . Solimena also painted several paintings for the altars of the transept : the Nativity , the Visitation , the Annunciation to the Shepherds , the Dream of Joseph and the Flight into Egypt (late 17th century).
The marble main altar is a marvel of the Pietradura art with lush inlay of flowers, tendrils and other floral motifs. It forms the frame for a Maria Immaculata sculpture on clouds in the central niche, above which the dove of the Holy Spirit hovers . The altar is crowned by a richly ornamented grille made of carved and gilded wood (similar to the grids over the arcades of the side chapels, but larger).
In the second side chapel on the right, Domenico Antonio Vaccaro painted an imaginary portrait of the patron saint of Naples San Gennaro (= Januarius ) and a saint bishop in 1736 .
On the gallery above the entrance you can still see the baroque case of the organ from 1699, which frame a fresco by Nicola Malinconico: the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem .
Below, right next to the entrance on the left, is the tomb of the famous opera composer Giovanni Paisiello (1740–1816), which was created in 1816 by Angelo Viva. This originally stood in the church of San Francesco, which was demolished at the end of the 19th century when the Via Guglielmo Sanfelice was widened in the course of the so-called " Risanamento " of Naples. Paisiello was a member of the Brotherhood dell'Immacolata of the Third Order of the Franciscans , which itself had to move its seat from San Francesco to Santa Maria Donnalbina in 1891, and also took care of the relocation of the tomb.
Facade of Santa Maria Donnalbina
portal
Tomb of Giovanni Paisiello (detail) by Angelo Viva (1748–1837)
_-_Sculptor_(1817)_Angelo_Viva_(Naples_1748-Naples_1837)_-_Donnalbina_Church_in_Naples_(22085752415).jpg)
View from the crossing to the ceiling in the main nave
literature
- Carlo Raso: Napoli. Guida Musicale. Tutta la città in 34 itinerari. Franco Di Mauro Editore, 2004
- Vincenzo Regina: Le chiese di Napoli. Viaggio indimenticabile attraverso la storia artistica, architettonica, letteraria, civile e spirituale della Napoli sacra. Newton e Compton editore, Naples, 2004. (Italian)
- Achille della Ragione: " Riapre la chiesa di Donnalbina " , Naples 2007 (Italian; pictures (!); Accessed on April 10, 2019)
See also
Web links
- Information about the Chiesa di Santa Maria Donnalbina on the website: Napoligrafia , accessed on November 9, 2018 (Italian)