Santa Maria Immacolata delle Grazie
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| Basic data | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| place | Bergamo, Italy |
| diocese | Diocese of Bergamo |
| Building history | |
| architect | Antonio Preda |
| start of building | 14th century |
| Building description | |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| 45 ° 41 ′ 37.5 " N , 9 ° 40 ′ 18.4" E | |
The Church of Santa Maria Immacolata delle Grazie is located in Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII of Bergamo , near the Propylaea, also known as the Barriera delle Grazie . It is the first place of worship that visitors come across when arriving from the train station .
history
Bernardine of Siena stayed for the second time in 1419 as a guest in the monastery of St. Francis in Bergamo and wanted with his sermon to put an end to the feuds that divided the Ghibellines and Guelphs of the city. It was Pietro Ondei from Alzano Lombardo who, under the influence of his sermon, gave the saint a piece of land for the construction of a church and a monastery for the Franciscans . The church was founded on April 27, 1422 near Prato Sant'Alessandro and Muraine by Bishop Francesco Aregazzi over an existing church dedicated to Carità or perhaps Saint Margherita, to confirm the reconciliation achieved.
The urban transformation project in the 19th century envisaged the construction of a large avenue, Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, which connects the Austro-Hungarian train station with Porta Sant'Agostino, one of the entrances to the upper part of the city. For this reason the monastery was closed in 1810, the church demolished in 1856 and then rebuilt in a slightly different location.
The old basilica was dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie , but with the dogmatic proclamation of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854, the Bishop of Bergamo, Pietro Luigi Speranza, wanted to integrate the devotion in the new church by renaming it Maria Immacolata delle Grazie and with the proclamation of December 7, 1878 made it a provost church and a sanctuary.
The new church was built between 1857 and 1875 according to a project by the architect Antonio Preda , who managed to create an important building that blends in well with the new architectural situation. The works of art in the church were saved, but not all were moved to the new one, the polyptych by Vincenzo Foppa is in the Pinacoteca di Brera .
The old rooms were initially used as a home for the sick and the elderly, and it wasn't until 1928 that the building became the headquarters of Credito Bergamasco . Of the four cloisters, two remain, one of which is inaccessible and is part of the adjacent bank building.
Miracle of the fresco of Saint Jesus
There was a frescoed chapel near the monastery. On the outer wall there was a fresco of Christ falling under the weight of the cross while climbing Calvary. On April 30, 1544, some witnesses said they saw the picture sweating blood and on April 5, 1575 the bleeding repeated. During this time, Charles Borromeo was present in the Bergamo area and recognized the miracle. On September 15, 1608, some young men saw the Christ again rising from the fresco and sliding the cross from the left to the right shoulder and sweating blood again. They saw his cloak change color from blue and red to white with gold edges. The signs of the Passion appeared on his body and the image of Christ carrying the cross transfigured himself into the risen Lord.
In the chapel near the old church there were two frescoes, one of which was moved to the chapel dedicated to Saint Jesus above the wooden altar made by Caterina Caniana. The second Christ carrying the cross, the work of Castello Giovanni Battista, was located above the iron gate that led to the altar of the destroyed chapel of the saint and was kept after the approval by the Congregazione di Carità , which gave it to the Accademia Carrara in 1878 :.
When the church was demolished in 1889, the nearby chapel of Saint Jesus was also destroyed, the fresco was removed and moved to the new church, consecrated in 1875.
Pope John XXIII conducted the first research on the history of the fresco and the old monastery during the years he was a military chaplain.
The church celebrates mass every fortnight to commemorate the miracle, and a festival is celebrated on September 15th every year.
The bleeding and the miracles associated with it were reported by Father Francesco Gonzaga , author of the work “Dell'origine della serafica osservanza francescana” published in 1587, and the Minister of Mantua Candido Brugnoli , at the same time professor of theology, who wrote “ L'immagine del Re supremo ”dedicated a section entitled“ Le virtù miracolose della Croce ”to the miracles.
description
The neoclassical church in the city is shaped like a Greek cross . The tambour is divided into a peristyle with sixteen columns and is surmounted by the large dome, which was decorated with the glory of Mary by Enrico Scuri from 1865 to 1868. The work was done with the participation of other artists, including Luigi Galizzi, who created the Annunciation, the Visitation and the Angels Scattering Flowers. Antonio Guadagnini was entrusted with the medallions facing each other on the arch of the atrium: the Nativity and the Marriage of Mary.
The apse is painted with a fresco by Giovanni Battista Epis depicting Pope Pius IX. proclaims the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, while the high altar, consecrated in 1907 by Angelo Roncalli , depicts the biblical heroines of the brothers Cesare and Andrea Paleni.
On the way from the chapel to the sacristy you can see the fresco cycle for the Trinity Chapel by Jacopino Scipioni from the early 16th century. Proof of this is the notarial deed of August 12, 1507, in which the amount of the payment for the execution of the work by the client Cassotti de 'Mazzoleni was determined. The frescoes were removed from the church in 1857 and bought by the lawyer Giuseppe Maria Bonomi, who brought them to Vertova in the former church of the Capuchin monastery, which he converted into a residence. The cycle of paintings depicts the story of St. Francis . The province of Bergamo bought them in 2003 and returned them to the Church. The restoration of the frescoes made it possible to reconstruct the Trinity Chapel, which was destroyed along with the church. The square floor plan room was five meters long on each side with an octagonal screen ceiling, with three lunettes on each side and under the corresponding squares divided into two orders, where a scroll in Gothic script explains the painting that explains the cycle of the Depicting Stories of Saint Francis.
note
- ↑ The clients also paid for the realization of the altarpiece Cristo trasfigurato by Andrea Previtali, which is one of the works existing in the church and now in Brera, while they are depicted in the painting Madonna Casotti in the Accademia Carrara Madonna Casotti ( it ) February 2020.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b La chiesa di santa Maria delle Grazie ( it ) Bergamo post. December 8, 2016. Accessed February 17, 2020.
- ↑ a b Convento e chiesa delle Grazie ( it ) Bergamo post. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved on February 17, 2020.
- ↑ a b Opuscolo S.Jesus ( it , pdf) Parrocchia di santa Maria delle Grazie. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
- ↑ Cristo Portacroce ( it ) Accademia Carrara. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ^ Cappella del santo Jesus ( it ) Parrochia santa Maria Immacolata delle Grazie. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ↑ Chiara Basta: Galizzi, Luigi. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI).
- ↑ G. Valzelli: Antonio Guadagnini . S. 145-146 .
- ↑ Arte, fede e preghiere . Santalessandro. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ↑ Fernando Noris, p. 44
literature
- Fernando Noris, Osvaldo Roncelli, Maria Teresa Birolini, Franco Mazzini, Emanuela Daffra: Bergomatum Ager . Ed .: Provincia di Bergamo. 2009 (Italian).
Web links
- Chiesa delle Grazie con affreschi del secolo XIX in largo Porta Nuova ( it ) IBCAA. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- THE “SANTO JESUS” IN THE CHURCH “St. Maria delle Grazie ” (pdf) Parrocchia delle Grazie. Retrieved February 18, 2020.