Santa Maria di Castello (Genoa)
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| place | Genoa 
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| Art |
Sacred art
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| opening | 1959 |
| management |
Costantino Gilardi
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| Website | |
The Church of Santa Maria di Castello is a Catholic religious building in the historic center of Genoa , on the slope of the same name in the Molo district. The parish is part of the “Centro Est” deanery of the Archdiocese of Genoa .
Located on the hill of Castello, the first inhabited place in Genoa in antiquity, the church of Santa Maria di Castello is one of the oldest Christian places of worship in Genoa and one of the most intact Romanesque buildings in the city.
history
origin
According to legend, in 658, on the orders of the Lombard King Aripert I, the first church for the devotion of Mary was built in this place, but the first documents date from the 11th century.
The church was in the immediate vicinity of the fortified bishop's castle, which was built on the hill between the 9th and 10th centuries in place of the pre-Roman, Roman and Byzantine fortifications. The presence of the bishop's castle, near which the powerful feudal Embriaci family had settled around the 11th century , and thanks to its high altitude and the seat of the city's political and religious power, this area was protected from Saracen raids.
The present church was built in the first half of the 12th century by antelamist workers on the remains of the oldest church, of which some sculptures have been preserved in the baptistery.
The new church had three naves with wooden roof beams , a transept and three apses . Granite columns and Corinthian capitals from Roman times and from the 3rd century were reused for the construction , which master Antelami cleverly integrated into the new building.
The church , consecrated in 1237 by Geroldo di Losanna, Patriarch of Jerusalem , was a collegial church even before it was rebuilt . It remained so until 1441, when it was assigned with a bull by Pope Eugene IV to the Dominicans , who held office in it until 2015. The monks did not take possession of it until November 13, 1442, as the canons , supported by Archbishop Giacomo Imperiale, resisted the arrival of the Dominicans for over a year, to whom all the goods and rents of the church had been transferred
After the arrival of the Dominicans, the complex was expanded in the second half of the 15th century and became an important cultural center. The monastery, the three cloisters and the sacristy were built by purchasing land next to the church. During this period (1453–1462) the first cloister was built with frescoes in the vault of the loggia and on the walls, of which the famous Annunciation by Giusto d'Alemagna (1451) has been preserved. In addition, the Dominicans converted the ceiling of the church into a ribbed vault . Between the 15th and 17th centuries, many patrician families had their aristocratic chapels built along the side aisles and furnished with works of art by the greatest Genoese artists.
In the 16th century the apses were rebuilt and the dome was erected, but from the second half of the 17th century the complex went into a period of decline and the Dominicans were forced to rent out some rooms in the monastery. The church was badly damaged by the French naval bombardment of 1684.
When in 1801 the remains of Pope Pius VI. , who died in 1799 as a prisoner in France, were brought to Rome, they were stopped with the coffin in the church of S. Maria di Castello, where a solemn ceremony took place. The monastery was spared the oppression laws of 1797, but was in poor condition in the first half of the 19th century. Part of the monastery, which was partially expropriated by the state in 1859 under the Rattazzi Act of 1855, was converted into apartments in 1870 and the loggias of the monastery expanded.
At the same time, the architect Maurizio Dufour was commissioned to restore the interior of the church, revealing the medieval parts that had been covered with a thick layer of plaster over time. Dufour himself painted the fresco in the vault of the choir depicting "God the Father in glory".
The church was damaged during World War II . First in 1942, when the ruins of a nearby building damaged the left aisle, and then in 1944, with damage to the roof from pressure waves from bombs on the harbor . After the war, restoration work was carried out under the direction of engineers Cesare Fera and Luciano Grossi Bianchi. With the reconstruction of the medieval windows changed in the 15th and 16th centuries, the original Romanesque architecture of the facade was restored. When the adjacent museum was redesigned and expanded in the early 2000s, the entire complex was renovated.
Enrico di Rovasenda (1906–2007), a Dominican priest and chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, lived in the monastery of Santa Maria di Castello for many years until his death .
In 2015 the Dominicans left the monastery of Santa Maria di Castello and the complex was entrusted to the priests of the Society of Africa Missions .
description
The building complex, consisting of a church, monastery and cloister , developed along the slope leading to the top of the hill to the old bishop's castle. The furnishings of the church in Romanesque style have been expanded over the centuries, especially with the chapels of the great Genoese noble families, with works by the most important Ligurian artists from the 15th to 18th centuries.
Outdoor area
The large Romanesque facade , divided in three by two large pilaster strips that characterize the main nave, is crowned by hanging arches. The main portal , the only decorative element of the facade, consists of a Roman architrave from the 3rd century, which is decorated with elements of plants and griffins .
inner space
The interior is spacious and bright and has a Romanesque basilica floor plan with three naves with reused Roman columns and capitals that support the Romanesque arches and a false gallery above the arches. The ceiling, originally a timber frame, consists of a ribbed vault that was created in 1468. There are five chapels along each side aisle. The left ones were made in the second half of the 15th century, while the right ones date back to the 16th century. Between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, the side apses were rebuilt, while the middle one was expanded into a large choir .
In the middle of the opposite facade was the marble statue of St. Dominic by Francesco Maria Schiaffino (today in the Carlo Felice Theater); on the left a fresco by Lorenzo Fasolo (end of the 15th century) depicting the Madonna and Child and Saints Dominic and Saint Peter from the destroyed church of S. Domenico. To the right of the portal is a niche with a wooden cross from the 15th century. Above the side doors there are two paintings by the Cremonese Francesco Boccaccino (1660–1750). (The crucifix speaks to Peter and the miracle of Saint Peter).
A recent restoration has revealed the original Romanesque interior portal, hidden by the 15th century portal that leads to the sacristy and is now located on the right wall of the church.
presbytery
In the last decades of the 16th century, the presbytery and apse were enlarged in order to adapt the church to the norms of the Council of Trento and to accommodate the wooden pews of the choir and some funerary monuments. The main altar , rebuilt after the bombardment of 1684, is dominated by the marble group of the Assumption by Anton Domenico Parodi. The floor of the original presbytery was lowered to the level of the transept floor. Today there is the modern post-conciliar altar, which was built in 1985 based on a design by Cesare Fera.
"Black Christ"
Next to a column near the new altar is a wooden crucifix by an unknown artist from the 14th century, called the "Black Christ" and much venerated by believers. Over the centuries the crucifix has been modified several times. It acquired a thick beard and long hair, which was originally completely absent. A restoration carried out in the 1970s restored it to its original state. However, since the believers were used to the image of Christ with a beard and hair, a copy was made and displayed in a chapel in the church.
Side chapels
There are five ornate chapels with valuable works of art along each aisle . The chapels in the left aisle are larger than the right, the depth of which is limited by the presence of the cloister on the outer wall and only has space for the altar. In addition, two chapels close the lower aisles and serve as decorations for the main altar. The altars were erected under the patronage of well-known patrician families who preferred the creation of works of art of high quality.
Right chapels
- The first chapel, dedicated to Saint Pius V , is decorated with paintings by Alessandro Gherardini (Saint Pius V and the crucifix) and Giuseppe Palmieri ( Maria Magdalena ) from the 18th century.
- Second chapel: Martyrdom of Saint Blaise , by Aurelio Lomi (1556–1622).
- Third chapel, dedicated to Saint Anthony : in the vault, frescoes from the 16th century with the stories of King David and a panel from “Laggioni”, the characteristic painted majolica of the Genoese school of the 16th century. On the altar is a Madonna Hodegetria with Saints John the Baptist , Anthony and Nicolaus of Tolentino by Pier Francesco Sacchi (1526).
- Fourth chapel, dedicated to Saint Peter of Verona , with the altarpiece of the Martyrdom of Saint Peter of Verona by Bernardo Castello (1597).
- Fifth chapel: Assumption of Mary by Aurelio Lomi and, on the front of the transept, the funerary monument of Demetrio Canevari, a Genoese patrician and famous doctor of the time, by Tommaso Orsolino (1626).
- Sixth chapel: at the end of the right aisle, dedicated to the Holy Hyacinth of Poland , with a painting by Aurelio Lomi ( The Holy Hyacinth receives the religious clothing from Saint Dominic ), frescoes on the vault by Bernardo Castello ( Eternal Father and episodes from the life of the saint Hyacinth ) and two funerary monuments, works by Battista Casella.
Left chapels
- First chapel, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Siena : a baptismal font has been located here since 1874 , made from a Roman sarcophagus from the late Imperial period. There is a polyptych attributed to the Lombard masters of the 15th century, the central theme of which is the mystical marriage of Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Catherine of Siena, and a tabernacle for the sacred oils from the same period. On the ceiling there are frescoes with the story of St. Catherine.
- Second chapel: dedicated to Saint Vincent Ferrer , with the healing of Saint Vincent by Giovanni Battista Paggi , early 17th century, Saint Vincent in ecstasy before the Queen of Aragon by Andrea Ansaldo, sermon of Saint Vincent to the boys by Luciano Borzone.
- Third chapel: Polyptych by Giovanni Mazone, with the depiction of the Annunciation and saints (around 1470) in a Gothic frame made of gilded wood and a painting by Domenico Piola with Saint Thomas Aquinas in Adoration of the Most Holy .
- Fourth chapel dedicated to Blessed Sebastiano Maggi, Dominican from Brescia who died in 1496 in the monastery of Santa Maria di Castello; with a painting by Francesco Zignago (1750–1810) depicting the arrival of Sebastiano Maggi in Santa Maria di Castello and four panels painted on slate with scenes from the Gospel by Andrea Semino (16th century).
- Fifth chapel, dedicated to the Madonna of the Rosary , with a wooden group attributed to Pasquale Navone (1746–1791), as a continuation of the work of Maragliano. On the side walls there are two medallions decorated with frescoes by Giovanni Battista Carlone ( Presentation of the Lord in the Temple and discussion of Jesus with the scholars ) and four canvases: on the right the Marriage of the Virgin by Domenico Piola and the Birth of the Virgin by an unknown Genoese artist , left Flight into Egypt and Presentation of Mary in the Temple , attributed to Luciano Borzone. The decoration is complemented by stucco work and frescoes from the 19th century.
- Fifth chapel, in the left transept: at the altar, in polychrome marble, a painting by Grechetto depicting the Miracle of Soriano and one by Francesco Boccaccino depicting the miracle of bread .
- Kreuzkapelle. The transept chapel leads to the large chapel of the crucifix, where the copy of the baroque version of the “Black Christ” is located. In the access area there is a fresco with the Mater Dolorosa , by Gregorio De Ferrari and the grave monuments of two Genoese archbishops belonging to the Dominican order, Giulio Vincenzo Gentile and Nicolò Maria De Franchi, works by Filippo Parodi and Pasquale Bocciardo.
- The sixth chapel, at the end of the left aisle, is dedicated to Saint Rosa of Lima , with an altarpiece by Domenico Piola depicting the saint adoring the Madonna and Child. Under the altar table is a reclining statue of Blessed Jacobus de Voragine , Archbishop of Genoa in the 13th century, whose remains were kept here for almost a century. In the vault there are frescoes from the 17th century depicting the baptism of Jesus and Dominican saints , revised in the 19th century. The marble cladding (late 16th century) is the work of Taddeo Carlone in collaboration with Battista Bagutti from Rovio .
organ
In the church there is an organ that was built by the company Mascioni Orgelbau from Cuvio as opus 333 in 1915. It is equipped with a pneumatic action and has 29 stops on two manuals and a pedal . The disposition is:
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- Coupling : I Super, II / I, II / I Ottava grave, II / I Ottava acuta, P Super, I / P, II / P
sacristy
The sacristy is reached from the right transept through a small atrium, the former Grimaldi chapel, with a holy water font by Giovanni Gagini. It is equipped with walnut cabinets from the 18th century. In it is an altarpiece from 1738 with Saint Sebastian by Giuseppe Palmieri. The valuable, so-called “great portal” is a work of Tuscan origin by Leonardo Riccomanni and by Gagini himself (1452). Above it is a Gothic lunette from the 14th century with the crucifixion . Next to the portal is a colorful wooden group from the 18th century depicting the Madonna and Child and Saint Bernard from the destroyed oratory of Saints Mary, Saint Bernard and the Holy Kings, which stood not far from the church.
From the sacristy we go to the atrium of the Loggia of the Annunciation, with frescoes by Giacomo Serfolio in the vault ( Saint Peter Martyr, Blessed Raymond of Capua and Saint Thomas Aquinas ); on the left wall, sermon of Saint Vincent Ferrer , from the 15th century and a Madonna on slate from the 17th century; on the right, the preliminary drawing of the fresco by Carlo Braccesco, which is in the library.
Campanile
The bell tower of the church is of Romanesque origin and has undergone major changes over the centuries. A remnant of the original hanging arches remained on the top of the tower.
Monastery and cloisters
The monastery next to the church developed around three cloisters . The first and second cloisters were extended in the 19th century, when the monastery was expropriated by the state, in order to build apartments. In the first cloister, which was built between 1445 and 1452, were the utility rooms of the monastery ( refectory , kitchen, infirmary and on the upper floor the dormitories).
The second cloister was built on the foundations of the medieval houses that had been acquired by the Dominicans at the same time as the first. It housed the chapter house , the library , the pharmacy and the consulting room. It was restored in the 1960s and consists of a two-sided portico on the ground floor and two loggias on the upper floors, the rich decoration of which, donated by the Grimaldi-Oliva family, is an exceptional example of Genoese painting of the 15th century. It is the most famous because the loggia on the first floor houses the famous Annunciation fresco.
The third cloister, smaller than the previous ones, was built between 1492 and 1513. Today it is located in a university dormitory and is therefore not open to the public. Underneath was one of the rainwater cisterns for the monastery, which has now been converted into a hall for events and shows. The cistern dates back to the 9th century and was built with reused building materials, as evidenced by fragments of Roman columns.
The complex included another cloister, older than the previous one, that of the collegiate church. It dates from the 11th century and now forms the inner courtyard of a building adjacent to the church.
Loggia of the Annunciation
It opens to the second cloister and can be reached via stairs from the atrium. On the first floor of the loggia is the Annunciation , a fresco by Giusto d'Alemagna from 1451. On the ribbed vault there are flaming and round leaves with sibyls and prophets , possibly also from the 15th century. On the back there is a slate portal with Saint Dominic, who invites silence in the lunette ; in the refectory there are lunettes with saints from the old left apse of the church (mid-16th century) and a wooden cross (14th century).
On the second floor, or upper loggia, there is a Renaissance statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria ; a marble tabernacle , the Domenico Gagini is attributed to (15th century); the old library (15th century portal with Saint George by Giovanni Gagini); a marble tablet framed with angels from 1453 and a polyptichon Annunciation and Saints by Giovanni Mazone (approx. 1470), with a Gothic frame, which was already present in the church in the past.
Museum of Santa Maria di Castello
The museum was founded in 1959 by Gianvittorio Castelnovi to exhibit works of art that no longer had their own location due to the renovations in the monastery complex. The museum, which was renovated and expanded in 2001, collects archaeological finds in twelve rooms of the monastery that testify to the city's oldest history from the 2nd century to the late Middle Ages, as well as works of art belonging to the same church and by the Dominicans since their settlement in 1442 and a collection of 19th and 20th century Russian icons donated to the monastery by Enrico di Rovasenda.
There are marble statues from different epochs, paintings, reliquaries, liturgical vestments and objects, illuminated manuscripts , votive offerings (connected with the veneration of the "Black Christ"), as well as paintings and utensils from abandoned monasteries of the Dominican women .
Among the most important works of art are the altarpiece of All Saints by Ludovico Brea (1513), the polyptych of the Conversion of Saint Paul , from Brea's own school, the Madonna and Child by Domenico Gagini , made of painted marble (15th century), and a wooden statue of the Immaculate of Maragliano (18th century).
The adjacent library contains codices and incunabula, as well as a late 15th century fresco by Carlo Braccesco depicting Saint Dominic finding his brothers in Paradise.
Interior view of the dome
Rosary Madonna (Pasquale Navone)
Annunciation and Saints (Giovanni Mazone)
Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Catherine of Siena , polyptych from the 15th century in the baptistery
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c F. Caraceni Poleggi: Genova (= Guida Sagep ). Sagep, 1984, ISBN 978-88-7058-430-1 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa from the website of the parish of S. Maria di Castello ( Italian )
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Guida d'Italia - Liguria . Touring Club Italiano, 2009 (Italian).
- ↑ a b c Mauro Ricchetti: Liguria sconosciuta - itinerari insoliti e curiosi . Rizzoli, Milan 2002, ISBN 88-7423-008-7 (Italian).
- ↑ The Magistri Antelami , who came from the Val d'Intelvi , came to Genoa towards the end of the 11th century; they were a powerful group of builders who erected in the city the first important monuments in Romanesque style, including the city gates Soprana and S. Fede of the ramparts of Genoa and the Commenda di San Giovanni di Pré .
- ↑ a b c d Genoa City of Mary ( Italian ) Archdiocese of Genoa .
- ↑ GB Cevasco: Descrizione di Genova e del Genovesato . Tipografia Ferrando, Genoa 1846 (Italian).
- ↑ Giovanni Battista Semeria: Storia ecclesiastica di Genova e della Liguria dai tempi apostolici sino all'anno 1838 . Tipografia Canfari, Turin 1838 (Italian).
- ↑ Biografia e opere di Maurizio Dufour . Enciclopedia Treccani .
- ↑ C. Ceschi: Restauro di edifici danneggiati dalla guerra - Liguria (= Bollettino d'Arte . Fascicolo I). Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Cultural, 1953 (Italian, beniculturali.it [PDF]).
- ↑ La Repubblica (ed.): Padre di Rovasenda, ultimo atto di fede 'La città ha perso la sua stella cometa' . December 18, 2007 (Italian, repubblica.it ).
- ↑ Biographical Notes Francesco Boccaccaccino ( Italian ) Enciclopedia Treccani .
- ↑ Cassa di Risparmio (ed.): La scultura a Genova e in Liguria dal seicento al primo novecento . tape II . Genoa 1988, p. 278 (Italian).
- ↑ Storia del Cristo moro di S. Maria di Castello ( Italian )
- ^ C. Di Fabio: Storia e descrizione artistica del Cristo moro di S. Maria di Castello . In: Scultura lignea medievale a Genova e in area genovese . (Italian, academia.edu ).
- ^ Biography of Sebastiano Maggi ( Italian ) Enciclopedia Treccani .
- ↑ G. Brunati: Legge Dario o vite di santi Bresciani, con note istorico-critiche . Lorenzo Gilberti Editore, Brescia 1834 (Italian, google.it ).
- ↑ Biografia di Pasquale Navone ( Italian ) Enciclopedia Treccani .
- ↑ The painting shows an event that would have occurred in the village of Soriano in 1530: The Madonna, Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Mary Magdalene give the image of Saint Dominic to a brother of the recently founded local monastery
- ↑ The painting refers to a miracle that St. Dominic performed in the monastery of Bologna . When the monks were without bread, two angels entered the refectory with two baskets of freshly baked bread through the invocation of the saint. Archived copy . Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ↑ After the closing of the Chiesa di San Domenico, in the center of Genoa, where Jacopo da Varagine was buried, his remains were first brought to Santa Maria di Castello and finally in 1974 to the Chiesa di San Domenico in Varazze [1]
- ^ Cenni biografici sulla famiglia di artisti Riccomanni ( Italian ) Enciclopedia Treccani .
- ↑ a b c d e f Il complesso di S. Maria di Castello ( Italian ) www.isegretideivicolidigenova.com.
- ↑ Il campanile romanico di Santa Maria di Castello ( Italian digilander.libero.it).
- ^ Biografia di Jos Amman, called Giusto di Ravensburg or Giusto d'Alemagna ( Italian ) arte.it.
- ^ Il museo di S. Maria di Castello ( Italian ) it.cathopedia.org.
- ↑ a b c Il museo di Santa Maria di Castello ( Italian ) Convento di Santa Maria di Castello. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
literature
- Guida d'Italia - Liguria . TCI , Milan 2009 (Italian).
- Fiorella Caraceni Poleggi: Genova (= Guida Sagep ). Sagep, 1984, ISBN 978-88-7058-430-1 .
- Raimondo Amedeo Vigna: L'antica collegiata di Santa Maria di Castello . Dario Giuseppe Rossi, Genoa 1859 (Italian, google.at ).
- Raimondo Amedeo Vigna: Illustrazione storica, artistica ed epigrafica dell'antichissima chiesa di S. Maria di Castello in Genova . Genoa 1846 (Italian).
- Various: Descrizione di Genova e del Genovesato . Tipografia Ferrando, Genoa 1846 (Italian).
Web links
- Official website of the municipality ( Italian )
- Genoa City of Mary ( Italian ) Archdiocese of Genoa .
- Santa Maria di Costello ( Italian ) www.stoarte.unige.it.
- Pictures of the church and works of art ( Italian )
- Church of Santa Maria di Castello ( Italian ) ww1.zenazone.it.