Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo
Encyclopedia
The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is a church in Bergamo
, Northern Italy
.
to erect his personal mausoleum, the Colleoni Chapel.
In 1521, Pietro Isabello finished the south-western portal, also known as Porta della Fontana. The edifice was restored and modified in the 17th century.
The main apse is crowned by a loggia
surmounted by two frieze with geometrical and vegetables patterns, and has blind arcades with semi-columns. The latter's capitals have also vegetable themes, with the exception of one, decorated by Angels with Last Judgement's Trumpets.
The transept's apses have a structure similar to the main one.
Notable is Giovanni da Campione's porch
in the left transept, which is supported by columns departing from lions in Veronese marble. the arch has a frieze with hunting scenes, while the vault is decorated by polychrome lozenge
s. A loggia houses statues of St Barbara, St Vincent and St Alexander
. At the peak is a Gothic niche by Hans von Fernach (1403), with the Madonna with Child flanked by St Esther and St Grata (1398). also by Giovanni da Campione is the porch of the right transept, with a similar though simpler structure. The columns are supported by lions in white marble. It has reliefs with Christ Crowned by Saints and Birth of the Baptist.
Isabello's Renaissance porch has, in the lunette, a fresco of Mary's Nativity attributed to Andrea Previtali
.
and ending with an apse, but the decoration its largely from the 17th century Baroque renovation.
On the walls are tapestries, partly executed in Florence
(1583–1586) under Alessandro Allori
's design, partly of Flemish manufacture, depicting the Life of Mary. Over the tapestry of the Crucifixion (executed in Antwerp on Ludwig van Schoor's cartoons, 1698) is a painting by Luca Giordano
, with the Passage of the Red Sea (1691).
Left to the entrance is the sepulchre of Cardinal Guglielmo Longhi, work by Ugo da Campione (1913–1320). On the rear wall are the tomb of the composer Gaetano Donizetti
, by Vincenzo Vela
(1855) and that of the latter's master Simone Mayr (1852). At the beginning of the left aisle is the Baroque confessional carved by Andrea Fantoni
in 1704. A crucifix from the 14th century is on the presbytery's balaustrade.
In the presbytery itself, housing six bronze candelabra from 1597, is a wooden choir designed by Bernardo Zenale
and Andrea Previtali. The reliefs with Biblical tales were executed in 1524–1555 on designs by Lorenzo Lotto
. They are characterized by a polychrome effect rendered through the use of different wood types.
The right transepts has Giottesque frescoes from an unknown artist, with Histories of St Aegidius, The Last Supper and the Tree of Life (1347), partially covered by a 17th century fresco.
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
.
History
The church was founded in 1137 on the site of another church from the 8th century dedicated to St Mary, which had been in turn erected over a Roman temple of the Clemence. The high altar was consecrated in 1185 and in 1187 the presbytery and the transept wings were completed. Due to financial troubles, the works dragged for the whole 13th–14th centuries. The bell tower was built from 1436 (being completed around the end of the century), while in 1481–1491 a new sacristy added after the old one had been destroyed by Bartolomeo ColleoniBartolomeo Colleoni
Bartolomeo Colleoni was a Venetian condottiero, who became Captain-General of the republic of Venice, where there is a famous statue showing him on horseback.-Biography:...
to erect his personal mausoleum, the Colleoni Chapel.
In 1521, Pietro Isabello finished the south-western portal, also known as Porta della Fontana. The edifice was restored and modified in the 17th century.
Architecture
The church opens on the square (Piazza Duomo) on its own left side, as the main façade has no entrance, being once united to the Bishops' Palace. The external appearance has largely maintained its Lombard-Romanesque origins. The church can be accessed by two entrances by Giovanni da Campione (1353) and by Isabello's Porta della Fontana.The main apse is crowned by a loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
surmounted by two frieze with geometrical and vegetables patterns, and has blind arcades with semi-columns. The latter's capitals have also vegetable themes, with the exception of one, decorated by Angels with Last Judgement's Trumpets.
The transept's apses have a structure similar to the main one.
Notable is Giovanni da Campione's porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
in the left transept, which is supported by columns departing from lions in Veronese marble. the arch has a frieze with hunting scenes, while the vault is decorated by polychrome lozenge
Lozenge
A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...
s. A loggia houses statues of St Barbara, St Vincent and St Alexander
Alexander of Bergamo
Saint Alexander of Bergamo is the patron saint of Bergamo. Alexander may simply have been a Roman soldier or resident of Bergamo who was tortured and killed for not renouncing his Christian faith. Details of his life are uncertain, but subsequent Christian legends consider him a centurion of the...
. At the peak is a Gothic niche by Hans von Fernach (1403), with the Madonna with Child flanked by St Esther and St Grata (1398). also by Giovanni da Campione is the porch of the right transept, with a similar though simpler structure. The columns are supported by lions in white marble. It has reliefs with Christ Crowned by Saints and Birth of the Baptist.
Isabello's Renaissance porch has, in the lunette, a fresco of Mary's Nativity attributed to Andrea Previtali
Andrea Previtali
Andrea Previtali was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Bergamo. He was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Bellini...
.
Interior
The interior has maintained the original Romanesque Greek cross plan, with a nave and two aisles divided by piersPier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
and ending with an apse, but the decoration its largely from the 17th century Baroque renovation.
On the walls are tapestries, partly executed in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
(1583–1586) under Alessandro Allori
Alessandro Allori
Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori was an Italian portrait painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school....
's design, partly of Flemish manufacture, depicting the Life of Mary. Over the tapestry of the Crucifixion (executed in Antwerp on Ludwig van Schoor's cartoons, 1698) is a painting by Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain....
, with the Passage of the Red Sea (1691).
Left to the entrance is the sepulchre of Cardinal Guglielmo Longhi, work by Ugo da Campione (1913–1320). On the rear wall are the tomb of the composer Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
, by Vincenzo Vela
Vincenzo Vela
Vincenzo Vela was a Swiss sculptor, active mainly in northern Italy.-Biography:Having started work as a stonecutter when still very young, Vela received his initial training at Viggiù and then moved to Milan, where he worked on the Cathedral and enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in 1832...
(1855) and that of the latter's master Simone Mayr (1852). At the beginning of the left aisle is the Baroque confessional carved by Andrea Fantoni
Andrea Fantoni
Andrea Fantoni was an Italian sculptor and woodcarver of the late-Baroque period, active in the region near Bergamo.He was born in Rovetta in 1659, and he died in Bergamo in 1734. He trained with his family of artisans as well as the noted wood carver Pietro Ramus , and then traveled to Parma to...
in 1704. A crucifix from the 14th century is on the presbytery's balaustrade.
In the presbytery itself, housing six bronze candelabra from 1597, is a wooden choir designed by Bernardo Zenale
Bernardo Zenale
Bernardo Zenale was an Italian painter and architect.- Biography :Zenale was born in Treviglio, Lombardy, where in 1485 he finished the great polyptych for the church of St. Martin, together with his fellow Bernardino Butinone. Later he collaborated to the decoration of the Certosa di Pavia...
and Andrea Previtali. The reliefs with Biblical tales were executed in 1524–1555 on designs by Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto was a Northern Italian painter draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits...
. They are characterized by a polychrome effect rendered through the use of different wood types.
The right transepts has Giottesque frescoes from an unknown artist, with Histories of St Aegidius, The Last Supper and the Tree of Life (1347), partially covered by a 17th century fresco.