One of the main and most valuable temples of Bologna. The interior of the church houses numerous works of art masters, including sculptures by Michelangelo. The square in front of the temple is paved with river pebbles, just like in ancient times. The Church of San Domenico is dedicated to St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans or the Dominican Order). Dominic Guzmá n, who arrived in Bologna in January 1218, purchased the church of San Nicolo delle Vigne, where the basilica now stands. After the death of Dominic (August 6.1221), the monks decided to build a large church where they could honor the memory of the Saint.
The church was expanded, a new monastery complex was built between 1228 and 1240. The apsidal area of the Church of San Nicolo was demolished, and the nave was enlarged and converted into the Basilica of Saint Dominic. The new shrine became a model for many other Dominican churches around the world.
Today, the facade of the Basilica of San Domenico is austere Romanesque and dates from 1240 with restoration work in 1910. In the center of the facade above the main entrance is a large rosette window. The lunette above the portal contains a copy of a mosaic (1921) depicting Saint Dominic blessing the city of Bologna.
The interior of the basilica was restored in 1727-32 by Carlo Francesco Dotti, who combined two medieval buildings into a single bright building. In the interior decoration of the church, made in the Baroque style, it is possible to highlight three naves (one central and two side aisles), several side chapels, a transept, a choir and an apse. In the lunettes of the central nave, above the Ionic columns, there are 10 paintings depicting episodes from the history of the church. The first two are the work of Giuseppe Pedretti (1697 - 1778), the others - Vittorio Bigari (1692 - 1776).
The Renaissance wooden choir, created by Fra Damiano and Bergamo, was defined by contemporaries as the 8th wonder of the world, and was also admired by Charles V.
From the chapels of the basilica, you can highlight:
- the chapel of St. Dominic, where the remains of the Saint are preserved in a marble coffin. Initially, Dominic's remains were placed in a simple marble sarcophagus, located on the floor in the right aisle of the church. Later, as many pilgrims came to see the tomb, the majority of whom simply could not see the grave due to the large number of people standing in front - the need for a new shrine arose. The development of the chapel of St. Dominic, which is now an artistic masterpiece, was carried out in separate stages by the best sculptors of the time and took almost 500 years. The remains of the saint were transferred to a new sarcophagus - the Ark of Saint Dominic (Arca di San Domenico/Arca di San Domenico), which can still be seen today.
The sarcophagus is decorated with marble sculptural compositions and is considered one of the best examples of Italian art of those times;
- Chapel of the Rosary - a chapel with picturesque frescoes on the vault (Assumption) and in the apse (Heaven and Earth praise the Madonna of the Rosary), painted between 1655 and 1657 by Angelo Michele Colonna and Agostino Mitelli. The most outstanding artists of their time worked on the decoration of the chapel. The two choir stalls were designed by the architect Carlo Francesco Dotti in 1736 after the redesign of the interior of the church. The altar was designed by the Bologna architect Floriano Ambrosini.
The first chapel, located on the site of the Rosary Chapel, was commissioned by the nobleman Giovanni Guidotti as a chapel for his family.
In the second half of the sixteenth century, the chapel was received from the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, established in the Dominican Order in the previous century (the practice of praying the Rosary was introduced by Dominic). On this occasion, the chapel changed its name to the "Rosary Chapel", in honor of the "Madonna del Rosario" or "Madonna with Rosary".
On the facade of the church is a memorial plaque of the Bologna Committee for History and Arts about the restoration in 1910.
Two columns are installed in the square in front of the temple. One with a sculpture of St. Dominic himself, the other with a sculpture of the Virgin. A bronze statue of Saint Dominic was installed on a tall column in 1623. The statue was made in Milan. The author is unknown. On the pedestal there is a plate with the text: "To the Great God Massimo. This column, which the fathers of this monastery erected to their holy father Domenico in the year of health 1623, in ruins, was restored in 1727. "
The statue of Saint Mary with the baby on a brick column was erected in gratitude for saving the city's population from the plague in 1630. The author is the sculptor Guido Reni. Other sources name Giulio Cesare Conventi as the author.
The third point of interest on the square is the tomb of the glossators. Two of the fourteen pyramidal tombs built in the 13th century on the model of the mausoleum of Mausolus in Halicarnassus. They were intended to house the remains of prominent jurists (or glossators) of that time. Today, only five remain, three of which are located next to the Basilica of San Francesco. Of the two tombs in Piazza San Domenico, the tomb of Egidio Foscerari, completed in 1289, uses glazed bricks and a marble arch of the Carolingian chivorium; the tomb of Rolandino dei Passegheri, built between 1300 and 1306 by Giovanni da Viviano and Pietro di Corrado, is characterized by elegant arches mounted on paired columns.
There are no other burials of this type anywhere in Europe.
The church was expanded, a new monastery complex was built between 1228 and 1240. The apsidal area of the Church of San Nicolo was demolished, and the nave was enlarged and converted into the Basilica of Saint Dominic. The new shrine became a model for many other Dominican churches around the world.
Today, the facade of the Basilica of San Domenico is austere Romanesque and dates from 1240 with restoration work in 1910. In the center of the facade above the main entrance is a large rosette window. The lunette above the portal contains a copy of a mosaic (1921) depicting Saint Dominic blessing the city of Bologna.
The interior of the basilica was restored in 1727-32 by Carlo Francesco Dotti, who combined two medieval buildings into a single bright building. In the interior decoration of the church, made in the Baroque style, it is possible to highlight three naves (one central and two side aisles), several side chapels, a transept, a choir and an apse. In the lunettes of the central nave, above the Ionic columns, there are 10 paintings depicting episodes from the history of the church. The first two are the work of Giuseppe Pedretti (1697 - 1778), the others - Vittorio Bigari (1692 - 1776).
The Renaissance wooden choir, created by Fra Damiano and Bergamo, was defined by contemporaries as the 8th wonder of the world, and was also admired by Charles V.
From the chapels of the basilica, you can highlight:
- the chapel of St. Dominic, where the remains of the Saint are preserved in a marble coffin. Initially, Dominic's remains were placed in a simple marble sarcophagus, located on the floor in the right aisle of the church. Later, as many pilgrims came to see the tomb, the majority of whom simply could not see the grave due to the large number of people standing in front - the need for a new shrine arose. The development of the chapel of St. Dominic, which is now an artistic masterpiece, was carried out in separate stages by the best sculptors of the time and took almost 500 years. The remains of the saint were transferred to a new sarcophagus - the Ark of Saint Dominic (Arca di San Domenico/Arca di San Domenico), which can still be seen today.
The sarcophagus is decorated with marble sculptural compositions and is considered one of the best examples of Italian art of those times;
- Chapel of the Rosary - a chapel with picturesque frescoes on the vault (Assumption) and in the apse (Heaven and Earth praise the Madonna of the Rosary), painted between 1655 and 1657 by Angelo Michele Colonna and Agostino Mitelli. The most outstanding artists of their time worked on the decoration of the chapel. The two choir stalls were designed by the architect Carlo Francesco Dotti in 1736 after the redesign of the interior of the church. The altar was designed by the Bologna architect Floriano Ambrosini.
The first chapel, located on the site of the Rosary Chapel, was commissioned by the nobleman Giovanni Guidotti as a chapel for his family.
In the second half of the sixteenth century, the chapel was received from the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, established in the Dominican Order in the previous century (the practice of praying the Rosary was introduced by Dominic). On this occasion, the chapel changed its name to the "Rosary Chapel", in honor of the "Madonna del Rosario" or "Madonna with Rosary".
On the facade of the church is a memorial plaque of the Bologna Committee for History and Arts about the restoration in 1910.
Two columns are installed in the square in front of the temple. One with a sculpture of St. Dominic himself, the other with a sculpture of the Virgin. A bronze statue of Saint Dominic was installed on a tall column in 1623. The statue was made in Milan. The author is unknown. On the pedestal there is a plate with the text: "To the Great God Massimo. This column, which the fathers of this monastery erected to their holy father Domenico in the year of health 1623, in ruins, was restored in 1727. "
The statue of Saint Mary with the baby on a brick column was erected in gratitude for saving the city's population from the plague in 1630. The author is the sculptor Guido Reni. Other sources name Giulio Cesare Conventi as the author.
The third point of interest on the square is the tomb of the glossators. Two of the fourteen pyramidal tombs built in the 13th century on the model of the mausoleum of Mausolus in Halicarnassus. They were intended to house the remains of prominent jurists (or glossators) of that time. Today, only five remain, three of which are located next to the Basilica of San Francesco. Of the two tombs in Piazza San Domenico, the tomb of Egidio Foscerari, completed in 1289, uses glazed bricks and a marble arch of the Carolingian chivorium; the tomb of Rolandino dei Passegheri, built between 1300 and 1306 by Giovanni da Viviano and Pietro di Corrado, is characterized by elegant arches mounted on paired columns.
There are no other burials of this type anywhere in Europe.
Translated automatically from Ukrainian. View original
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