The Chiesa dei Domenicani (German: ''Dominikanerkirche'') is a medieval church in

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

/Bozen,

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The church, one of the earliest examples of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

in Tyrol, was founded by the Dominicans after their arrival, in a location that was then outside the city's walls. The construction ended in 1272 but was expanded in the following century. The quarter which originated from the monks' church and monastery became known as ''Neustadt'' ("New City"); their cultivated lands were nationalized by the

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

regime in 1930s. The church was damaged by bombs during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The church has a single hall two rows of octagonal pillars. The presbytery, separated a five-span bridge, was rebuilt in

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style in the 18th century; in 1458-1468 the church and the cloister received new vaults in Gothic style. The four side chapels, dating from the 14th century, were damaged in World War II. The interior is home to several frescoes, including a ''Madonna and Saints'' by Haus Stotzinger from

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

(1404), a ''Madonna Enthroned'' by a Veronese school artist (1379) and ''Four Saints'' by an artist from Martino da Verona's school (1400). The Chapel of St. John, finally, houses a fresco cycle by a

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

esque painter, including a scene with one of the

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...

and, below, the sinners. Bolz

At the end of the apse is ''The Vision of Soriano'', an altarpiece by

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vig ...

(1655) showing a vision by Lorenzo da Grotteria, a Dominican lay brother in the monastery at

Soriano Calabro Soriano Calabro (Central-Southern Calabrian, Calabrian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italy, Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about southeast of Vibo Valentia. As of 31 ...

on the night of 15 September 1530, in which he saw the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

and

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

, who at the end of the vision left in his hands a painting of his order's founder

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

holding a book and a lily, respectively symbolising the learning and purity of the order's members. With three surviving preparatory sketches for it (two in the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

and the third in a private collection in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

), Guercino's painting was commissioned by the town's Mercantile Magistrate via consul Bernardino Borno of Verona and put in place a year later. It was taken to the parish church when the monastery was suppressed in 1785, but was returned to the Dominicans' former monastery church in 1970. The cloister, first mentioned in a 1308 document, has wall paintings depicting the Life of Jesus and Mary, executed by

Friedrich Pacher Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

around 1496. Other Giottoesque frescoes from the 14th century can be seen in the St. Caterine Chapel which is accessed through the cloister.

Sources

External links

Page at Bolzano.net
{{Authority control Gothic architecture in Italy Churches completed in 1272 Buildings and structures in Bolzano Churches in South Tyrol Dominican churches in Italy 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy