The Chiesa del Suffragio, also known as the Chiese delle Anime Purganti (Church of the Suffering or Church of the Souls in Purgatory), is a

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,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church and monastery located in Piazza Mattei in the city center of

Matelica Matelica is a (municipality) of the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche. Located about southwest of Ancona and west of Macerata, it extends over an area of . Geography Matelica lies in an ample valley where the Braccano cree ...

province of Macerata The province of Macerata ( it, provincia di Macerata) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Macerata. The province includes 55 comunes (Italian: ''comuni'') in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Macera ...

, region of

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

, Italy.

History

The church was commissioned by the Confraternity ''Del Suffragio'', which was founded in 1684. Work on the church was completed in 1715. The brick facade has monumental pilasters upholding a triangular tympanum, flanking a white stone portal with a rounded pediment. In the presbytery are two chapels dedicated to Saints Sebastian and Lucy. An elliptical dome covers the nave, with a cupula frescoed with ''Jesus in Glory with Angels''. The main altarpiece depicts ''Christ and the Souls in Purgatory'' by the studio of

Biagio Puccini Biagio Puccini (1673–1721) was an Italian painter, active in his native Rome, but also in Tuscany, Umbria and the Marche in a late Baroque style. He was born in Rome. He trained with Antonio Gherardi, but was influenced by Giacinto Brandi, Gius ...

, which also painted the works in the lateral chapels.TUMA website
, Tourism website for the province of Macerata, sponsored by the Fondazione of the Cassa di Risparmio of the Province of Macerata.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Matelica Baroque architecture in Marche 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1715 {{Italy-RC-church-stub