Santa Sofia is a Roman catholic church located in the Piazza of

Anacapri Anacapri () is a ''comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)http://www.capritourism.com/imgg/download/capri_map_en.pdf —the Anc ...

, on the island of Capri,

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 ...

. It dates to 1596 when it replaced Chiesa di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli as the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. Some of the building materials and fittings, such as the sacristy and oratorio, were originally in the Chiesa di San Carlo. The church chapels are dedicated to Sant'Antonio, Anacapri's

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

, and the Madonna del Buon Consiglio. Architectural features include two bell towers and a baroque facade. The wedding of Guiliana DePandi and

Bill Rancic William Rancic (; born May 16, 1971) is an American entrepreneur who was the first candidate hired by The Trump Organization at the conclusion of the first season of Donald Trump's reality television show ''The Apprentice''. He is married to E! ...

occurred at the Chiesa di Santa Sofia.

History

Santa Sophia probably dates back to 1595–96 on a site where there was an earlier church dedicated to St Charles. The date of 1510 inscribed on the facade is incorrect. Completed in 1642, it became the new parish church of

replacing Santa Maria di Costantinopoli. The oldest remaining part is the oratory, to the left of the chancel, which was probably built on the remains of San Carlo. In 1698, the church was enlarged with two chapels and the nave was extended towards the square. Further alterations were made in 1706 (Mount of Purgatory), 1765 (facade] and 1777 elfry The church was officially consecrated in 1790 by Nicola Saveirio Gamboni, bishop of Capri. In 1879, the presbytery was enlarged, providing space for guests."Chiesa di S. Sofia"
''Musea Diffuso''. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
, ''Chiesa di S. Sofia - Anacapri''. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

Architecture

The plan of the church is in the form of a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

with a single nave, lateral chapels and a dome above the intersection of the nave and the transept. The absence of detailed planning from the start can be seen in the way chapels of various sizes have been developed without any consistency. The nave is covered by a large vault while the chapels have vaults of various sizes. The square-shaped

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

houses an eighteenth-century marble altar. The dome is supported by four large arches with

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s extending upwards and dividing the dome into eight segments. It was destroyed by lightning in 2004 but has since been repaired. In addition to the main dome, there are five smaller domes, each topped by a lantern. The facade consists of two overlapping sections, connected by

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...

s which terminate in low pinnacles. The main

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building ...

's enclose three sections interspersed with two smaller ones where two niches house clay statues of Sant'Antonio and Santa Sofia, both the work of the Roman sculptor Neni or Nene. The central section contains the main door with a decorated stucco frame while the upper level houses a rectangular window. There are also smaller doors on either side of the main door, each surmounted by an oval window. The belfry can be seen to the left of the facade with two clocks and three bells dedicated to Santa Sofia, Santa Maroa and Santa Elia. In the nave immediately before the last arch on the right there is a raised pulpit standing on two corbels. It consists of a rectangular enclosure decorated with polychrome marble. The sacristy and the oratory are to the left of the presbytery. Built on the foundations of the old San Carlo church, the oratory is a rectangular room with a

cloister vault In architecture, a cloister vault (also called a pavilion vault) is a vault with four concave surfaces (patches of cylinders) meeting at a point above the center of the vault. It can be thought of as formed by two barrel vaults that cross at ...

containing a series of triangular lunettes.

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Architecture , portal2= Catholicism , portal3= Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1642 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Capri, Campania Baroque church buildings in Italy 1642 establishments in Europe