The Church of the Eremitani (Italian: ''Chiesa degli Eremitani''), or Church of the Hermits, is a former-

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

, 13th-century

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

-style church in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, region of the Veneto,

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 ...

. It is also now notable for being adjacent to the Cappella Scrovegni with Giotto frescoes and the municipal archeology and art gallery: the '' Musei Civici agli Eremitani'', which is housed in the former Augustinian monastery located to the left of the entrance.

History

The Augustinian hermit

friars A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

, precursors of the present

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

had arrived in Padua in 1237. Through the patronage of both the wife of the local nobleman Zaccaria dell'Arena and the city, the church was erected between 1260 and 1276 and dedicated to the saints

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. The friars would remain in the administration of the monastery and church until 1806, when the Napoleonic rule suppressed the order and closed the monastery. The church was re-opened to services in 1808, and in 1817 reformulated into a parish church. The facade is tall with a rose window. A 15th-century side portal has bas-reliefs depicting the months, completed by Nicolò Baroncelli. The interior has a single nave. The church no longer houses the famed

Ovetari Chapel The Ovetari Chapel (Italian: ''Cappella Ovetari'') is a chapel in the right arm of the Church of the Eremitani in Padua. It is renowned for a Renaissance fresco cycle by Andrea Mantegna and others, painted from 1448 to 1457. The cycle was destroyed ...

frescoes, depicting scenes from the lives of Saints James and

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, painted 1448-1457 by the Renaissance painter Mantegna. The chapel was largely destroyed by a March 1944 aerial bombardment by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

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 ...

, because it was next to a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

headquarters. There are more than 88000 fragments covering only 77 m2, while the original area covered several hundreds. The church still preserves frescoes from other painters including

Guariento Guariento di Arpo (13101370), sometimes incorrectly referred to as Guerriero, was a 14th-century painter whose career was centered in Padua. The painter is buried in the church of San Bernardino, Padua. Guariento's major commissions in Padua i ...

and

Ansuino da Forlì Ansuino da Forlì was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento period. Born and active in Forlì and Padua in the mid-15th century, he was a member of a Forlì painting school and influenced the great Melozzo da Forlì. He trained with Squarcion ...

. The church contains the tombs of

Jacopo II da Carrara Tomb of Jacopo II da Carrara in Church of the Eremitani Jacopo II da Carrara (or Giacomo II) (died 1350), of the Carraresi family, was the ''capitano del popolo'' of Padua from 1345 until his death. Though he assumed power through forged docume ...

(d.1351) and

Ubertino da Carrara Ubertino I (or II) da Carrara (also ''Uberto'', ''Umberto'' or ''Umbertino''; died 29 March 1345), called Novello and better known as Ubertinello, was the Lord of Padua from 1338 until his death. Tomb of Ubertino da Carrara Youth Ubertinello was t ...

(d.1345)

da Carrara The House of Carrara or Carraresi (da Carrara) was an important family of northern Italy in the 12th to 15th centuries. The family held the title of Lords of Padua from 1318 to 1405. Under their rule, Padua conquered Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, ...

, lords of Padua, both by Andriolo de Santi (de Sanctis) and others. They were formerly in the church of Sant'Agostino, but were moved here after that church was razed in 1819.

Gallery

Church of the Eremitani (Padua) - Interior.jpg, The nave Church of the Eremitani (Padua) - Interior Tomb of Jacopo II da Carrara.jpg, Tomb of

Church of the Eremitani (Padua) - Interior - Mausoleo di Marco Mantova Benavides by Bartolomeo Ammannati.jpg, Mausoleum of Marco Mantua Bonavides Church of the Eremitani (Padua) - Interior Tomb of Ubertino da Carrara.jpg, Tomb of

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of The Eremitani Churches completed in 1276

Eremitani The Church of the Eremitani (Italian: ''Chiesa degli Eremitani''), or Church of the Hermits, is a former-Augustinians, Augustinian, 13th-century Gothic architecture, Gothic-style church in Padua, region of the Veneto, Italy. It is also now notable ...

Augustinian churches in Italy Gothic architecture in Padua 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy