The cappella dei Mercanti, Negozianti e Banchieri (chapel of merchants, shopkeepers, and bankers), better known as cappella dei Mercanti, is a Catholic chapel in the historic city center of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy. The

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, whose construction was authorized during the 16th century, was built at the end of the 1600s and most of the artwork it contains originated in the 1600 and 1700s, in the baroque style. The sacristy hosts the Perpetual Calendar built by the engineering

Giovanni Plana Giovanni Antonio Amedeo Plana (6 November 1781 – 20 January 1864) was an Italian astronomer and mathematician. He is considered one of the premiere Italian scientists of his age. The crater Plana on the Moon is named in his honor. Biograph ...

, a primitive computing machine.

History and description

The Pious Congregation of Bankers, Merchants and Merchants of Turin was chartered in 1663, and built its own chapel inside the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

palace, on the city block of San Paolo (owned by the congregation itself) on Via Dora Grossa, now Via Garibaldi. The space is adjacent to the sixteenth century Church of the Holy Martyrs, which was staffed by the Jesuits. The chapel was built during the rectorate of the Fr. Agostino Provana (1680-1726). Inaugurated in 1692, the large rectangular hall was decorated in the following years thanks to the guidance of Provana. The theme of the interior decorations is the

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

, which represents the manifestation of Christ to the powerful of the earth and on which day the Congregation celebrates its own feast. The walls of the chapel present numerous seventeenth-century paintings, all inspired by the theme of the

Biblical Magi The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the G ...

. On the left wall ''Herod with the Magi and the wise'' ''men'' (circa 1694) by

Sebastiano Taricco Sebastiano Taricco (1645–1710) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Taricco was born in Cherasco, a city of the Piedmont, while some claimed he studied along with Guido Reni and with Domenichino in the school of the Caracci, his lifes ...

, ''Journey of the Magi towards Bethlehem'' (circa 1694) by Luigi Vannier, ''Opening of the treasures of the Wise Men'' (1705) by Stefano Maria Legnani (called Legnanino), and ''Announcement of the angel to the Magi'' circa 1694) by

. On the left wall ''Appearance of the star to the Magi'' (1703) by

Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fresc ...

, ''King David meditates on the mystery of the Epiphany ''(circa 1695) by Stefano Maria Legnani, Massacre of the Innocents (1703) by

, and ''Procession of the Magi into Jerusalem'' (1712) by Niccolò Carone. The paintings are alternated with marbled wooden statues made by Carlo Giuseppe Plura between 1707 and 1715 depicting popes and

church fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

;

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his homilies, preaching and public speaking, his denunciat ...

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

, and Saint Ambrose on the left wall and

Saint Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

, Saint Leo the Great, and

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

on the right wall. Plana also carved the marble bust of the Madonna to the left of the altar. The altar dates back to 1797 and is the work of Michele Emanuele Buscaglione. On either side there are two

reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fe ...

, while on the wall there are three paintings by the Jesuit painter

: ''Nativity with shepherds'' (1699 circa), ''Adoration of the Magi ''(before 1694), and ''Flight to Egypt'' (around 1699). The baroque

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

ed ceiling by

Legnanino Stefano Maria Legnani also known as "Legnanino" (Milan, 6 April 1661 – Milan, 4 May 1713) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period, active mainly in Milan.Guglielmo Caccia Guglielmo Caccia called il Moncalvo (9 May 15681625) was an Italian painter of sacred subjects in a Mannerist style. Biography He was born in Montabone near Acqui. He is said to have been a pupil of Lorenzo Sabbatini. He started painting in Milan ...

(called Moncalvo), and a ''Piccolo Trono'' (1792) by Michele Brassiè, together with a Natale Favriano wardrobe from 1712. The sacristy also houses precious Antependi and the archive of the Congregation. On 21 January 2017 the chapel was returned to the public after a period of

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

Perpetual calendar

The sacristy contains several sacred objects, but above all the famous ''Perpetual Calendar'' by

, one of the oldest calculator machines (it is equipped with rotating drums and a transmission system that allows the correct combination of the various information contained in the system) which allows precise

calendrical calculation A calendrical calculation is a calculation concerning calendar dates. Calendrical calculations can be considered an area of applied mathematics. Some examples of calendrical calculations: * Converting a Julian or Gregorian calendar date to its ...

over a period of 4000 years starting from

year zero A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year . However, the ...

(including the calculation of lunations, days of the week and Christian holidays).

Gallery

File:Cappella dei Mercanti sinistra.jpg, Right wall File:Cappella dei Mercanti soffitto.jpg, Ceiling frescoed by Stefano Maria Legnani File:Cappella dei Mercanti destra.jpg, Left wall File:Cappella dei Mercanti Torino organo.jpg, Organ File:Cappella dei Mercanti - calendario perpetuo.jpg, Perpetual Calendar File:Cappella dei Mercanti Torino altare.jpg, Altar with altarpieces by

External links

* I
Blog ufficiale della Cappella dei Mercanti di Torino

Calendario Meccanico Universale

References

{{Reflist Roman Catholic churches in Turin Roman Catholic chapels in Italy