The Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Lumi is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

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 ...

small church located in central San Severino Marche, 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 sanctuary was established by the first arriving priest of the Order of Phillip Neri; they chose to enlarge a votive chapel dedicated to a painting of the ''Madonna and Child'' (1560) by

Giangentile Di Lorenzo Giangentile di Lorenzo (active 16th century) was an Italian painter. Along with his two brothers, Antonio and Sanseverino, he learned his craft initially from his father the painter Lorenzo d'Alessandro of Sanseverino. In the town of Sanseverino, ...

. Tradition holds that during 1584, the painting had miraculously emitted light. They initiated construction of the sanctuary using a design by Giovanni Battista Guerra, a lay oratorian. A prior, more elaborate design by Ludovico Carducci and funded in 1585 by the Duke of Urbino

Francesco Maria II Francesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duke of Urbino. Biography Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farnese ...

was abandoned. By 1601, after an onslaught of the plague attacked the town, the Filippini abandoned the sanctuary to the

Barnabites , image = Barnabites.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = One version of the Barnabite logo. "P.A." refers to Paul the Apostle and the three hills symbolize the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. , a ...

to complete. This latter order was suppressed in 1861 and the sanctuary passed into the custody of the Cistercian order. The sanctuary has a modified Greek Cross design with three rounded lobes (apse and tribune arms) and a flat façade. Along the nave from the entrance are two chapels on each side. On the first chapel on the right is an altarpiece of the ''Blessed

Alessandro Sauli Alexander (Alessandro) Sauli, C.R.S.P. (15 February 1534 – 11 October 1592) was an Italian people, Italian priest who is called the "Apostle of Corsica". He is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1571, he was appointed by Pius V to th ...

presented by Angels to San Carlo Borromeo'' attributed to

Felice Torelli Felice Torelli (9 September 1667 – 11 June 1748) was an Italian painter of the Baroque style, active mainly in Bologna. Biography He was born to a family of artists in Verona, including his brother, Giuseppe Torelli, a noted violinist and ...

. In the next chapel on the right, the canvas depicts the ''Life of the Virgin'' by Giovanni Andrea Urbini. The chapels on the left were decorated from 1593 to 1596 by the painter

Felice Damiani Felice Damiani or ''Felice da Gubbio'' (1530-1608) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerism period. Biography He was a pupil of Benedetto Nucci in Gubbio. Because of his lively coloring, he was nicknamed the ''Paolo Veronese ...

and the stucco artist Vincenzo da Camerino. Among the depictions are a ''Visitation'', the ''Dream of St Joseph'', and a ''Travel of Mary and Joseph to the House of Elizabeth''. The second chapel has an ''Adoration of the Magi'', a ''Circumcision'', and an ''Adoration of the Shepherds''. The cupola was frescoed (1657) by Giulio Lazzarelli.Marche Beni Culturali
entry on sanctuary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madonna dei Lumi San Severino 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Renaissance architecture in le Marche Roman Catholic churches in San Severino Marche