San Carlo Borromeo or San Carlo 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 located in

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 ...

, region of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. It mirrors the adjacent church of Santa Cristina and faces the

Piazza San Carlo (" St. Charles Square"), previously known as , , and , is one of the main city squares in Turin, Italy. It was laid out in the 16th and 17th century and is an example of Baroque style. The 1838 Equestrian monument of Emmanuel Philibert by Carlo ...

. The arrangement recalls the twin churches (''chiese gemelle'') of Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1681) and

Santa Maria in Montesanto Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria di Montesanto are two churches of Rome, churches in Rome. They are located on the Piazza del Popolo, facing the northern gate of the Aurelian Walls, at the entrance of Via del Corso on the square. The chu ...

(1679) facing the

Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars (''populus'' in Latin, ''pioppo'' in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del ...

in Rome.

History

The church was commissioned in 1619 by

Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel I ( it, Carlo Emanuele di Savoia; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630. He was nicknamed (, in context "the Hot-Headed") for his rashness and military aggression. Being ...

, who had met the archbishop, and later saint, after which the church is named. The main designer is uncertain; the work has been attributed to both Baron Maurizio Valperga, and the engineer Galleani di Ventimiglia. The first facade was designed in 1830 to designs of Grassi. The facade bas-relief depicting ''San Carlo granting communion to Duke Emanuele Filiberto'' was sculpted by Stefano Butti. The main altar dates from 1653. Above the marble main altar is a painting depicting ''St Charles genuflects before the Sindone of Turin'' by

Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli (commonly known as il Morazzone; 1573–1626) was an Italian painter and draughtsman who was active in Milan. He is mainly known for his altarpieces, but his outstanding achievements are large decorative frescoes ...

, also called il Morazzone. In 1866, the painter

Rodolfo Morgari Rodolfo Morgari (Turin, 1827 – Turin 1909) was an Italian painter, primarily of genre and historical scenes. Biography Rodolfo was born to a family of painters. Rodolfo's son was Pietro Morgari (1852-1885). His brother was Paolo Emilio ...

frescoed the walls and ceiling. The church is located at the southwest end of the piazza San Carlo, where also is located the palace where Count

Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early life Alfieri was b ...

wrote his first tragedic dramas.Guida di Torino
Ermano Loscher, 1874 Turin, page 31.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlo Turin Baroque architecture in Turin Roman Catholic churches in Turin 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Charles Borromeo