San Domenico is a

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 ...

basilica church, located on Piazza Giordano Bruno and via del Castellano in the city of

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

, region of

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, central

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 ...

Description

A church, titled the ''Pieve di Santo Stefano del Castellare'', was present at the site since about the 5th century. Construction of the precursor to the present church, also known as ''San Domenico Vecchio'', began in 1304, and was constructed over the pre-existing church which had become inadequate after the growth of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

. According to

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

, it was designed by

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Rom ...

That church was consecrated in 1459, and had a layout that resembled the northern-European

Hallenkirche A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In co ...

plans. By 1614–1615, the San Domenico Vecchio church was dilapidated, showing structural problems, and threatening collapse. New plans for refurbishment were implemented. The church façade retains a late 16th-century portal and is now double

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 ...

staircase. The interior was renovated in 1629–1632 by

Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno (Maderna) (1556 – 30 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Valle ...

, and shows similarities with Maderno's design of the nave of St Peter's in Rome, except San Domenico has small lateral windows. Of the prior San Domenico church, some fragments remain: the cloister (1455–1579), the chapel of St Catherine, and a large Gothic rose window (21 x 8.5 m) near the choir, executed by Bartolomeo di Pietro and Mariotto di Nardo in 1411. This window is also shown in a fresco now in the

Palazzo dei Priori The Palazzo dei Priori or comunale is one of the best examples in Italy of a public palace from the communal era (11th century). It is located in the central Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia, Umbria. It extends along Corso Vannucci up to Via Boncam ...

of Perugia. The bell tower was built in 1454–1500 by the Lombard architect Gasperino di Antonio. Originally it was taller than its current appearance, but it was later reduced for stability reasons. Over the centuries, some of the movable artwork inside the church was removed. It still contains the 14th-century funerary monument to

Pope Benedict XI Pope Benedict XI ( la, Benedictus PP. XI; 1240 – 7 July 1304), born Nicola Boccasini (Niccolò of Treviso), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 October 1303 to his death in 7 July 1304. Boccasini entered the ...

, who died at Perugia in 1304 (perhaps sculpted by a pupil of

Arnolfo di Cambio Arnolfo di Cambio (c. 1240 – 1300/1310) was an Italian architect and sculptor. He designed Florence Cathedral and the sixth city wall around Florence (1284–1333), while his most important surviving work as a sculptor is the tomb of Cardin ...

). It still has the altar (1459) of the ''Chapel of the Rosary'' by

Agostino di Duccio Agostino di Duccio (1418 – ) was an early Renaissance Italians, Italian sculptor. Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from ...

and wooden choir-stalls, dating to the late 14th century. The church once housed also the

Perugia Altarpiece The ''Perugia Altarpiece'' (Italian: ''Pala di Perugia'') is a painting by the Italian early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico, housed in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria of Perugia, Italy. History The painting was executed for the St. Nic ...

(Guidalotti Polyptych) by

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

, now in the

Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria The Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria (English: National Gallery of Umbria) the Italian national paintings collection of Umbria, housed in the Palazzo dei Priori, Perugia, in central Italy. Located on the upper floors of the Palazzo dei Priori, the ex ...

. The Chapel of St Catherine has 14th and 15th-century frescoes. The annexed cloister houses the National Archaeological Museum of Umbria, with pre-historic, Roman and Etruscan items excavated in Umbria.Comune of Perugia
tourism office.

References

Sources

* {{coord, 43, 06, 24, N, 12, 23, 30, E, region:IT-PG_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Minor basilicas in Umbria

Domenico Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...

Gothic architecture in Perugia Roman Catholic churches completed in 1458 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1632 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 1632 establishments in Italy