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 ...
church on via Lomellini in central
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
. The order of the
Oratory of Saint Philip Neri
The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri ( la, Confoederatio Oratorii Sancti Philippi Nerii) abbreviated CO and commonly known as the Oratorians is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men (priests and lay- ...
had arrived in Genoa in 1643, under the sponsorship of the Oratorian and Marchese Camillo
Pallavicini
The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient Italian noble family founded by Oberto II ''Pelavicino'' of the Frankish Obertenghi family.
The Pallavicini of Genoa
The first recorded member o ...
who was born in Genoa. Originally housed in the church of
San Pancrazio
The basilica of San Pancrazio ( en, St Pancras; la, S. Pancratii) is a Roman Catholic ancient basilica and titular church founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the Porta S ...
, by 1674 the order began a move to this new site and built their church and chapter house on the site of a former palace of the Lomellino family. In 1834 the church became the residence of the Genoa Conservatory, and the building was used solely by that music school until it was reclaimed by an edict of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
in 1928.
The nearby building on via Brignole De Ferrari houses the chapter house for the ''Oratory of Philip Neri''. Designed by the architect Giovanni Battista Montaldo, it was built during the same period as the church. It is not clear who designed the church.
Interior
The ornate interior decoration was begun in 1674. The
quadratura
Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective ''di sotto in sù'' and ''quadratura'', is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, an ...
and some of the gilded and stucco decoration were completed by 1706 by
Antonio Maria Haffner
Antonio Maria Haffner (1654–1732) was an Italian painter of quadratura and priest during the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna.
Biography
Enrico was born to a Swiss father, who was a mercenary Swiss guard for the Papacy, stationed in Bo ...
, the brother of the Bolognese painter
Enrico Haffner
Enrico Haffner (August 1640 – 1702) was an Italian painter of quadratura during the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna.
Biography
Enrico was born to a Swiss father, who was a mercenary Swiss guard for the Papacy, stationed in Bologna; En ...
. The nave ceiling frescoes of the ''Glory of
St Philip Neri
Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of th ...
'' were completed by 1714 by Marcantonio Franceschini, who also painted the cornices with ''Miracles and Life of the Saint''.
In the first chapel to the right are two statues of ''Mansuetude'' and ''Divine Love'' by Domenico Parodi, the son of
Filippo Parodi
Filippo Parodi (1630 – 22 July 1702) was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period, "Genoa's first and greatest native Baroque sculptor".
Biography
Born in Genoa into a family of sculptors, Parodi developed his facility with wood, then tr ...
. On the lateral walls are paintings by Giacomo Boni and
Enrico Vaymer
Giovanni Enrico Vaymer (March 17, 1665 – November 1738) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.
He was born in Genoa. His father, the painter Enrico Vaymer, was originally from Kiel in Holstein. His mother, Maddalena Ricci, was Genoese. ...
depicting ''Events in the life of St Francis of Sales''.
In the second chapel to the right, are frescoes by Boni, and a ''Rest on the Flight to Egypt'' attributed to Franceschini.
In the First chapel on the left is a statue of an angel by Daniele Solari and a canvas depicting ''
Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
verifies the stigmata of St Francis of Assisi'' by Domenico Piola. The wooden sculpture of the ''Pietà '' was carved by Anton Maria Maragliano.
In the second chapel on the left, a painting by Domenico Piola depicting the ''St Catherine’s Vision of Christ on the Cross'' as well as episodes of the life of St. Philip by Boni.
In the presbytery the billowing statuary group of ''St Philip in Heaven'', designed and begun by
Domenico Guidi
Domenico Guidi (1625 – 28 March 1701) was a prominent Italian Baroque sculptor.
Born in Carrara, Guidi followed his uncle, Giuliano Finelli, a prominent sculptor noted for his feud with Bernini, to Naples. When he fled Naples in 1647 dur ...
Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli
Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli (1654–1735) was an Italian late- Baroque sculptor.
Born in Massa Carrara, where he first worked under his father, Giovanni Ponsonelli, a sculptor, in Finale Liguria and Savona. He worked in Genoa under his father-in ...
, while the 1712 frescoes are attributed to
Stefano Maria Legnani
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.Pierre Puget. In also has frescoes by Giacomo Boni and a canvas depicting ''St Philip in Ecstasis'' by
Simon Dubois
Simon Du Bois or Dubois (baptized 26 July 1632, Antwerp – buried 26 May 1706, London) Dubois, Simon at the
.
The church organ was built by Giuseppe II Serassi in 1816. It was restored in 1995.
In 1834 the church became the residence of the Genoa Conservatory, and the building was used solely by that school until it was reclaimed by an edict of the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
in 1928. The nave of the San Filippo Neri was used as the school's concert hall during those years, and the adjacent rooms and structures were turned into classrooms.
References
Sources
*{{cite book, first=Lorenzo , last=Pareto, author2=Camillo Pallavicino , author3=Massimiliano Spinola , author4=Giovanni Cristoforo Gandolfi , title= Descrizione di Genova e del Genovesato , Volumen III, publisher= Tipografia Ferrando , year=1846, pages= 117–118
Filippo Neri
Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of t ...
Filippo Neri
Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of t ...