San Matteo 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 ...

church in

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 ...

, in the region of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

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 ...

History

The church was founded in 1125 by Martino Doria, as the private chapel of

his family ''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918. Plot introduction ''His Family'' tells the story of ...

. In 1278 it was totally renewed in

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

. The building was again renovated in the mid-16th century by order of

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Repu ...

, who commissioned the work to

Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507 – 31 August 1563), also known as Giovann'Agnolo Montorsoli, was a Florentine sculptor and Servite friar. He is today as often remembered for his restorations of famous classical works as his original crea ...

(changes included the presbytery and the dome). It was further renovated in 1557–1559, under design by

Giovanni Battista Castello Giovanni Battista Castello (1500 or 1509–1569 or 1579) was an Italian historical Painting, painter. Born in Gandino near Bergamo, he is ordinarily termed Il Bergamasco to distinguish him from the other painter (of miniatures) with the identi ...

(nave and aisles) and decoration, realized by

Luca Cambiaso Luca Cambiaso (also known as Luca Cambiasi and Luca Cangiagio (being ''Cangiaxo'' the surname in Ligurian); 18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585) was an Italian painter and draughtsman and the leading artist in Genoa in the 16th century. He i ...

among the others.

Description

Of the Gothic building, the nave, aisles and the façade are in white (marble) and black (

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

) stripes, divided into three sectors by fake columns with

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to ha ...

s; in the center is a large

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

, while on the sides are two double

mullioned windows A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

. The façade includes a late Roman sarcophagus with an Allegory of the Autumn, which originally was used as the tomb of

Lamba Doria Lamba D'Oria (also spelled Doria) (1245–1323) was an Italian admiral of the Republic of Genoa. The brother of the ''capitano del popolo'' Oberto Doria, he was one of the best Genoese admirals, together with his descendant Andrea Doria. He defeat ...

, who had taken it to Genoa from

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

. At one time, large chains, which once had protected the harbor of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

and which had been obtained as booty after the victory at the

Battle of Meloria (1284) The Battle of Meloria was fought near the islet of Meloria in the Ligurian Sea on 5 and 6 August 1284 between the fleets of the Republics of Genoa and Pisa as part of the Genoese-Pisan War. The victory of Genoa and the destruction of the Pisa ...

, were draped across the facade. In the 19th century, they were returned to Pisa.Carden, RW. p232-233 On the left side of the church is the cloister of St. Matthew, of quadrangular plan, dating to 1308. It has ogival arches on double small columns. Artworks of the interior include the ''Miracle of the Ethiopian Dragon'' by

and the ''Vocation of St. Matthew'' by

, a wooden "Deposition" by

Anton Maria Maragliano Anton Maria Maragliano (18 September 1664 – 7 March 1739) was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period, known primarily for his wooden statues. He was born in Genoa, where he led an important workshop. He is called also Maraggiano by some ...

, and the tomb of Andrea Doria, executed by Montorsoli, in the crypt. At the high altar is a ''Holy Family with St. Anne'' by

Bernardo Castello Bernardo Castello (or Castelli) (1557–1629) was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist style, active mainly in Genoa and Liguria. He is mainly known as a portrait painter, portrait and historical painter.He needs to be distinguished from Giov ...

(16th century). According to the tradition, the sword housed under the altar belonged to

, and was donated to this church by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

. The church has an original organ, constructed by

Antonio Alari Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

in 1773.

Notes

Sources

*{{cite book, first=Nadia, last= Pazzini Paglieri, author2=Rinangelo Paglieri , title= Chiese in Liguria, location= Genoa, publisher=Sagep , year=1990, id= 88-7058-361-9 * ''The City of Genoa'' (1908) by Robert Walter Carden; Publisher Methuen and Co., 36 Essex St. W.C. London, England. pages 220-244. Buildings and structures completed in 1125

Matteo Matteo is the Italian form of the given name Matthew. Another form is Mattia. The Hebrew meaning of Matteo is "gift of god". Matteo can also be used as a patronymic surname, often in the forms of de Matteo, De Matteo or DeMatteo, meaning " escen ...

12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Gothic architecture in Liguria