The small church of Santa Croce della Foce is a medieval

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 the lower town of

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

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

, in Italy. There is a church of the same name in

Sarno Sarno is a town and ''comune'' and former Latin Catholic bishopric of Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, 20 km northeast from the city of Salerno and 60 km east of Naples by the main railway. Overview It lies at the foot ...

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

History

The church was built in the 13th-century at the site of an ancient chapel. By the 15th century it was attached to a confraternity. The building was refurbished in the 16th and 17th century, creating a sober

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 ...

facade for the ornate

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 ...

interiors, and ceilings, now present. Among the works inside are a 16th-century banner depicting the ''Adoration of the Cross'' by Pietro Paolo Baldinacci and his pupil Silvio (1st altar on left); a ''San Carlo Borromeo'' by Alessandro Brunelli 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 ...

(3rd altar on the left); and a ''Madonna and child with saints'' (1668) by Allegrini (2nd altar on right). The Baroque wooden statues of ''Christ and the Madonna Addolorata'', on the main altar were completed by Carlo Magistretti and Domenico Valli. The stucco work on the triumphal arch and ceiling were completed in the 17th century. The church is also known because on the Friday of

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

, the ''Procession of the Dead Christ'' (Processione del Cristo Morto) leaves from this church. This elaborate ritual procession commemorates the passion of Christ. In the past, participating confraternities, including the one of this church, included

flagellant Flagellants are practitioners of a form of mortification of the flesh by whipping their skin with various instruments of penance. Many Christian confraternities of penitents have flagellants, who beat themselves, both in the privacy of their dwel ...

s. However, the procession still includes white gowned members anonymously parading under

capirotes A capirote is a Catholic pointed hat of conical form that is used in Spain and Hispanic countries by members of a confraternity of penitents. It is part of the uniform of such brotherhoods including the '' Nazarenos'' and ''Fariseos'' during ...

, carrying statues of the dead Christ and the ''Madonna Addolorata''. In a near hypnotic ceremonial spectacle that has persisted for centuries, as they wend through and around the town, they highlight the objects of the Passion, clatter with metal cow-bell-like instruments, light cauldrons of flames, and chant a Miserere.Gubbio Commune
Processione del Cristo Morto tourism entry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria della Foce, Gubbio 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Croce Renaissance architecture in Umbria Baroque architecture in Umbria