Santa Maria Assunta is a

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 ...

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 ...

, Italy. It is located in a residential sector called Carignano located on the hills just above the city center, thus the church is also known as ''Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano''.

Structure and facade

The church is on the

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

plan with four similar façades on each side. There are five domes and two squared-plan bell towers (four in the original design) at the Neoclassic main façade. The facade has two statues by

Claude David Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

Interior decoration

The interior is lavishly decorated by late Renaissance and Baroque artists. The four niches of the interior of the pylons of the dome have statues of ''Blessed Alessandro Sauli'' and ''St Sebastian'' (1668), (right) by

Pierre Puget Pierre Paul Puget (16 October 1620 – 2 December 1694) was a French Baroque painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His sculpture expressed emotion, pathos and drama, setting it apart from the more classical and academic sculpture of the ...

; and on the left, ''St Bartholomew'' (1695), by

and ''St John the Baptist'' by

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 ...

. Along the walls, the statues of apostles and doctors of the church were completed by 1740 by Francesco Schiaffino. The altars along the right nave include paintings of ''St Peter Healing the Lame'' (1694–1696) at the first altar by

Domenico Piola Domenico Piola (1627 – 8 April 1703) was a Genoese painter of the Baroque period. He was the leading artist in Genoa in the second half of the 17th century, working on ceiling frescoes for many Genoese churches and palaces and canvas paintin ...

; ''Martyrdom di San Biagio'', (1680) at the second altar by Carlo Baratta; ''Resurrection of Christ'', lateral to 2nd altar by

Aurelio Lomi Aurelio Lomi (29 February 1556 – 1622) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance and early- Baroque periods, active mainly in his native town of Pisa, Tuscany. __NOTOC__ Biography He may have initially been trained by his father, Giovann ...

; ''Annunciation'' by

Ottavio Semino Ottavio Semini (c. 1530–1604) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance. He was born and trained in Genoa and died in Milan. He was the son and pupil of Antonio Semini, and was influenced by Perino del Vaga. Aided his brother Andrea in ...

; ''Virgin with Saints Domenic and Rosa'' at the third altar by

Paolo Gerolamo Piola Paolo Gerolamo Piola (1666–1724) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period active mainly in Genoa. His father was the prominent Genoese painter Domenico Piola. Paolo Gerolamo was very active painting sacred subjects and frescoes. He was sen ...

; ''Viaticum of St. Magdalene'' at the fourth altar by

Francesco Vanni Francesco Vanni (1563 – 26 October 1610) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher and printer active in Rome and his native city of Siena.

. The altars along the left nave include paintings of ''Blessed Alessandro Sauli Stops the Plague'', (c. 1630) at the fifth altar by

Domenico Fiasella Domenico Fiasella (12 August 1589 – 19 October 1669) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Genoa. He was nicknamed ''Il Sarzana'', after his birthplace. Biography He was born in c, the son of Giovanni Fiasella, a silver ...

; ''Pietà'', (c. 1571) at the sixth altar 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 ...

; ''Last Judgement'', lateral to sixth altar by

and ''Vision of St Domenic'' by

; ''Madonna with Saints Charles Borromeo and Francis of Assisi'', (c. 1620) at the seventh altar by

Giulio Cesare Procaccini Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574–1625) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early Baroque era in Milan. Biography Born in Bologna he was son of the Mannerist painter Ercole Procaccini the Elder and brother of Camillo Procaccini and Car ...

; and ''St Francis of Assisi receives stigmata'', at the eighth altar by

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vig ...

. The presbytery and main altar have paintings depicting of the ''Last Supper'' and ''Flight to Egypt'' by Giuseppe Palmieri. The marble and bronze main altar (1700) was created from designs by Massimiliano Soldani with a bronze crucifix by

Pietro Tacca Pietro Tacca (16 September 1577 – 26 October 1640) was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity. Biography Born in Ca ...

, replacing a prior one by Pierre Puget. The sacristy has a canvas of a ''Holy Family'' by

Sources

References

{{Commons category, Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano, Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta Maria Assunta Renaissance architecture in Liguria Church buildings with domes Minor basilicas in Liguria