The church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli is located on Corso Martiri della Libertà in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

History

Following a plague that afflicted Brescia between 1480 and 1484, there were rumours that a votive fresco depicting the Madonna and Child in front of a house in the San Nazario quarter had developed miraculous powers. On the wave of popular religious fervour, the Catholic church began negotiations in 1486 for the purchase of the house. In 1488, the construction of the church began. The interior, but not the façade, of the church was severely damaged by bombardment during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The exterior was protected by wooden scaffolding. The interior has been subsequently restored.

Architecture

The church plan with its cylindrical anterior dome was designed by

Ludovico Beretta Ludovico (or Lodovico) Beretta (1518 – 1572) was an Italian architect of the Brescian renaissance. His work is considered emblematic of the development of the Renaissance architectural paradigm in the middle of the sixteenth century. Life Lodov ...

before 1490. The most striking element is the elaborately decorated marble reliefs in the façade screen and portico designed by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, and completed with the help of a large number of sculptors, including the recently arrived Sanmicheli. The sculpted profusion recalls the Renaissance exterior of the

Charterhouse of Pavia The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery and complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small town of the same name in the Province of Pavia, north of Pavia. Built in 1396–1495, it was once located on the border of a large hunting ...

. The porch, added later, is divided into four columns by straight grooves which rest all on one high base and supporting a rectangular tribune, in a turn topped by a narrow kiosk with triangular pediment. The interior is a square divided into three naves by pillars and columns, with a pentagonal apse.

Art

The work of the Sanmicheli corresponding to the base level was the most refined of the façade, and was accomplished by the year 1500. Meanwhile, the religious building underwent rapid development, thanks to the growing number of worshippers and their alms, and was expanded to its current size. The architectural scores in the interior, characterized by decorative characters are attributed to

Gasparo Cairano Gasparo Cairano, also known as Gasparo da Cairano, de Cayrano, da Milano, Coirano,This variant is not present in historical sources and was introduced in 1963 by Adriano Peroni (see Peroni, pp. 619–887), and accepted as canonical by later resea ...

and his studio. The same sculptor also executed the cycle of the ''Apostles'' for the first dome, interspersed with the cycle of ''Angels'' by

Tamagnino Antonio della Porta, better known as Tamagnino (Osteno, c. 1471 – Porlezza, c. 1520) was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance. Biography Tamagnino, a sculptor and decorative artist, belonging to a known family of artists of Porlezza was t ...

, all of which were delivered and paid for in 1489. Over the centuries, the sanctuary was enriched by artistic works, mainly paintings, including a compelling canvas of ''St Nicholas of Bari presenting two children to the Virgin'' (1539) by

Moretto Moretto is a surname, and may refer to: *Moretto, or Moretto da Brescia, (c. 1498–1554), Italian Renaissance painter (in his case ''Il Moretto'' was a nickname) *Angie Moretto, NHL player *Enrico Moretto, Italian fighter ace *Graziella Moretto, a ...

, which is now in the

Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo The Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo is a public art museum in Brescia, Lombardy. Established in 1851, the museum exhibits mainly paintings by local artists dated from the Thirteenth through the Eighteenth century. The museum's current collection in ...

. Grazio Cossali's frescoes on the ''Baptism of Christ'' and ''Adoration by the Shepherds'' are still in the church. The cycle of canvases of the Life of Jesus, painted by a number of artists including Tommaso Bona and

Piermaria Bagnadore Piermaria Bagnadore (c. 1550–1627), also called Pietro Maria Bagnatori, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect of the late-Renaissance period. Biography Born in Orzinuovi, he trained with il Moretto da Brescia, and painted mainly in ...

, is found in the presbytery.

References

{{Commons category, Santa Maria dei Miracoli (Brescia), Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Brescia Maria dei Miracoli Maria dei Miracoli Maria dei Miracoli