Santa Maria della Carità or just known as the Carità, or the church of the ''Buon Pastore'', is a

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 ...

-style,

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 located on Via dei Musei corner via Rosa 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. ...

, region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, Italy.

History

It is stated that a wealthy patron, Laura Gambara, erected both the monastery and church of the Carita from 1481 to 1531, and a convent to shelter repentant fallen women or prostitutes, known as ''convertite''. However, the church we see today was replaced in 1640, designed by

Agostino Avanzo Agostino Avanzo or Avanzi (Brescia, 1582 - 1663) was an Italian architect. He was born in Brescia, and he was active there in the building or reconstruction of the churches of the Carità, San Gaetano, San Giorgio, and the oratory of San Rocco. ...

, and consecrated in 1655. The portal has two columns of Egyptian marble, spolia from a Roman temple, and moved here from the Paleochristian basilica of San Pietro de Dom that was demolished in the 17th century. The interior has an octagonal layout and is rich with baroque decoration in polychrome marble and stucco. The 15th-century fresco of the ''Madonna della Carità'' at the main altar was once present in the Monastery of San Girolamo. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Carità Alessandro Calegari angelo a sinistra Brescia.jpg, Angel with palm Chiesa di Santa Maria della Carità Antonio Ferretti Brescia.jpg, Angel with house of Loreto An inventory from 1826, recalls

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 ...

frescoes on the walls by

Giuseppe Orsoni Giuseppe Orsoni (1691–1755) was an Italian painter and scenic designer of the Baroque period, active in Northern Italy. He first studied under Domenico Maria Viani, then studied quadratura under Pompeo Aldrovandini. He was active as a scenic de ...

, with figures by

Bernardino Boni Bernardino Bono or Boni (died 1774) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active in Northern Italy. He was born in Brescia and putatively a scholar of the Bolognese Giacomo Antonio Boni. It is unclear if they were relatives. He is do ...

painted in the lunettes under the cupola depicting the Life of the Virgin. Luigi Vernazal,

Luigi Molinari Luigi Molinari (1866–1918) was an Italian anarchist, journalist, and lawyer best known as the publisher of the libertarian periodical ''L’Università popolare'' and his support for Ferrer Modern Schools in Italy. Early life and career L ...

, and

Ferdinando Cairo Ferdinando del Cairo (1666–1748) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Northern Italy. Biography He was born in Casale Monferrato, and learned the first rudiments of design from his father, an unknown artist. He afterwards beca ...

painted the area of the dome. The paintings depict the mysteries of the life of the Virgin. A chapel on the left has a canvas by

Antonio Gandino Antonio Gandini (1565 – 17 July 1630) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period. He was a pupil of the painter Paolo Veronese. In Brescia, his pupils were Ottavio Amigoni, Francesco Barbieri (''il Legnano''), and Ambrogio Besozzi ...

depicting the ''Magadalen''. On the right is an altarpiece depicting ''St Sebastian, St Antony, and St Roch'' by Francesco Paglia. The church once had a model, built in 1640, of the Santa Casa at the Basilica of Loreto.Nova guida per la citta di Brescia
by Paolo Brognoli, Presso Federico Nicoli-Cristiani, 1826, pages 71-72. The church facade roofline has statues by Antontio Ferretti and Alessandro Calegari (the son of

Santo Calegari Santo Calegari (1662–1717) was an Italian sculptor of the late Baroque period who was mainly active in Brescia. He trained with Alessandro Algardi. His son, Alessandro (1698–1777), was also a sculptor. The statue of Angela Merici was ere ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carita Brescia Roman Catholic churches in Brescia Baroque architecture in Brescia 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy