The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Brescia is located on at the west end of Via Elia Capriolo, where it intersects with the Via delle Grazie. Built in the 16th century and remodeled in the 17th century, it still retains much of its artwork by major regional artists, including one of its three canvases by Moretto. The other two are now held at 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 ...

. The interior is richly decorated in

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 ...

fashion. Adjacent to the church is the ''Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie'', a neo-gothic work.

History

A church at this site, which lay outside the then city walls, was founded in the early 16th century by Hieronymite monks. Almost abandoned after the devastating siege of the city in 1512, the Hieronymites began constructing a new church in 1522. When the Hieronymites were suppressed in 1668, the Pope Clement IX, transferred the monastery to the Jesuits, who established a school. In 1797, the monastery was closed, but the church remained open. The façade has a bronze statue of the ''Madonna della Pace'', by Emilio Magoni. The front rose window depicts a nativity. In the center of the façade, a sculpted marble portal derives from another church, which had stood outside the city walls, but which was demolished in 1517 by the Venetian authorities. The inscription reads "MATTHEUS LEONEUS HANC PORTAM PROPRIIS FABREFACTAM SUMPTIBUS BEATAE DEI GENITRICI GRATIARUM MARIAE DEVOTE DEDICAVIT", recalling the patronage of the condettiore Matteo Leoni. Another inscription quotes Bernard of Siena: "SINE GRATIA DEI ET MARIE NULLUM / PRORSUS SIVE VOLENDO SIVE AGENDO / FACIUNT HOMINES BONUM E SIMILITER EXCELSA VIRGINI DISPENSO DISPENSATORI". The carved portals are attributed to Filippo Morari da

Soresina Soresina ( Soresinese: ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about northwest of Cremona. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential dec ...

Interior

Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie portale Brescia

The interior is decorated by numerous artists including,

Francesco Giugno Francesco Giugno (1577 - c. 1621) was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist and early-Baroque periods, mainly active in Brescia and Mantua. Born in Brescia, he became a pupil of Pietro Marone, and then of Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1 ...

, author of five medallion canvases in the central ceiling depicting the ''Apparition of Christ to his Mother'', ''Pentecost'', as well as ''Assumption'', ''Coronation'', and ''Death of the Virgin''. Giovanni Mauro della Rovere painted in the presbytery, while Girolamo Muziano painted ''Episodes in the life of San Gerolamo'' in the small dome near the altar of the patron saint.

Right nave

The first altar to the right has a canvas depicting a ''Martyrdom of St Barbara'' by

Pietro Rosa Pietro Rosa (November 10, 1810 in Rome – August 15, 1891 in Rome) was an Italian architect and topographer. He studied the settlements of the ancient Roman countryside and carried out a systematic series of excavations on the Palatine Hill in R ...

, pupil of Titian. This altar was patronized by the association (scuola) of artillerymen of the Venetian Republic. The next altar originally had a ''Redeemer with Saints Rocco, Vittoria, and Corona'' by

Palma the Younger Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

, but the Gesuiti changed the altar to venerate Saint Francis Xavier and replaced the altarpiece with a ''St Francis Xavier with the Japanese'' (1745) by Pietro Antonio Rotari. The next altar of Saints Lucia and Apollonia, has a canvas depicting ‘’Saints before Madonna, child, St. Joseph, and angel’’ by Alessandro Maganza. The next altar originally had a painting of ‘’Saints Anthony of Padua with St Anthony Abbot and Nicola of Tolentino’’ by Moretto, but now it has a copy by

Bortolo Schermini Bortolo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Bortolo Belotti (1877–1944), Italian politician * Bortolo d'Alvise Bortolo d'Alvise was a 16th-century Italian scientific instrument maker. He was a Venetian glassmaker who, t ...

. Over the lateral door is a painting of the ''Nativity'' by Callisto Piazza. The next altar has a canvas depicting ‘’St Francis Regis’’ by

Simone Brentana Simone Brentana (1656 – 9 June 1742
)) was an Italian painter of the

Moretto. On the left wall is a painting of ''San Martin resuscitates the child of a widow'' by Francesco Maffei.

Presbytery

To the sides of the holy ark are conserved relics of St. Jerome. The main altar has a modern copy of the ''Nativity'' by Moretto (original in Pinacoteca Tosinengo). In the choir walls are canvases of the ''Marriage of Mary'' (1609) and ''Visitation by Mary and Elizabeth'' by the monk Tiburzio Baldini, the ''Circumcision of Jesus'' by

, ''Adoration of the Magi’‘ (1610) by Grazio Cossali , and a ''Purification of the Virgin’‘ (1660) 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 Ottavio Amigoni (16 October 1606 – 28 October 1661 ...

. The organ (1844) by Serassi replaces the earlier organ that had been constructed by Giangiacomo Antegnati, and which had been decorated by

with ''The Emperor Augustus hears the Cumaen Sybil foretell the coming Christ''. At the sides of the organ is an ''Annunciation'' and ''Presentation of Jesus at the Temple'' by Gandino, a ''Massacre of the Innocents'' by

Baldini Baldini is a surname of Italian origin. Notable people with this surname include: * Andrea Baldini (born 1985), Italian foil fencer *Antonella Baldini (born 1966), Italian voice actress *Baccio Baldini (1436– 1487), Italian engraver *Christian B ...

, and a ''Birth of the Virgin’‘ by Camillo Procaccini.

Left nave

The chapel in the left of the apse, contains a ''Deposition'' and ''Crucifixion'' by brother

, and conserves a 16th-century painted wooded Crucifix. The chapel has the marble mausoleum of Tommaso Caprioli (1620), a condottiero for the Republic. Over the entrance to the cloister is an ''Adoration by the Shepherds with Jesuits'' by a follower of

Pietro Maria 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 ...

. The next altar is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, and has a stucco decoration from the late 16th century, and a canvas depicting ''St Anne and young John'' by Bagnadore, next to which is a depiction of the Immaculate Conception surrounded by angels by

Giuseppe Tortelli Giuseppe Tortelli (1662- circa 1738) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period, active in Brescia. Biography He received a broad education in writing and philosophy. He traveled to Naples to observe masters there, then to Venice. In 17 ...

. Next, the altar of St

Aloysius Gonzaga Aloysius de Gonzaga ( it, Luigi Gonzaga; 9 March 156821 June 1591) was an Italian aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the victims of a serious epid ...

, has a ''Virgin with St Aloysius Gonzaga and Stanislaus Kostka'', protector of the order, painted by Antonio Paglia . The next altar has a painting of the ''Madonna della Misericordia with Saints Michael, John the Baptist, Bernard, and the Magdalen''. by a follower of Moretto. At the altar of St. Jerome, has a painting of ''Madonna delle Grazie with Saints Jerome, Eusebius, Eustochia and Paola'' painted by Paolo Caylina il Giovane. The altar has the putative heelbone of St Jerome as a relic. The counterfacade of the church has a large canvas painted with the ''Massacre of the Innocents'' by fra

Sanctuary

Santuario di Santa Maria delle Grazie interno Brescia

The small neogothic sanctuary, is all that remains from the original church of Santa Maria di Palazzolo, built in the 13th century by the Umiliati. The building was last heavily restructured and the interior redecorated in the 19th century. It contains a bronze statue of St Callegari. The refurbishing of this sanctuary was completed in 19th century by

Antonio Tagliaferri 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 mal ...

Sources

*Marina Braga, Roberta Simonetto (a cura di), ''Il quartiere Carmine'' in ''Brescia Città Museo'', Sant'Eustacchio, Brescia 2004 *Vito Zani, ''Maestri e cantieri nel Quattrocento e nella prima metà del Cinquecento'' in Valerio Terraroli (a cura di), "Scultura in Lombardia. Arti plastiche a Brescia e nel Bresciano dal XV al XX secolo", Skira, Milano 2011

Other projects

{{commons category, Santa Maria delle Grazie (Brescia) Maria delle Grazie Maria delle Grazie Maria delle Grazie Maria delle Grazie Maria delle Grazie