Santa Maria Lacrimosa degli Alemanni is a small church and sanctuary, built during the

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 ...

era, and located on Via Mazzini number 65 in central Bologna, Italy.

History

Originally sandwiched between the no longer-extant parish church of Santa Maria degli Alemanni and a still-active monastery of Carmelite nuns, ''Visitazione di Santa Maria'', the sanctuary was built to house an icon of the ''Lacrimose'' (crying) Virgin that had been painted on a wall at the site. The portico of the church was originally commissioned by the

Bolognese Senate Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

in 1539, and the columns are adorned with the symbol of the Senate. By the 1600s, the sanctuary was attached to

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

nuns who constructed the adjacent convent. The present church was extensively refurbished over the centuries. Between 1619 and 1625, the chapels of the Saints Teresa and Joseph were built. Among the architects involved at this time was

Floriano Ambrosini Floriano Ambrosini (1557–1621) was an Italian architect and engineer, active in late-Renaissance or Mannerist style, mainly in his native Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capita ...

. In 1690, the polychrome marble ''Chapel of the Holy Family'' was completed, designed by

Ferdinando Bibiena Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena (18 August 1657 – 3 January 1743),"Galli-Bibiena, Ferdinando" (dates, Farnese dynasty, to Barcelona for Karl VI),''Encyclopedia of Austria'', 2006, aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at webpag."Ferdinando Galli Bibiena Online" (overview ...

. In the 18th-century,

Alfonso Torreggiani Alfonso Torreggiani (1682–1764) was an Italian architect of the Rococo period, principally associated with Bologna. Life Torregiani was born in Budrio. An apprentice of Giuseppe Antonio Torri, he became intensely active in the city of Bol ...

reconstructed one of the chapels. In 1797, the Napoleonic authorities closed the convent and sanctuary. Two of the altarpieces, an ''Assumption of the Virgin'' by

Lorenzo Sabbatini Lorenzo Sabbatini or Sabatini, Sabattini or Sabadini (c. 1530–1576), sometimes referred to as Lorenzino da Bologna, was an Italian painter of the Mannerist period from Bologna. Biography Sabbatini was born in Bologna and studied with Pro ...

and a ''Madonna degli Scalzi'' (1590) by

Ludovico Carracci Ludovico (or Lodovico) Carracci (21 April 1555 – 13 November 1619) was an Italian, early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker born in Bologna. His works are characterized by a strong mood invoked by broad gestures and flickering light th ...

, were looted to France. In 1808, the archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal

Carlo Oppizzoni Carlo Oppizzoni, spelled also Opizzoni or Oppizoni (15 April 1769 – 13 April 1855), was a Roman Catholic cardinal and archbishop. Biography Oppizoni was born in Milan to an aristocratic family; he was the son of Count Francesco Oppizoni an ...

, closed and sold of the Alemanni church, and instead made the sanctuary the local parish. The Alemanni church, once named either for German students at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

housed at a local hostel, or perhaps for being the site of worship for members of a Teutonic Order. Only the belltower of the Alemanni church remains. The sanctuary was renamed the church of ''Santa Maria Lacrimosa degli Alemanni''. In the interior on the right, the Bibiena Chapel has an altarpiece of a ''Holy Family'' by

Gioacchino Pizzoli Gioacchino Pizzoli (Bologna, 1651- 1733) was an Italian painter, active as a history and figure painter during the Baroque period. Biography He was trained in Bologna, and married the painter Maria Oriana Galli da Bibbiena (1656–1749), daughte ...

. There are also altarpieces by Marcantonio Franceschini (''St John of the Cross'');

Domenico Maria Canuti Domenico Maria Canuti (5 April 1625– 6 April 1684) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna and Rome. He was a major painter of fresco decorations. His ceiling decorations showed a mix of Bolognese and Roman infl ...

(''St Teresa''); and

Giacinto Garofalini Giacinto Garofalini (1661–1723) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was initially a pupil of Donato Creti, then a pupil of the painter Marcantonio Franceschini. Also called ''Garofolini'' by Luigi Lanzi. H ...

.Biblioteca Salaborsa
entry on the church. The church once held a wooden crucifix by

Alessandro Algardi Alessandro Algardi (July 31, 1598 – June 10, 1654) was an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome, where for the latter decades of his life, he was, along with Francesco Borromini and Pietro da Cortona, one of the major ...

, and a copy of the ''Virgin of St Luke'' by

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious ...

Links

Parish website

References

Roman Catholic churches in Bologna Baroque architecture in Bologna 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 1539 establishments in Italy {{Italy-church-stub