Santa Maria Maddalena ( it, Holy Mary Magdalen) is a late-

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 church located at Vittorio Emanuele #19 in the town of

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...

in the

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

in the region of Piedmont, Italy. The church was designed by the prominent Piedmontese architect

Bernardo Vittone Parish Church of Grignasco Bernardo Antonio Vittone (19 August 1704 – 19 October 1770) was an Italian architect and writer. He was one of the three most important Baroque architects active in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy; the other tw ...

, and completed in 1749.

History and Description

The church was commissioned from the architect Vittone by the Conte Carlo Giacinto della Rovere. It was built at the site of a chapel built in 1442 by an order of Dominican nuns attached to the

Blessed Margaret of Savoy Margaret of Savoy (June 21, 1382 or 1390 – November 23, 1464) was Marchioness of Montferrat, and a Dominican Sister. Family Margaret was the eldest of the four children—all daughters—born to Amadeo of Savoy, Lord of Piedmont (and titu ...

. The brick facade remains unfinished, but the pattern of concave and convex strips is characteristic of late-baroque architecture. On the portal are three carved arrows, a symbol of Margherita. The plain exterior does not resemble the refined and colorful interior. The portal are immediately leads to a generally-rectangular nave area, surrounded by elegant corinthian columns, with an oval dome. The dome frescoes depict the ''Exaltation of the Blessed Margherita of Savoy'', painted 1747-1750 by Michele Antonio Milocco. The polychrome marble altar on the left holds a silver and gilded coffin (1840) with the relics of the blessed nun. On the right is the altar dedicated to St

Rose of Lima Rose of Lima (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the poverty stricken of the city thro ...

, also a Dominican nun. The main altar has an altarpiece depicting ''St Mary Magdalen'' (1825) by

Giovanni Battista Biscarra Giovanni Battista Biscarra or Jean-Baptiste Biscarra (February 22, 1790 – April 13, 1851) was an Italian painter, sculptor and lithographer. He principally painted historical and religious subjects and royal portraits.Solomonic columns The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helix, helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian order, Cor ...

are heraldic shields of the House of Savoy; these were sculpted in 1689 and 1691 for the altar present in the church located here prior to the present Vittone church. Behind the presbytery is an oak wood-paneled choir area, once reserved for the nuns. It is roofed with a barrel vault, frescoed with tromp l'oeil

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 ...

(1734) by Giacomo Rapa. Among the other decorations in the church is a 16th-century crucifix and a bust of Christ sculpted by

Pietro Canonica Pietro Canonica (1 March 1869 – 8 June 1959) was an Italian sculptor, painter, opera composer, professor of arts and senator for life. Biography He was born in Moncalieri, a town in the Province of Turin, northern Italy. His long and presti ...

.Association of Cultural Promotion associated with guides to Museo Federico Eusebio di Alba
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddalena Alba Roman Catholic churches completed in 1793 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in the province of Cuneo Bernardo Antonio Vittone buildings Baroque architecture in Piedmont Church buildings with domes Alba, Piedmont