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The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is a major church in the upper town of
Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
,
Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
.


History

According to the popular tradition, partially supported by documents, the church was built to comply with a vow made to the Virgin Mary in 1133 by the citizens of Bergamo to protect the city from the plague that was hitting northern Italy at that time. The inscription on the portal of the southern entrance (known as entrance of the "White Lions") says that the church was founded in 1137 on the site of another church from the 8th century dedicated to
St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, which had been in turn erected over a Roman temple of the Clemence. The high altar was consecrated in 1185 and in 1187 the presbytery and the transept wings were completed. Due to financial troubles, the works dragged for the whole 13th–14th centuries. The bell tower was built from 1436 (being completed around the end of the century), while in 1481–1491 a new sacristy added after the old one had been destroyed by
Bartolomeo Colleoni Bartolomeo Colleoni (; 1400 – 2 November 1475) was an Italian condottiero, who became captain-general of the Republic of Venice. Colleoni "gained reputation as the foremost tactician and disciplinarian of the 15th century".''Websters New ...
to erect his personal mausoleum, the
Colleoni Chapel The Cappella Colleoni (Italian: "Colleoni Chapel") is a chapel and mausoleum attached to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in the northern Italian city of Bergamo. Dedicated to the saints Bartholomew, Mark and John the Baptist, it was built ...
. On the 23 of June 1449, the Senate and the Grand Council of Bergamo entrusted the management of the church to the Consorzio della Misericordia Maggiore, a prestigious association founded in 1265 by Pinamonte da Brembate, in order to preserve and enrich the artistic heritage of the Basilica. On the 14 of March 1453, Pope Nicholas V declared the church exempt from episcopal jurisdiction, and dependent on papal jurisdiction. This allowed the creation of free grammar and music schools for children in need, at the service of the liturgies in the Basilica. In 1521, Pietro Isabello finished the south-western portal, also known as ''Porta della Fontana''. The edifice was restored and modified in the 17th century.


Architecture

The church opens on the square (''Piazza Duomo'') on its own left side, as the main façade has no entrance, being once united to the Bishops' Palace. The external appearance has largely maintained its
Lombard Romanesque The term Lombard refers to people or things related to Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. History and culture * Lombards, a Germanic tribe * Lombards of Sicily, a linguistic minority living in Sicily, southern Italy * Lombard League, a me ...
origins. The church can be accessed by two entrances by Giovanni da Campione (1353) and by Isabello's ''Porta della Fontana''. The main apse is crowned by a
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
surmounted by two frieze with geometrical and vegetables patterns, and has blind arcades with semi-columns. The latter's capitals have also vegetable themes, with the exception of one, decorated by ''Angels with Last Judgement's Trumpets''. The transept's apses have a structure similar to the main one. Notable is Giovanni da Campione's
porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
in the left transept, which is supported by columns departing from lions in
Veronese marble Red Verona marble is a variety of limestone rock which takes its name from Verona in Northern Italy. It includes internal skeletons of ammonites and belemnoidea rostra in a fecal pellets matrix. It has been quarried from Red Ammonitic ''facies'' ...
. the arch has a frieze with hunting scenes, while the vault is decorated by polychrome
lozenge Lozenge or losange may refer to: * Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus *Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments *Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
s. A loggia houses statues of St Barbara, St Vincent and St Alexander. At the peak is a Gothic niche by Hans von Fernach (1403), with the ''Madonna with Child'' flanked by '' St Esther'' and '' St Grata'' (1398). also by Giovanni da Campione is the porch of the right transept, with a similar though simpler structure. The columns are supported by lions in white marble. It has reliefs with ''Christ Crowned by Saints'' and ''Birth of the Baptist''. Isabello's Renaissance porch has, in the lunette, a fresco of ''Mary's Nativity'' attributed to
Andrea Previtali Andrea Previtali (c. 1480 –1528) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Bergamo. He was also called Andrea Cordelliaghi. Biography Previtali was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Bellini. In Bergamo, he painte ...
.


Interior

The interior has maintained the original Romanesque Greek cross plan, with a nave and two aisles divided by
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
and ending with an apse, but the decoration its largely from the 17th century Baroque renovation. On the walls are tapestries, partly executed in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
(1583–1586) under
Alessandro Allori Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori (Florence, 31 May 153522 September 1607) was an Italian painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school. Biography In 1540, after the death of his father, Allori was brought up and train ...
's design, partly of Flemish manufacture, depicting the ''Life of Mary''. Over the tapestry of the ''Crucifixion'' (executed in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
on Ludwig van Schoor's cartoons, 1698) is a painting by
Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Ear ...
, with the ''Passage of the Red Sea'' (1691). Left to the entrance is the sepulchre of Cardinal Guglielmo Longhi, work by Ugo da Campione (1313–1320). On the rear wall are the tomb of the composer
Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
, by
Vincenzo Vela Vincenzo Vela (May 3, 1820 - October 3, 1891) was a Swiss-Italian sculptor, active mainly in northern Italy. Biography Vela was born in Ligornetto in the canton of Ticino to parents of little means. Having started work as boy as a stonecutter ...
(1855) and that of the latter's master Simone Mayr (1852). At the beginning of the left aisle is the Baroque confessional carved by
Andrea Fantoni Andrea Fantoni (1659–1734) was an Italian sculptor and woodcarver of the late- Baroque period, active in the region near Bergamo. He was born in Rovetta in 1659, and he died in Bergamo in 1734. He trained with his family of artisans as well ...
in 1704. A crucifix from the 14th century is on the presbytery's
balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
. In the presbytery itself, housing six bronze candelabra from 1597, is a wooden choir designed by Bernardo Zenale and Andrea Previtali. The reliefs with Biblical tales were executed in 1524–1555 on designs by
Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Painting, painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school (art), Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He pain ...
. They are characterized by a polychrome effect rendered through the use of different wood types. The right transepts has Giottesque frescoes from an unknown artist, with ''Histories of St Aegidius'', ''The Last Supper'' and the ''Tree of Life'' (1347), partially covered by a 17th-century fresco.


References


External links


Description


{{Authority control Churches in Bergamo Roman Catholic churches completed in 1521 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Basilica churches in Lombardy 1137 establishments in Europe 12th-century establishments in Italy