Santa Maria Maggiore is an ancient,

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, rebuilt in late

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 ...

style in the hill-town of

Casacalenda Casacalenda (Molisan dialect Casechelenne; Kalena) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Campobasso in the Italian region Molise, located about northeast of Campobasso. The Greek historian Polybius mentions a battle in 217 BC between ...

, in the

Province of Campobasso A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, Region of

Molise Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...

, Italy.

History

An older church, as is common in the region, was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1456, and a larger church was built in the general site around 1587, while parts of the original church were incorporated into private residences. Further earthquakes have led to further reconstructions across the centuries. From the ancient church are two sculptures in the lunette of the entrance portal. The church houses a ''Nativity'' by

Fabrizio Santafede Fabrizio Santafede or Fabrizio Santaféde (c. 1560–1623/28) was an Italian painter known for his altarpieces. He painted in a style that rejected the Mannerism popular in the Naples of his time and evident in the works of Francesco Curia. Lif ...

, a ''Death of Saint Joseph'' by

Antonio Solario Antonio Solario ( 1502–1518), also known as Antonio de Solario or da Solario and sometimes by the nickname Lo Zingaro ("The Gypsy"), was an Italian painter of the Venetian school, who worked in Naples, the Marche and possibly England. His care ...

, a ''Deposition of Christ'' (1658) by

Benedetto Brunetti Benedetto is a common Italian name, the equivalent of the English name Benedict. Notable people named Benedetto include: People with the given name * Benedetto Accolti (disambiguation), several people * Benedetto Aloi (1935–2011), American mob ...

, and a ''Virgin and Child with Saints and Prelates'' (1752) by

Paolo Gamba Paolo Gamba (29 October 1712 – 26 December 1782) was an Italians, Italian painter of the late Baroque period, active in the region of Molise. Biography He was born to poor family in Ripabottoni in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. H ...

. The altar of St Joseph has a marble bas-relief representing the ''Deposition of Christ''.Region of Molise tourism office
entry.

References

Renaissance architecture in Molise Churches in the province of Campobasso 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1587 {{italy-church-stub