Santa Maria della Scala was a church dedicated to the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

and located in the center of Milan. It was erected in

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in the 14th century by

Beatrice Regina della Scala Beatrice ''Regina'' della Scala (1331 – 18 June 1384) was Lady of Milan by marriage to Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and politically active as the adviser of her spouse.Tuchman, p.333 Life Beatrice Regina was born in Verona in 1331,Charle ...

, wife of the Lord of Milan

Bernabò Visconti Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti (1323 – 19 December 1385) was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he an ...

, and demolished in the 18th century to make way for a new theatre called Teatro alla Scala after her name.

History

Foundation (14th century)

The church was built on the site called della Case Rotte, where the ruins of the palace of the Della Torre family lay, demolished by Matteo Visconti after he had defeated them at the beginning of the 14th century. The church's construction began on September 7, 1381, with the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Regina Della Scala, the Milan archbishop Saluzzo, and the Visconti court. Beatrice della Scala died in 1384 after having recommended to her husband that she promptly complete her work. The church was consecrated in 1385. Initially known as Santa Maria alle Case Rotte, it later assumed the name of Santa Maria della Scala after the name of its founder. The building was erected in the Lombard Gothic style. The interior was divided into three naves, with vaults supported by four pairs of pillars. The façade was gabled and vertically divided into three sections, corresponding to the three internal naves. The portal opened in the central section, and a large

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

above gave light to the central nave. Still above, there was a

mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

with trefoil arches and a central oculus. In correspondence with the lateral naves, two other small rose windows were on both sides of the central rose window. The naves of the church were oriented along the current

Via Manzoni Via Manzoni, is a busy and fashionable street in the Italian city of Milan which leads from the Piazza della Scala north-west towards Piazza Cavour. Notable buildings include the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the elegant Grand Hotel et de Milan, which was ...

. Seven buttresses, four of which corresponded to the four pillars of the inner bays, divided the outer lateral walls. The church had a bell tower polygonal with reinforced edges. Mullioned windows with trefoil arches and a central oculus opened the belfry.

Transformation in the 16th century

In the 16th century, the apse was rebuilt with polygonal architecture and reinforced corners, occupying the land behind the church. The apse space's increase allowed for the addition of an

inlaid Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with th ...

wooden choir, completed in 1560. Preserved until today, since it was transferred to the nearby church of San Fedele before the church's demolition, the choir had a horseshoe shape reproducing the apse's form.

Dismantling (18th century)

In 1776,

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

confirmed the decision to demolish the Church of Santa Maria della Scala to build a new theater in that area. The decision seems to have also been determined by the precarious static conditions of the church, seriously compromised by a streamlet that flowed nearby. A series of activities for the passage of the canons to the nearby church of San Fedele and the preservation of frescoes, paintings, and sculptures kept in the church preceded the demolition of Santa Maria alla Scala. A fresco of the Virgin and Child was detached from the wall and transferred with other paintings on wood and sculptures to the church of San Fedele. The wooden choir was transferred to the church of San Fedele and adapted to its apse. Some other sculpture elements were transferred to the Sforza Castle Museum.

Today

No sign survives where the church once stood; only the theater's name retains its memory. The church's façade would have fronted Largo Antonio Ghiringhelli, where the entrance to the Scala Theater Museum stands. Several works of art transferred before the church's demolition can be visited at the church of San Fedele. Among these, the most important are a fresco of the

Virgin with Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

and two paintings: a Transfiguration by

Bernardino Campi Bernadino Campi (1522–1591) was a Renaissance painter from Cremona, who worked in Reggio Emilia. He is known as one of the teachers of Sofonisba Anguissola and of Giovanni Battista Trotti (il Malosso). In Cremona, his extended family owned ...

and a Deposition by

Simone Peterzano Simone Peterzano (c. 1535–1599) was an Italian painter from Bergamo, but stressed his links to Venice where he probably trained. He painted in Mannerism, mannerist style and is mostly known as the master of Caravaggio. Peterzano called himself ...

, a pupil of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

. A statue of a lying bishop, part of a funeral monument made by Bambaia, can be visited at the nearby San Fedele Museum.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Fedele Museum - Itinerary of Art and Faith''
{{Visconti of Milan Churches completed in 1381 Former churches in Italy

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

1776 disestablishments Gothic architecture in Milan 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Demolished buildings and structures in Italy Buildings and structures demolished in 1776