The Church of Saint Teresa of Ávila () is a

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 church located on Via Santa Teresa, near

Piazza San Carlo (" St. Charles Square"), previously known as , , and , is one of the main city squares in Turin, Italy. It was laid out in the 16th and 17th century and is an example of Baroque style. The 1838 Equestrian monument of Emmanuel Philibert by Carlo ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy.

History

Construction for this church originally belonging to the

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

, was begun in 1642 and was completed in 1672 under the patronage of the Ducal Regent,

Christine Marie of France Christine of France (10 February 1606 – 27 December 1663) was the sister of Louis XIII and Duchess of Savoy by marriage. Upon the death of her husband Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648. Daughter of ...

. Her ashes are kept in the Chapel of St Erasmus. Much of the stone came from the adjacent Roman Porta Marmorea, razed during the enlargement of the city limits. The traditional architect is Andrea Costaguta with a façade by Aliberti completed in 1764. A small square in front of the church is delimited by modern buildings, including the western facade of the Torre XX Settembre. The paternal grandparents of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, Giuseppe Bergoglio and Rosa Vassallo got married in Santa Teresa on August 20, 1907 and one year later their oldest son Mario Giuseppe Bergoglio, Pope Francis' father got baptized here as well on April 6, 1908, four days after his birth. Pope Francis visited Santa Teresa spontaneously during his Turin visit on the eve of June 21, 2015.

Interior

The original main altarpiece was a ''Ste Theresa of Avila, the Virgin, and St Joseph'' by

Guglielmo Caccia Guglielmo Caccia called il Moncalvo (9 May 15681625) was an Italian painter of sacred subjects in a Mannerism, Mannerist style. Biography He was born in Montabone near Acqui Terme, Acqui. He is said to have been a pupil of Lorenzo Sabbatini. He s ...

(il Moncalvo). Of the eight chapels, the Chapel of St Joseph was built in 1725 under the patronage of King Carlo Emanuele III, fulfilling the pledge by his second wife,

Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg Princess Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg (Polyxena Christina Johanna; 21 September 1706 – 13 January 1735) was the second wife of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont whom she married in 1724. The mother ...

. The chapel was designed by

Filippo Juvarra Filippo is an Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English name Philip, from the Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "amante dei cavalli".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Philip" Retrieved on 23 January 2016. The female variant is Filip ...

. The interior has sculptures by Simone Martinez; the ceiling was frescoed by

Corrado Giaquinto Corrado Giaquinto (8 February 1703 – 18 April 1766) was an Italian Rococo painter. Early training and move to Rome He was born in Molfetta. As a boy he apprenticed with a modest local painter Saverio Porta, (c1667–1725), escaping the rel ...

, who also completed the two lateral canvases, with a ''Flight from Egypt'' and ''Death of St Joseph''. An adjacent chapel has a canvas of ''St Joseph and Child Jesus'' by

Sebastiano Conca Sebastiano Conca (8 January 1680 – 1 September 1764) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born at Gaeta, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, and apprenticed in Naples under Francesco Solimena. In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, who ...

; the altar sculptures are by

Antonio Tantardini Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

. Other chapel altarpieces are by Tarquinio Grassi (''St Erasmus''); Ignazio Nepote;

Rodolfo Morgari Rodolfo Morgari (Turin, 1827 – Turin 1909) was an Italian painter, primarily of genre and historical scenes. Biography Rodolfo was born to a family of painters. Rodolfo's son was Pietro Morgari (1852-1885). His brother was Paolo Emilio ...

(''Apparition of Angel to St Joseph'');

Antonio Francesco Peruzzini Antonio Francesco Peruzzini (1643 or 1646 – 20 August 1724) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography He was born in Ancona, son of Domenico, a painter. He painted two landscapes depicting storms in Loreto; work influenced by Sa ...

;

Giovanni Paolo Recchi Giovanni Paolo Recchi (mid-17th century) was an Italian painter and architect of the Barock period. Born in Como. He worked in Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern I ...

(''Via Crucis'');

Tommaso Aldrovandini Tommaso Aldrovandini (21 December 1653 – 23 October 1736) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He mainly painted perspective views and architectural subjects (quadratura), in which the figures were painted by Marcantonio France ...

and

Giovanni Antonio Burrini Giovanni Antonio Burrini (25 April 1656 – 5 January 1727) was a Bolognese painter of Late-Baroque or Rococo style. After an apprenticeship with Domenico Maria Canuti, he went to work under Lorenzo Pasinelli with fellow student, Giovanni ...

(fresco of ''Souls of Purgatory''); and an Icon of St Anne by

Vittorio Rapous Vittorio is an Italian male given name which has roots from the Byzantine-Bulgarian name Victor. People with the given name Vittorio include: * Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, pretender to the former Kingdom of Italy * Vittorio Adorni, prof ...

.Dizionario geografico-storico-statistico-commerciale degli stati di S. M. il Re di Sardegna.
by Goffredo Casalis, page 526.

References

Notizia Delle Pitture, Sculture, Ed Architetture, Che ornano le chiese
..., Volume 1 (1776) By Francesco Bartoli. {{DEFAULTSORT:Teresa Turin Roman Catholic churches in Turin Baroque architecture in Turin Roman Catholic churches completed in 1672 1672 establishments in Italy Filippo Juvarra buildings 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy