Campanile di San Domenico, Rieti (2613948080) (2)

Interno della Chiesa di San Domenico, Rieti

San Domenico is a

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 and the adjacent former Dominican convent is located on the Piazza della Beata Colomba in the medieval center of the city of

Rieti Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina re ...

, region of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy.

History

Construction was begun in 1242 and completed in 1268; refurbished in 1643-1644. At one time it was endowed with numerous relics and richly decorated. The adjacent convent was linked to the early life of the Blessed

Columba of Rieti Columba of Rieti, (2 February 1467 – 20 May 1501) was an Italian religious sister of the Third Order of St. Dominic who was noted as a mystic. She was renowned for her spiritual counsel, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and fantastic miracles ...

, after whom the piazza in front of the church is named. The church had a single nave and the facade is built with

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

stone. The Romanesque belltower has a number of bells. It was abandoned in the 18th century, and in 1779, the diocese had proposals to raze the structure and rebuild a new church. The church was suppressed in 1810, but returned after the end of Napoleonic occupation. However again with the establishment of the Italian rule over the Papal states, in 1862 the Dominicans were again expelled, and the convent was used as army barracks. The church was deconsecrated by 1890, and used as a garage or armory. By 1939, the Bishop of Rieti, Massimo Rinaldi, sought to reconsecrate the building. After the second world war, the commune over the next decades finally committed itself to the slow work of restoration. The earthquake of 1979 caused the roof to collapse, and repairs took decades. The church was reconsecrated in 1994, but restorations not completed until 1999. The sparse interior lacks the numerous side altars, many made with polychrome marble, once decorating the church. The interior has a number of frescoes, most poorly conserved and some detached and moved to the civic museum. They include: *Crucifixion (15th-century) by a painter of the Sienese school *''Enthroned Madonna with Siants'' (1596) by

Giovanni Giacomo Pandolci Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

for an altar designed by

Dionisio Colonnese Dionisio, a variant of Dionysius, may refer to: People Given name * Dionisio Lazzari (1617-1689), Italian sculptor and architect * Dionisio Aguado y García (1784-1849), Spanish classical guitarist and composer * Papa Isio (1846-1911), Dionisio M ...

*''Madonna with Saints and Putti'' (1491) by follower of

Antoniazzo Romano Antoniazzo Romano, born Antonio di Benedetto Aquilo degli Aquili (c. 1430 – c. 1510) was an Italian Early Renaissance painter, the leading figure of the Roman school during the latter part of the 15th century. He "made a speciality of rep ...

*''Madonna della Misericordia with God the Father'' (15th-century) by unknown painter *''Baptism of Christ'' Behind the main altar is a monumental organ built from 2004 to 2009 by Barthélemy Formentelli, following 18th century essays by

Dom Bédos de Celles François-Lamathe Dom Bédos de Celles de Salelles (24 January 1709 – 25 November 1779) was a Benedictine monk best known for being a master pipe organ builder. Life and work He was born in Caux, Hérault, near Béziers, France. He was elect ...

(1760) and Roubo le Fils.Office of the Government of Rieti
entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Domenico Rieti Roman Catholic churches in Lazio Romanesque architecture in Lazio

Domenico Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...