The Church of Sant'Antonio Taumaturgo (commonly known as the Church of Sant'Antonio Nuovo), is the main religious building in the Borgo Teresiano in the centre of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

as well as the city's largest Catholic church. It stands on a square also known as Sant’Antonio Nuovo, at the end of the Grand Canal. The building project dates back to 1808, but work only began in 1825. The church has a facade of

ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

with six statues sculpted by Francesco Bosa in 1842, representing Saint Justus,

Saints Sergius and Bacchus Sergius (or Serge) and Bacchus were fourth-century Roman Christian soldiers revered as martyrs and military saints by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Their feast day is 7 October. According to their hagiography, Se ...

, Saint Servulus,

Saint Maurus Maurus (french: Maur; it, Mauro) was the first disciple of Benedict of Nursia (512–584). He is mentioned in Gregory the Great's biography of the latter as the first oblate, offered to the monastery by his noble Roman parents as a young bo ...

Saint Euphemia Euphemia ( el, Εὐφημία; "well-spoken f), known as the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin, who was martyred for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD. According to tradition, Euphemia was arrested for refusing to offer ...

and Saint Tecla.

History

Until the middle of the eighteenth century, a private chapel dedicated to the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

stood on the site of the present church. After Antonio Rossetti granted permission for the chapel to be opened to the public, the great number of worshippers soon made the space inadequate. As a result, it was decided to build a new church in the

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 dedicated to Saint Anthony. The structure was completed in 1771 but fairly soon it became clear that this building in turn was too small. For this reason in 1808 a number of architects proposed an alternative building. The same year the neoclassical design of the Swiss architect

Pietro Nobile Pietro Nobile was an Austro-Hungarian Neoclassicist architect and builder born in Campestro (Capriasca), Switzerland, 11 November 1774 – Vienna, Austria, 7 November 1854. He is regarded as one of the most prominent architects of the late cla ...

won a competition. Construction began in 1827 and continued until 1842. It was not until 1849 however that the imposing new edifice (92 x 28 metres) was consecrated. it was known as ‘Sant’Antonio Nuovo’ (new St. Anthony's) because it replaced the eighteenth-century church of the same name. The church originally stood at the end of the Grand Canal, but in 1934 the end section of the waterway was filled in, separating it from the church and allowing room for a new road. Among the paintings by local artists in the church are

Michelangelo Grigoletti Girolamo Michelangelo Grigoletti (29 August 1801 – 11 February 1870) was an Italian painter, active in a Neoclassical style. Biography Born at Pordenone to a humble family, he was encouraged by an uncle priest who arranged for him to enrol ...

’s ''Education of the Virgin'' (1838),

Odorico Politi Odorico Politi (Udine, 27 January 1785 - Venice, 18 October 1846) was an Italian painter. Life and career Odorico Politi was born in Udine, and studied in Venice at the Accademia di Belle Arti with Teodoro Matteini. In 1812 he returned to Udine ...

’s ''Saint Anthony in Glory'' (1842), Felice Schiavoni’s ''Presentation at the Temple'' and Sebastiano Santi's ''Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem''

Alessandro Longhi Alessandro Longhi (12 June 1733 – November 1813) was a Venetian portrait painter and printmaker in etching (mostly reproductions of paintings). He is known best for his oil portraits of Venetian nobles of state. His father was the fame ...

’s ''The Visitation of the Virgin'' (1769),

Ludovico Lipparini Lodovico Lipparini (February 17, 1800 – March 19, 1856) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born at Bologna, and was instructed in that city, where he brought himself into notice at the age of fifteen. In 1820 he was in Rome and Naples, ...

’s ''Martyrdom of the Saints of Aquileia'' (1840) and Joseph Ernst Tunner's ''The Crucifix'' (1838). In 1958 the two organs in the church were built by the :it:Mascioni company, incorporating

tracker action Tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs and steam calliopes to indicate a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe(s) of the corresponding note. This is ...

: * the main organ, ''opus 748'' has 72

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

, three manuals and pedals, replacing an instrument by Giovanni Battista De Lorenzi dating from 1834-1835, previously restored in 1922 by Beniamino Zanin; * the smaller organ, to the left of the presbytery, ''opus 770'', has 16 stops, a single manual and pedals. The Irish writer

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

often attended Easter mass in the church.

Bibliography

References

External links

{{coord, 45.6514, 13.7751, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Buildings and structures in Trieste Buildings and structures completed in 1842 Churches completed in 1842 Churches in the province of Trieste 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy

History

Bibliography

See also

References

External links