Saint Blaise's Church, Dubrovnik - September 2017

The Church of St. Blaise ( hr, Crkva sv. Blaža) 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 ...

church in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

and one of the city's major sights.

Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste ( hy, Սուրբ Վլասի, ''Surb Vlasi''; el, Ἅγιος Βλάσιος, ''Agios Vlasios''; ) was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and ...

(St. Vlaho), identified by medieval Slavs with the pagan god Veles, is the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik and formerly the protector of the independent

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa ( dlm, Republica de Ragusa; la, Respublica Ragusina; it, Repubblica di Ragusa; hr, Dubrovačka Republika; vec, Repùblega de Raguxa) was an aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' ...

. The church was built in 1715 by the Venetian architect and sculptor

Marino Gropelli Marino, Mariño or Maryino may refer to: Places * Marino, Lazio, a town in the province of Rome, Italy * Marino, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide ** Marino Conservation Park ** Marino Rocks Greenway, a cycling route ** Marino Rocks railwa ...

(1662-1728) on the foundations of the badly damaged Romanesque medieval church. He modeled the church on Sansovino's Venetian church of San Maurizio. The church consists of a single square nave with a ground plan in the form of an inscribed

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

, an apse flanked by two sacristies and an oblong

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, f ...

in the center. A flight of stairs leads to the portal, decorated with statues of angels. The facade is divided by four

Corinthian column The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s. On top of the facade is a semicircular gable and a balustrade with three statues by Marino Gropelli: a free standing Saint Blaise (in the middle) and personifications of Faith and Hope. The barrel-vaulted interior is richly decorated in Baroque style. The Corinthian columns in the center bear the tambour of the cupola and lantern. The corners of the nave show blind cupolas. The main altar, in a combination of white and polychrome marble, shows in a high niche a precious, gilt silver Gothic statue of Saint Blaise, crafted in the 15th century by an unknown local master. The saint shows in his left hand a scale model of the Romanesque church which was destroyed by the earthquake in 1667. He is flanked by two kneeling angels. This statue was the only one to survive the fire of 1706. The domed antependium is decorated with two angels who unveil a curtain in front of a medallion.

References

Katarina Horvat-Levaj "Church of St. Blaise, Dubrovnik" in Discover Baroque Art
* ''Dubrovnik, history, culture, art heritage'' by Antun Travirka; Forum, Zadar, 2014; {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Blaise's Church Buildings and structures in Dubrovnik Roman Catholic churches completed in 1715 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Croatia Baroque church buildings in Croatia Tourist attractions in Dubrovnik