Santa Sofia is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church in the piazza of

Anacapri Anacapri () is a ''comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)—the Ancient Greek prefix ''ana-'' meaning "up" or "above". Admini ...

, on the island of

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It dates to 1596, when it replaced Chiesa di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli as the local

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. Some of the building materials and fittings, such as the sacristy and oratorio, were originally in the Chiesa di San Carlo. The church chapels are dedicated to Sant'Antonio, Anacapri's

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

, and the Madonna del Buon Consiglio. Architectural features include two bell towers and a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

facade.

History

Santa Sophia probably dates back to 1595–96 on a site where there was an earlier church dedicated to St Charles. The date of 1510 inscribed on the facade is incorrect. Completed in 1642, it became the new parish church of

replacing

Santa Maria di Costantinopoli The Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located on the street of the same name in Naples, Italy, and located a block north of the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples. History Its name is allied to the cult ...

. The oldest remaining part is the oratory, to the left of the chancel, which was probably built on the remains of San Carlo. In 1698, the church was enlarged with two chapels and the nave was extended towards the square. Further alterations were made in 1706 (Mount of Purgatory), 1765 (facade] and 1777 elfry The church was officially consecrated in 1790 by Nicola Saveirio Gamboni, bishop of Capri. In 1879, the presbytery was enlarged, providing space for guests."Chiesa di S. Sofia"
''Musea Diffuso''. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
, ''Chiesa di S. Sofia - Anacapri''. Retrieved 11 July 2012. The wedding of Guiliana DePandi and Bill Rancic occurred at the church in 2007.

Architecture

The plan of the church is in the form of a Latin cross with a single nave, lateral chapels and a dome above the intersection of the nave and the transept. The absence of detailed planning from the start can be seen in the way chapels of various sizes have been developed without any consistency. The nave is covered by a large vault while the chapels have vaults of various sizes. The square-shaped

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

houses an eighteenth-century marble altar. The dome is supported by four large arches with

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s extending upwards and dividing the dome into eight segments. It was destroyed by lightning in 2004 but has since been repaired. In addition to the main dome, there are five smaller domes, each topped by a

lantern A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...

. The facade consists of two overlapping sections, connected by

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an ...

s which terminate in low

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s. The main lesene's enclose three sections interspersed with two smaller ones where two niches house clay statues of Sant'Antonio and Santa Sofia, both the work of the Roman sculptor Neni or Nene. The central section contains the main door with a decorated stucco frame while the upper level houses a rectangular window. There are also smaller doors on either side of the main door, each surmounted by an oval window. The belfry can be seen to the left of the facade with two clocks and three bells dedicated to Santa Sofia, Santa Maroa and Santa Elia. In the nave immediately before the last arch on the right there is a raised pulpit standing on two

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

s. It consists of a rectangular enclosure decorated with polychrome marble. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

and the oratory are to the left of the presbytery. Built on the foundations of the old San Carlo church, the oratory is a rectangular room with a cloister vault containing a series of triangular

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Architecture , portal2= Catholicism , portal3= Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1642 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Capri, Campania Baroque church buildings in Italy 1642 establishments in Europe