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The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Sanctuary of the Spoliation (), is a Catholic church in
/ref> or, according to the tradition, to
/ref> The church served as the city's
In 2019, the body of
Since 2019 the church has held the relics of the Blessed Carlo Acutis, making it a site of pilgrimage for many of the Catholic faithful.
Official website of the Sanctuary of the Spoliation
{{Coord, 43.0696, 12.6145, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Maria Maggiore Romanesque architecture in Assisi 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Sanctuary of the Spoliation (), is a Catholic church in Assisi
Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...
, Umbria
Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...
, central 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 ...
.
History
The current structure dates from the 11th-12th centuries, although it was built on a pre-existingEarly Christian
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
church; the latter had been in turn erected above a Roman
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 Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
edifice, the so-called "Propertius
Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium (now Assisi) and died shortly after 15 BC.
Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the ...
' ''domus
In ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (: ''domūs'', genitive: ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...
''" or a temple dedicated to Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
Page at Travelitalia website/ref> or, according to the tradition, to
Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianu ...
.Page at Frati Cappuccini's website/ref> The church served as the city's
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
until 1036, when the title was moved to the current cathedral, the church of San Rufino.
In 2019, the body of Carlo Acutis
Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 – 12 October 2006) was a British-born teenager, primarily of Italian ancestry, known for his devotion to the Eucharist, with him creating a website documenting Eucharistic miracles prior to his death from leukemia at ...
was brought to the Sanctuary of the Spoliation and venerated
Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...
at its final resting place. Overnight, the procession stopped at the Cathedral of San Rufino and the diocesan choir sang a ("Not me, but God"), a hymn especially composed for the occasion by Marco Mammoli. While Acutis's body may appear incorrupt behind the view glass, it is actually encased in a wax layer that was molded to look like his body prior to burial—this practice is common for the presentation of saints' bodies so that pilgrims can see the saints as they were when they died. The church expected two million visitors to Acutis's tomb in 2025.
Description
The church has an undecorated façade divided vertically bypilaster
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. The entrance door is surmounted by an ogival arch and a rose window
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...
, dated 1163 and signed by one ''Johannes'', identified by some with Giovanni da Gubbio, the architect of the present Assisi Cathedral. The bell tower, built in the 14th century, is in Gothic-Romanesque style.
The interior has a basilica plan with a nave and two aisles, separated by pillars. The walls house fresco remains and paintings of the 14th-15th centuries, including a ''Pietà
The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...
'' attributed to Tiberio d'Assisi and works by Pace di Bartolo. It is likely that the walls were entirely frescoed originally. There is also a panel of the ''Madonna with Child'' from Pinturicchio
Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian Renaissance painter. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his small stature a ...
's school.
The crypt, belonging to the 10th-century church, is home to Roman architectural elements, such as decorated walls, pavements, capitals from the preceding Roman building, and a sarcophagus with a sculpted cross, dating from the 9th century. From the annexed garden, remains of the ancient city's walls can be seen.
Since 2019 the church has held the relics of the Blessed Carlo Acutis, making it a site of pilgrimage for many of the Catholic faithful.
References
Sources
* *External links
Official website of the Sanctuary of the Spoliation
{{Coord, 43.0696, 12.6145, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Maria Maggiore Romanesque architecture in Assisi 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy