The Church of St. Blaise () is 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 ...

church in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

and one of the city's major sights.

Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste (, ''Hágios Blásios''; martyred 316 AD) was a physician and bishop of Sivas, Sebastea in historical Lesser Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr. He is counted as one of the Fourteen ...

(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, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

History

In February 1349, a month after the Black Death had arrived in Dubrovnik, the Great Council decided to build a Romanesque church dedicated to St Blaise as head and protector of the city. As the plague killed many heirs and executors, the Council further decided to use some of the properties that had reverted to the state as funds for the building of the church. Under the supervision of the craftsmen Andelo Lorrin, Butko and Mihajlo Petrovic the church was completed in three years. The church of St. Blaise became soon the second most important church of Dubrovnik after its

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 ...

. The current church was built in 1715 by the Venetian architect and sculptor Marino Gropelli (1662-1728) on the foundations of the medieval church which, though it survived the earthquake of 1667 fairly well, burned down in 1706. He modeled the church on Sansovino's Venetian church of San Maurizio.

Description

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 Jesus, 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, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

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 (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

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 In classical architecture, a is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration. The term also applies to the wall of a circular structure, whether on the ground or raised aloft on pendent ...

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 An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'', "to hang before"; : ''antependia''), also known as a pulpit fall, parament or hanging, or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium al ...

is decorated with two angels who unveil a curtain in front of a medallion. The church includes the relics of Saint Silvan.

References

Sources

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 Churches 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