The Jesuits came to Cracow in 1582 and at first used existing Gothic churches. Finding these inadequate they managed to get The King to support the foundation of a College and Church in 1595. Several Jesuit architects were involved in the initial building leading to demolition and rebuilding. Eventually the Royal architect Giovanni Trevano (from Lombardy} took over and redesigned the facade, and finalised the dimensions of the church and the dome.Consecation occurred in 1608, completionof ther dome in 1609 but the final completion was not until 1619.
The facade follows the Vignola rather then the della Porta Rome Jesu design with two storeys.The lower is subdivided by shallow pilasters but the pillars framing the door dominate.
It is a traditional Jesuit church based on the Jesu and S.Andrea della Valle in Rome : a wide nave, with rows of dark chapels with strong walls and connected only by small openings; then small transepts with dome centrally above and a rounded apse. Lunette windows in the vault above the nave chapels light the nave and large windows in the drum and lantern at the top of the dome flood the crossing with light. The interior gives most prominence to the officiating priest in his robes at the high altar and the walls of the nave and the projecting pillars of the dome can be viewed as theatre wings leading us to the stage with its altar.
The apse and side chapels have the best stucco work in Cracow . It is by Giovanni Batttista Falconi who came from Milan was to spend much of his life working here (1619-33) There is a late Baroque high altar (1735)by Kacper Bazanka.
This church encouraged many other Baroque churches to be built in Cracow but some believe none were of comparable richness of design.
I'm still in Turin, exploring some of the works by Juvarra. He built his church for the Carmelite Order 1732-5. This time he goes for a highlongitudinal desiogn without transepts and dome.The wide nave has three chapels each side with high open galleries above the chapels. This means two arches one above the other, with no clerestory. The windows of the gallery provide light for the nave. The nave wall has become liked a skeleton of high pillars. Wittkower believes this is unprecedented in Italy.There had of course been open galleries in the Middle Ages. The first appearance in Renaissance artchitecture and with a barrel roof was at St Michael, Minich (1583-97) and was popular thereafter in Germany. Juvarra is likely to have known this and decided to use it here. Often chapels, particularly in Jesuit churches, had been dim,. Here the chapels derive their light from oval openings from the gallery windows above. The idea of getting hidden light and conducting it through an opening began in Italy with Bernini (St Teresa altar) and was used later in Austria and Germany for whole chapels, It seems Juvarra now may have used this in Turin for his chapels at the Carmine.
See the little video below to experience the interior and the side chapels in particular.
The great old city of Turin is very high in my list of intended visits. The sight of this monumental church perched above the city would be a must.
In 1706 the city was besieged by over 40,000 French troops during the War of the Spanish Succession. On 28 August that year the Duke, Vittorio Amadeo II and his cousin Prince Eugene of Savoy climbed to the top of the Superga hill for reconnaisance. While visiting the little church church there, the Duke promised in front of a statue to the Virgin that were he to be victorious he would build a great church to her honour there.
Therefore the Superga was built 1717-31 as a votive offering. However it was also built as a huge ego trip for the House of Savoy because they had annexed the Kingdom of Sicily in 1713 after their victory over the French and then were also to annex Sardinia in 1720. it would be bold solid monument reflecting the power and aspiration of the Roral patron. The result "is by far the grandest of the great number of Baroque sanctuaries on mountains (Wittkower).
As King of Sicily in 1714 Victorio Amadeo II met Juvarra in Messina and by the end of the year had made him First Architect to the King. This was to give him unparalelled prestige in Italy and an international career. In 1719-20 he was involved in plans for the palace of Mafra for King John V of Portugal. He visited Paris and London in 1720 and designed a Royal Palace of Madrid for Philip V in 1735. The Superga was the first major work of the young Juvarra, after his 10 years in Rome.His time in Turin was to be filled not only with comissions throughout Italy but also included 5 churches, 4 Royal residences and 4 large town palaces. His knowledge of historical and contemporary styles was exemplorary. For the Superga we could detect the influence of the Pantheon and St Maria dei Miracoli in Piazza del Popolo. and for the desired prominent dome and the twin bell towers, perhaps St Agnese in the Piazza Navona. His church is attached to a large rectangular monastery block but only a quarter is concealed inside the block with the remaining three quarters thrusting their circular magficence toward the viewer. The portico in front of the church is square in plan and the same height as the body of the church, the drum and the dome.
The interior rotunda suggests the characteristics of a Greek cross and the octagonal dome grows from a ring of columns supporting the entablature, with no pendentive zone. The windows in the drum and rubs and coffers of the dome are remiscent of Borromini and Bernini respectively.
Interior - notice how the drum rests on the entablature supported by the pillars. Paris Orlando, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The sanctuary has its own vaults and lighting source, but does not detract from the rotunda as the dominant space. There is no nave and this feels quite an intimate place, great for worship.
Juvarra planned and oversaw the whole construction. It was to be his masterpiece. The height of the hill was even reduced by 40 metres to achieve the desired effect. He hoped to be buried there. In the event he died in Madrid, but later in 1770s a special crypt was built below the presytery to house the remains of the Royal family of Savoy.
With its wonderful position and monumentality, we can see parallels with Melk, Weingarten and Einsiedeln, all built about the same time. How much did Juvarra know about them?
One of Santini's first buildings of his own design, the little chapel of St Anne, is reckoned to be one of his best.This is proven by being featured on local postage stamps It's only about 10 miles north of Prague on the main road to Veltrusy. It is a domed triangu;ar chapel built to celebrate the trinity of St Anne, the Virgin and Christ. It was commissioned by the Abbess of St George's convent at Prague castle and begun in 1705. It was originally part of the Upper Castle at Brezany Panenske she had built as an administrative centre.
He uses a hexagonal core (six sides) with three arms projecting outwards to form chapels, and above the central core a full dome rises on a plain drum and pendentives.
In 2014 the restoration was agreed. In the 1960s it was in a trerrible state with broken windows, birds nesting above the altar and aircraft engines nearby roaring....
I hope the above photos, which I am grateful to display, encourage someone to visit this attractive church.
Giovanni Santini keeps appearing in any survey of Czech Baroque churches.Strange Gothic inspired Baroque hybrids or something unique? Was he Italian ? He came from an Italian immigrant family of masons, but was born in Prague in1667 and died there in 1723. Sometimes he is known as Jan Blazel Santini Aichel. His training included time in Italy, England, and the Netherlands. His work shows the influence of Fischer von Erlach and Borromini. His career really took off from 1700 with a dozen projects still ongoing at his death. He seems to have been one of the more imaginative architects of his time with some 40 patrons. His best patrons were monasteries.
In 1719-22 he created a pilgrimage chapel attached to the Cistercian abbey of Zdar in honour of St J ohn Nepomuk, whose tongue had recently been mysteriously rediscovered undecayed. Remember he had been martyred in the 14th century because of his refusal to releal the secrets of the confessional. The Abbot of Zdar was one of Santini's best clients. Other projects included renovation of the Abbey buildings moification of its church and several bizarre shaped buildings determined by particular symbolism - for example a chapel to the Virgin at Obyctov with a plan like a tortoise , which symbolised constancy!
The new chapel was to be situated on a grassy mound {Green Hill or Zelena Gora) with some trees It was to be a focal point. At first sight it seems like a Gothic tent with five star shaped wings and five low oval dormered chapels - puzzling. It's hard to describe.Take a look at the little video above.
The interior is very white and maybe shows the influence of Borromini's St Ivo in Rome. The emphasis on five comes from the traditional five stars of St John Nepomuk's halo (his five virtues) as he was thrown into the river Moldau. The interior is strongly vertical rising to ribbed vaults with stucco decoration, and up into the central mystical heights of the cupola culminated by a tongue. . This central space opens out into five chapels, one with the high altar. Some original furnishings have survived from Santini's time : the high altar depicts the celebration of St John Nepomuk into heaven and the four side altars the four evangelists. I have yet to experience this church in person but, from all I have read and illustrations I have seen, this is a true Baroque space: restless, full of distractions and with plenty of light both from the dormer windows above the side chapels and the lancet windows in the sides of the five wings.
High altar
There was a major fire in 1784 which damaged the roof and facade. These were repaired 1792-1802.
There are star shaped cloisters containing five chapels forming a circle around the chapel which have been considerably altered since the 18th century.
St John Nepomuk Zdar is now a World Heritage site and I hope this post encourages you to visit it.
Photos are taken from Wikipedia article about the church.
"It's like a stage set, is it real?" that's my first memory of this church coming upon it floodlit from a nearby pizzeria. It must have been a favourite for film directors. Years later I have revisited and want to tell its fascinating story.
Baccio Pontelli (c1449-1494) was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV to design a church in 1482 dedicated to the Virgin Mary commemoratimng a miraculous image.It was always a cramped site in a popular area. There was no room for carriages to turn round and approach streets to each side were akwardly narrow. Something should be done. Pope Alexander VII wanted a new facade and better traffic circulation. Some buildings would have to go, so a small piazza could be created. Pietro de Cortona got the commission in 1656 and it was dedicated to Santa Maria della Pace to save Rome from plague and French invasion.
The result is like a theatre with the church facade as a stage set, the piazza the auditorium and the flanking houses the boxes and the side approaches like stage doors. The church itself has a short nave leading into an octagon with coffered dome. The facade of the church has a convex upper tier over a bold semicircular portico, just as Bernini was to use later at San Andrea al Quirinale. The big concave wings each side embrace the viewer like arms. This contrast of convex and concave is to be come a common feature of baroque architecture : something I have been aware of but never expressed. These protruding wings do not represent the width of the church. Instead they join the church to other buildings by linking their cornices and concealing other structures. The left one conceals a sacristy and oblique courtyard and the right crosses over a narrow street.
Internally Cortona gave the dome octagonal coffering and a series of ribs radiating from the lantern.
Perhaps most significantly, the family chapel of Pope Alexander III was decorated with frescos by Raphael.The Sybils of Cuma, Persia, Phyrigia and Tibur all receiving revelations from angels. Most visitors seemed unaware of these gems. But then Roman churches are so rich in great art : its all too much!
The Cesi Chapel contains fine High Renaissance sculpural decoration by Antonio da Sangallo the Youmger(1484-1546).
The high altar of 1614 was built by Carlo Maderna to contain the old icon of the Virgin Mary and child.
There is a fine cloister from c. 1500 by Bramante which I missed.
Welcome in 2025 to one of my most exciting posts ever - about the "Sistine Chapel of the Americas"
I know I am never going to get there in person, but through an amazing Website, using the most advanced 360 degree technology, I really feel I know the place. It is very special. Here is the link - scroll down to the 360 degree pictures.
Andahuaylillas is about 30 miles from Cuzco. A small chapel was begun in 1570 on the site of the present apse and sanctuary on the ruins of an Inca shrine. A nave and facade were added and completed in 1606. The walls are adobe with a pitched roof of cane and timber. There is a separate stone bell tower. The portal is brick with the four Church Fathers in painted niches.
You can take a tour of the situation, exterior and interior with the little six minute video below.
The barn-like nave has a sloping roof plastered and painted over and with long supporting wooden beams. The walls have large paintings on canvas in fancy gilded frames. The effect is overpowering. The lower part of the wallsand the choir loft are painted with elaborate designs in tempera (pigments mixed with a water soluble type of binder such as egg yolk).
Ceiling over the sanctuary
The sanctuary is on a slightly raised floor with a grand arch decaorated in 1631 and magnificent Mudejar style polychrome ceiling. It uses kur-kur a pre-Hispanic method of construction combining cane, straw and mud instead of wood.
The interior murals were mainly by Luis de Riano, a student of Angelino Medoro. They were painted in the 1620s. The programme for the painted murals was by Father Juan Perez de Bocanegra, well known as the great linguist who published a Quechua dictionary. It is interesting to discover that he made some changes to traditional Christian themes for the sake of accomodating Andean cosmological ideas for local audiences. Specifically, the Annunciation in the choir shows the Virgin being impregnated by the rising sun rather than a hovering dove. Other Andean cosmological signs such as the Pleiades (star cluster) and other symbols are also included.
Over the years there has been considerable damage from earthquakes, insect infestation and general derioration of the fabric. In 2008 it was included in the World Monuments Watch which has led to significant injections of funding to restore the main facade, choir, chapels, ceilings, altar, paintings on canvas and statuary.A 4 year plan with significant assistance by local youth, was completed in 2012,and has transformed the building.
Of great interest to me are the organs at the front end of a protruding arms of the U shaped choir loft. They date from the first half of the 17th century and have painted canvas doors like a Gothic organ with folding wings like a triptych. The painted doors have angels playing amazing stringed instruments and drums including guitar, bass viol and harp.
The choir loft even opens out to a gallery outside.
There are murals on all the interior walls and ceiling. Contemporary anthems have been discovered concerning the Incarnation. Juan Perez was also a good poet and wrote verses to Our Lady. Imagine doing a choir tour and singing here! Too late I hear myself saying!
Hear the rafters raised as a local Children's choir and band process in with the famous Hanaq Pacha Kusikuynin arranged by Juan Perez Bocanegra in the early 17th century in the video below. Terrific!
For an excellent discussion about the chapel watch the little video below by the World Monuments Fund .
Francis Chapelet improvises on the organ in the video below.video
Interior view looking back to the entrance and choir loft.
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