Church of Santissima Annunciata dei Vastato, Genoa

 

I saw a sensationally colourful church in Genoa on Instagram - had to trace it- Surely it had to be have been  Santissima Annunciata dei Vastato: the church that Montesquieu said was "the most beautiful in Genoa" and Charles Dickens said "if you look up at the three domes on a bright day, standing in front of the great altar, you are stunned by the glitter and the glory of the place..it is so finely painted and gilded that it ;looks like a large enamelled snuffbox"!

There has been a monastic foundation (Humiliati Friars)with church here since the 11th century but it was when the Franciscans were given the land in 1508 that the roots of this present church were planted. Some  rebuilding took place over the century and the main church was bought by the Lomellini family in the 1590s. From this patronage the church was greatly extended over the next 40 years and  has became a parish church for the area. Work was supervised by Taddio Carlone, the head of a family of artists, and Giacomo Porta.The grandiose neoclassical facade and two bell towers were added in 1867. Alas there was extensive bomb damage in the Second World War but the restoration seems remarkably successful.

The interior has frescos by Giovanni and Giovanni Battista Carlone and Gioacchini Assereto and many others. They are framed by the  polychrome marble work by Domenico Scorticone and Giacomo Porta. There is a large 40 square meter Last Supper by Giulio Cesare Proacchini. The cupola combines trompe l'oeil, fresco of the Assumption of Mary  and gold statuary by Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo into a swirling masterpiece. The aisles and chapel altars contain  fine religious paintings, many by local artists. 

 

The superb cupola as restored today.
Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Finally 2 excellent videos which will take you there from your arm chair

The short  video below takes you there and gives an excellent impression of the splendour of the interior.

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View the video below for aerial views of the exterior and detailed viewing of the frescos and contents of the interior.