Carmine, Turin

 

View toward high altar

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.

Facade built 1872 and restored in 1950s.

Basilica of the Superga, Turin

 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?

San Lorenzo Turin

This has to be the hardest church for me to blog about so far. I have never visited it. Its reputation is formidable. Surrounded by piles of books full of complex architectural jargon I am at last ready to try! In my opinion this is one of the most remarkable and influential buildings I have come across. It is a key to understanding so much that followed beyond the Alps in Germany and Bohemia. 

Some sources for this post

 

Guarino Guarini (1624-83) came from Modena, joined the Theatine Order in 1639 and studied in Rome. This clearly included theology, maths, philosophy and architecture. He returned to Modena in 1649 and was in Messina in 1660 and in both was involved in church design. He worked in Paris too and when he settled in Turin in 1666 was a well  established architect. Alas much of his work has been lost and it is through the documentation that his influence has spread. See his "Dissegni d'archittectura civili e ecclesiastica" of 1686 and Vittone's edited version of 1737.

In his work on San Lorenzo we see him at his peak. He was taking over a building started a few years earlier and he transformed it into something new and daring. He could be said to be the successor to Borromini - the creator of St Ivo in Rome. San Lorenzo may seem a simple octagonal main space plus small interconnected oval sanctuary, From my reading and the photos and video below  it is anything but that! There is huge emphasis on the interior of the domes. These are not heavy in effect and lit with windows. Perhaps the main dome was meant to overwhelm us in its complexity.  Is it a symbol of infinity? Some have claimed  Islamic influences in his architecture but from his writings it is clear that he saw himself as successor to the medieval masters who aimed to create an atmosphere of divine majesty.

I could try to explain the interior but  I think it has to be experienced. It is so three dimensional and multi-layered. The way that the red marble pillars frame the four chapels at each corner and the octagonal shape is midden and at the higher level the building takes on the appearance of a Greek cross and rising up to the lacelike diaphonous dome.  If you have time take a look for a minute or two at the Youtube video below.

I look forward to a visit - high on my post COHID list - and take my own photos. Thank you to the lucky ones who have seen this for the phots below.

Interior of the main dome ([A25] on Creative Commons)

High altar in the sanctuary (Alexander Schimmeck  Creative Commons)

View of main dome (Alejandro Creative Commons)

The exterior gives little away about the amazing interior