Santa Maria della Consolazione is a Renaissance-style pilgrimage church in Todi, Italy. The centralized, symmetric plan, surmounted by a tall dome, distinguishes this Renaissance church, from the more common elongated basilica or Latin-cross designs. Another Todi sanctuary church, also with a symmetric layout, is the Tempio del Santissimo Crocifisso on the eastern end of town.
Originally, the site held a small chapel with an aedicule painted with an icon of the Madonna. the Legend holds that a worker, who was blind in one eye, had the sight of that eye restored when he wiped it with a cloth that had cleaned the icon. The church was built at the site where the icon had been housed, and now contains the icon at the altar.
Contributions to a confraternity assigned to the construction of the church allowed building to begin by 1508. The church was not complete until 1608 at the cost of over 34000 scudi. [1] The original project is attributed to Donato Bramante, despite the absence of documentation. [2] [3] [4]
For the first four to five years, the architect Cola da Caprarola (Cola di Matteucio) led in the initiation of the construction; it is unclear how much he contributed to the design. [5] He was followed at the site by the builder Giovanni Domenico da Pavia in 1515. The project recruited various sculptors and craftsmen such as Ambrogio da Milano (during 1516-20); Francesco da Vita (during 1522); and Filippo di Giovanni da Melide (during 1522-38). Documents report that the project was aided in 1518 by Baldassarre Peruzzi. [6]
In 1531, the Compagnia di Santa Maria della Consolazione who managed the site ceded the church to Hieronymite monks from a community at Fiesole. During the 16th-century, the advice of other prominent architects was sought. Antonio di Sangallo il Giovane visited in 1532. Payments were made to Giacomo Vignola in 1565; to Galeazzo Alessi in 1567; and William of Portugal in 1584; all presumably related to the design of the dome. More artisans to complete the sculptural decorations were engaged including Giovanni Battista Cardona da Ligornetto and Francesco Casella da Carona. Other architects involved in the construction were Ippolito Scalza (1584) and Valentino Martelli (1587) who were also involved with the design of the centrally planned domed Tempio del Santissimo Cocifisso on the eastern side of town. The cupola was finally closed in 1607. [7]
The church is built in a Greek cross plan: three apses are polygonal and the one on the north side is semicircular. The apse is surmounted by a square terrace with four eagles at the corners, from which the dome rises.
In the interior, twelve niches in the first three apses house giant statues of the apostles. Also noteworthy is the wooden statue of Pope Martin I, a native of the Todi area. [8]
Donato Bramante, born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his plan for St. Peter's Basilica formed the basis of design executed by Michelangelo. His Tempietto marked the beginning of the High Renaissance in Rome (1502) when Pope Julius II appointed him to build a sanctuary over the spot where Peter was martyred.
Todi is a town and comune (municipality) of the province of Perugia in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. It was founded in antiquity by the Umbri, at the border with Etruria; the family of Roman Emperor Trajan came from Todi.
GiacomoBarozzida Vignola, often simply called Vignola, was one of the great Italian architects of 16th century Mannerism. His two great masterpieces are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Church of the Gesù in Rome. The three architects who spread the Italian Renaissance style throughout Western Europe are Vignola, Serlio and Palladio. He is often considered the most important architect in Rome in the Mannerist era.
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