Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Scala

Chieri, Italy

The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Scala in Chieri is a late-Gothic Roman Catholic collegiate church, and the principal church or duomo.

An ancient church on the site was erected by Bishop Landolfo of Turin in the 11th century, putatively on the site of a temple to Minerva. The present church was rebuilt in the first decade of the 15th century, initially under the patronage of the Balbi and Bertoni families. The façade has buttresses and a tall stone portal sculpted with Romanesque motifs. The interior has three naves.

The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin of the Graces (Beata Vergine della Grazie) was designed (1757) by Bernardo Vittone in order to house a venerated statue of the titular image of the Virgin (1637) by Botto. The other chapels include the Turinetti, decorated with stucco, as well as the chapels of the Crucifix and the Corpus Domini (Eucharist), which hold 17th-century canvases. In the southern nave is a canvas depicting the Resurrection of Christ by Francesco Fea and a fresco depicting the Adoration by the Magi in the Chapel of the Tabussi.

In the south transept is a Renaissance tabernacle attributed to Matteo Sanmicheli that houses an altarpiece depicting Saints Anthony Abbot and Sebastian, painted by Guglielmo Caccia. The north transept has an altarpiece depicting the Trinity by Giovanni Crosio. Behind the main altar are carved 15th-century wooden choir stalls. At the base of the bell tower, in the Gallieri Chapel, are a series of 13th-century frescoes depicting the life of John the Baptist, which were restored in the 20th century.

The sacristy contains Renaissance furniture and a 17th-century altarpiece of the Resurrection. The adjacent baptistry has the Tana Polyptych (1503) and 15th-century frescoes depicting the Passion of Christ by Guglielmo Fantini.

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Address

Piazza Duomo 1, Chieri, Italy
See all sites in Chieri

Details

Founded: 15th century
Category: Religious sites in Italy

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Franco L (9 months ago)
Beautiful.... an absolute must visit. It's huge...full of precious and exciting works. I recommend buying tickets in advance... it's always very full especially on weekends. Highly recommended place. Mandatory visit!
Livio Attanasio (13 months ago)
Wonderful 15th century religious structure which presents a perfectly preserved example of gigantic Piedmontese Gothic architecture with three naves. The twenty-two chapels that it preserves inside offer paintings and sculptures of various styles.
Roberto Moretto (15 months ago)
The Cathedral of Chieri is known as the collegiate church of Santa Maria della Scala. It has many similarities with the Cathedral of Alba and stands in a place where in the Roman era there was a place of worship of Minerva on which a church dedicated to the Virgin was built between the 4th and the 5th century. A new church dedicated to Santa Maria was built in Romanesque forms at the behest of the Bishop of Turin Landolfo, in 1037. Currently, all that remains of it are the Baptistery and the crypt, which can be accessed from the right side nave. The Gothic church was completely rebuilt in its current form starting from 1405, perhaps by Bernardo da Venezia and was consecrated in 1437. The brick façade has a Gothic taste and is dominated by the ghimberga, the large pediment in the shape of an acute triangle in white stone which surmounts the arch of the main portal. The portal was adorned with a polychrome marble statue of the Virgin and Child, the Madonna del Pomegranate, now replaced by a copy and placed after the restoration in a chapel of the Baptistery. At the top of the gable there is a sculpture representing the Agnus Dei. The interior has three naves which are flanked by fifteen side chapels, largely remodeled in the Baroque period, where Baroque and Flemish paintings are preserved. A work that I consider interesting is the triptych by the Chieri artist Luigi Benedicenti dated 1989 which is located in the first chapel of the left side nave, the one dedicated to Santa Rita da Cascia: it depicts Pope John Paul II during his visit to Chieri in 1988, for celebrate the hundred years since the death of Don Bosco. Furthermore, in the Baptistery, which is accessed from the right side nave, the "Pala Tana" is worthy of note: it owes its name to the noble Tana family and is a triptych made up of three poplar boards of two planks each. Two images are painted on each board. Precisely, starting from the top, in the panel on the left there are Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist, in the central one the Madonna with Child and the Nativity and in the one on the right Saint George and Saint Thomas. The three panels are joined by a golden frame in Gothic style, at the base of which there is the predella where they are depicted, two two in six squares, the Apostles and in the central square Jesus blessing. Finally, the 50 m high bell tower was built in three successive stages (1329-1365-1492). At the base there are two sundials.
Fiorella Alessandria (20 months ago)
Opening hours. Sunday hours 7-19. It's just after 2.30pm. I'm up front. Bolted up. Just a nice welcome? there are also two foreigners as disappointed as me
Giorgio Capodicasa (22 months ago)
What can I say ... Superb Piedmontese Gothic for this Collegiate ...
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