Santa Maria di Castello is a church and religious complex located in the Castello hill of the city, where in the Middle Ages a bishop's fortified castle existed. The church is flanked by the large Tower of the Embriaci.
The church, in Romanesque style, was erected before 900 AD. It houses many artworks commissioned by the main noble families of Genoa, by artists such as Francesco Maria Schiaffino, Lorenzo Fasolo, Alessandro Gherardini, Giuseppe Palmieri, Francesco Boccaccino, Pier Francesco Sacchi, Bernardo Castello, Aurelio Lomi and Tommaso Orsolino. Notable are the frescoes with Stories of David and the painted majolicas from the 16th century Genoese school.
The high altar is decorated by a marble group of the 'Assumption' by Domenico Parodi (late 17th century), while the chapel to the left of the presbytery has a Santa Rosa da Lima by Domenico Piola and a marble cover by Taddeo Carlone. The fourth chapel in the left aisle has a Madonna del Rosario by the workshop of Anton Maria Maragliano, while the first chapel has a painting attributed to Giovanni Battista Paggi (early 17th century).
The baptistery has a polyptych from Lombard masters of the 15th century. The main portal is in Tuscan style (mid-15th century), and is surmounted by a Gothic lunette of the 14th century with a 'Crucifixion'.
The loggia facing the second cloister has frescoes of Saints, a Madonna and, on the first floor, an Annunciation by Giusto d'Alemagna (1451). In the upper floor has a statue of 'St. Catherina of Alexandria' and a marble tabernacle attributed to Domenico Gagini (15th century).
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.