The Basilica of Corpus Domini () is a Roman Catholic church in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, built to celebrate the "Miracle of the Eucharist" which, according to various sources, occurred in 1453 during the war between the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy (; ) was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy f ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

The event which led to the construction of the church occurred on 6 June 1453 during the war between Louis of Savoy and France. A group of French soldiers had plundered the main church in

Exilles Exilles (Occitan: ''Eissilhas''; nonstandard Occitan: ''Isiya''; Piedmontese: ''Isiles''; Latin: ''Excingomagus'' or ''Scingomagus''; Italianization under Italian Fascism: ''Esille'') is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Itali ...

, a town in the Val di Susa. On 6 June, the day of the Feast of Corpus Christi, they went to Turin to sell the booty. The donkey which transported the

sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Communion wafer, Sacred host, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host (), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elements ...

from the Exilles' church fell on the ground and the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

rose and illuminated the square from the air. Luigi Cibrario, ''Storia di Torino''. To celebrate the event, the painting of the

Holy Name of Jesus In Catholicism, the veneration of the Holy Name of Jesus (also ''Most Holy Name of Jesus'', ) developed as a separate type of devotion in the early modern period, in parallel to that of the ''Sacred Heart''. The ''Litany of the Holy Name'' is ...

was painted on the four gates of the city but this was deemed insufficient, and in 1509 a small chapel was soon commissioned on the present church's site. However, nothing was built until 1521, when

Innocenzo Cybo Innocenzo Cibo (25 August 1491 – 13 April 1550) was an Italian cardinal and archbishop. Family and education From the Genoese family Cibo, in 1488 the Cybo family purchased Florentine citizenship for a considerable sum of money I ...

, Archbishop of Turin, ordered the construction of a small oratory by

Matteo Sanmicheli Matteo is the Italian form of the given name Matthew. Another form is Mattia. The Hebrew meaning of Matteo is "gift of god". Matteo can also be used as a patronymic surname, often in the forms of de Matteo, De Matteo or DeMatteo, meaning " escend ...

. This was demolished in 1607 to make room to the modern basilica. The design of the new church was commissioned to

Ascanio Vitozzi Ascanio Vitozzi (also spelled Ascanio Baschi di Vitozzo or Vittozzi) (1539–23 October 1615) was an Italian soldier, architect, and military engineer. Born at Orvieto, the son of Ercole Lord of Montevitozzo (or Vitozzo), he fought in the Papal a ...

Amedeo di Castellamonte Amedeo Cognengo di Castellamonte (1618 – 17 September 1683) was an Italian architect, civil and military engineer. Biography He was born in Castellamonte (in what is now the province of Turin, then in the Duchy of Savoy). His father Carlo be ...

collaborated in the designing of the façade. Works began in 1607. In 1753 king

Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, List of monarchs of Sardinia, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his Victor Amadeus II, father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death ...

commissioned

Benedetto Alfieri 180px, Benedetto Alfieri from the treatise of "Leben des Vittorio Alfieri" Benedetto Innocenzo Alfieri (8 June 1699 - 9 December 1767) was an Italian architect, a representative of the late-Baroque or Rococo style. Biography and works Born in R ...

to restore the interior decoration and to ornament it with stuccoes.

Overview

The church has a massive façade, with six pilasters and four columns supporting the

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

, in typical

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. It is completed by statue of angels and saints by

Bernardo Falconi Bernardo is a given name, possibly derived from the Germanic Bernhard. It may refer to: People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Francis Xavier * Bernardo Accolti (1465–1536), Italian ...

, dating to the late 17th century. The interior has a single nave, and was largely renewed in the 18th century. The high altar is the original one, created by

Francesco Lanfranchi Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is one of the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation) ...

in 1664. The interior also houses a slab marking the exact place of the miracle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica Of Corpus Domini 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Corpus Domini Baroque architecture in Turin