The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria della Scala in

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont ( Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo ...

( it, Chiesa Collegiata di Santa Maria della Scala; Duomo di Chieri) is a late-

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a Church (building), church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons: a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organis ...

, and the principal church or ''

duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...

'', in the town of Chieri,

Province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

, region of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy.

History

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.

Interior

The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin of the Graces (''Beata Vergine della Grazie'') was designed (1757) by

Bernardo Vittone Parish Church of Grignasco Bernardo Antonio Vittone (19 August 1704 – 19 October 1770) was an Italian architect and writer. He was one of the three most important Baroque architects active in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy; the other t ...

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 Francesco Fea (Active 1607circa 1652) was an Italian painter active in a Mannerist style, who painted in Piedmont. Biography He was born in Chieri. He was the grandfather of the painters Giovan Francesco and Antonio Cerutti Fea, born to his daug ...

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 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 " escenda ...

that houses an altarpiece depicting ''Saints Anthony Abbot and Sebastian'', painted by

Guglielmo Caccia Guglielmo Caccia called il Moncalvo (9 May 15681625) was an Italian painter of sacred subjects in a Mannerist style. Biography He was born in Montabone near Acqui. He is said to have been a pupil of Lorenzo Sabbatini. He started painting in Milan ...

. The north transept has an altarpiece depicting the ''Trinity'' by

Giovanni Crosio Giovanni Crosio (1583circa 1654) was an Italian painter active in a Mannerist style. Biography He was born in Trino in the Province of Vercelli. He is said to have be initially a follower of Guglielmo Caccia and Federico Zuccari, who were emp ...

. 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 John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, 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 Guglielmo () is the Italian form of the masculine name William. It may refer to: People with the given name Guglielmo: * Guglielmo I Gonzaga (1538–1587), Duke of Mantua and Montferrat * Guglielmo Achille Cavellini (1914–1990), influential ...

.Comune of Chieri
entry on the Cathedral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria Della Scala Chieri Roman Catholic churches in Chieri 11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Romanesque architecture in Piedmont Gothic architecture in Piedmont Baroque architecture in Piedmont