San Matteo is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, in the region of

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

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 ...

History

The church was founded in 1125 by Martino Doria, as the private chapel of

his family ''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918. Plot introduction ''His Family'' tells the story ...

. In 1278 it was totally renewed in

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. The building was again renovated in the mid-16th century by order of

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was an Italian statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. From 1528 until his death, Doria exercised a predominant influe ...

, who commissioned the work to

Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507 – 31 August 1563), also known as Giovann'Agnolo Montorsoli, was a Florentine sculptor and Servite friar. He is today as often remembered for his restorations of famous classical works as his original crea ...

(changes included the presbytery and the dome). It was further renovated in 1557–1559, under design by

Giovanni Battista Castello Giovanni Battista Castello (1500 or 1509–1569 or 1579) was an Italians, Italian historical Painting, painter. Born in Gandino near Bergamo, he is ordinarily termed Il Bergamasco to distinguish him from the other painter (of miniatures) with ...

(nave and aisles) and decoration, realized by

Luca Cambiaso Luca Cambiaso (also known as Luca Cambiasi and Luca Cangiagio (being ''Cangiaxo'' the surname in Ligurian (Romance language), Ligurian); 18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585) was an Italian Painting, painter and draughtsman and the leading arti ...

among the others.

Description

Of the Gothic building, the nave, aisles and the façade are in white (marble) and black (

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

) stripes, divided into three sectors by fake columns with

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to ...

s; in the center is a large

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

, while on the sides are two double mullioned windows. The façade includes a late Roman sarcophagus with an Allegory of the Autumn, which originally was used as the tomb of Lamba Doria, who had taken it to Genoa from

Korčula Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. At one time, large chains, which once had protected the harbor of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

and which had been obtained as booty after the victory at the

Battle of Meloria (1284) The Battle of Meloria was fought near the islet of Meloria in the Ligurian Sea on 5 and 6 August 1284 between the fleets of the Republics of Genoa and Pisa as part of the Genoese-Pisan War. The victory of Genoa and the destruction of the Pisa ...

, were draped across the facade. In the 19th century, they were returned to Pisa.Carden, RW. p232-233 On the left side of the church is the cloister of St. Matthew, of quadrangular plan, dating to 1308. It has ogival arches on double small columns. Artworks of the interior include the ''Miracle of the Ethiopian Dragon'' by

and the ''Vocation of St. Matthew'' by

, a wooden "Deposition" by

Anton Maria Maragliano Anton Maria Maragliano (18 September 1664 – 7 March 1739) was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period, known primarily for his wooden statues. He was born in Genoa, where he led an important workshop. He is called also Maraggiano by some ...

, and the tomb of Andrea Doria, executed by Montorsoli, in the crypt. At the high altar is a ''Holy Family with St. Anne'' by

Bernardo Castello Bernardo Castello (or Castelli) (1557–1629) was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist style, active mainly in Genoa and Liguria. He is mainly known as a portrait and historical painter.He needs to be distinguished from Giovanni Battista Ca ...

(16th century). According to the tradition, the sword housed under the altar belonged to

, and was donated to this church by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

. The church has an original organ, constructed by Antonio Alari in 1773.

Notes

Sources

*{{cite book, first=Nadia, last= Pazzini Paglieri, author2=Rinangelo Paglieri , title= Chiese in Liguria, location= Genoa, publisher=Sagep , year=1990, id= 88-7058-361-9 * ''The City of Genoa'' (1908) by Robert Walter Carden; Publisher Methuen and Co., 36 Essex St. W.C. London, England. pages 220-244. Buildings and structures completed in 1125 Matteo 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Gothic architecture in Liguria