San Siro (Genoa)
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San Siro 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 ...
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
located on the street of the same name, in the quartiere of the Maddalena in central
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 ...
,
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

One of the oldest churches in the city, it occupies the site of a former church originally dedicated to the apostles. In later centuries, the church was renamed after St
Syrus of Genoa Saint Syrus of Genoa () (died around June 29, 381 AD) was a priest and later bishop of Genoa during the fourth century AD. Life Born at Struppa, a neighborhood of Genoa, he had a reputation for holiness and zeal. He succeeded Saint Felix as Rom ...
, a beatified bishop. Originally the cathedral of Genoa, it stood outside of the original walls, and was vulnerable to attacks from
Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...
pirates; the title of cathedral was transferred to
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...
. There is another church dedicated to San Siro, San Siro di Struppa, outside the city center. Legend holds that the bishop was able to banish a
basilisk In European bestiary, bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a Serpent symbolism, serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Natural History (Pliny), Naturalis Histo ...
that dwelt in a well adjacent to the church; a plaque on a nearby house recalls the miracle. This event is represented in a medieval bas relief on the portico arcade next to the church, as well as a fresco by Carlone in the apse. From the tenth to twelfth centuries, building of the original Romanesque structure of the church and bell tower proceeded. The bishops
Hugh of Grenoble Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
and William of Orange preached the crusade at some point during the summer of 1096, inspiring the Genoese to send a fleet of 13 ships to aid the forces of the
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
. In 1478, a fire destroyed much of the church. Nearly a century later, prodded by Cardinal
Vincenzo Giustiniani Vincenzo Giustiniani (13 September 1564 – 27 December 1637) was an aristocratic Italian banker, art collector and intellectual of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, known today largely for the Giustiniani art collection, assembled at the ...
and the
Pallavicini family The Pallavicini (plural, often used in the singular Pallavicino for individual members) are an Italian nobility, Italian noble family whose name dates back to the 11th century. The first known representative of this name was Oberto il Pelavicino ...
, reconstruction was begun following the demands of
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
architecture, with a main central nave. That nave was frescoed by
Giovanni Battista Carlone Giovanni Battista Carlone (1603–1684) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Genoa. Biography Carlone was born and died in Genoa. He came from a family of artists: his father Taddeo, uncle, and cousins were sculptors, ...
with ''Conversion of St Peter'', ''Martyrdom of St. Peter'', and ''Death of Simon Magus''.
Paolo Brozzi Paolo Brozzi (17th-century) was an Italian painter, born and trained in Bologna, and active painting quadrature in Genoa and Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is ...
completed the
quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective di sotto in sù and quadratura, is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, and other ...
decoration. The chapel of the
Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...
was commissioned by Taddeo Carlone in 1595 (and completed by 1606 by the marble-carvers Santino Paracca, called ''Valsoldo'', and Alessandro Ferrandino). In 1904, the romanesque bell-tower, due to its perilous situation had to be demolished and was never rebuilt. Other works of art include the ''Triumph of the Cross'' in the cupola by Carlone, and canvases of the ''Annunciation'', ''Birth of Mary'', and ''St Anthony'' by
Orazio Gentileschi Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (; 1563 – 7 February 1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other ...
(the brother of Aurelio Lomi). Other artists with paintings in the church include
Domenico Fiasella Domenico Fiasella (12 August 1589 – 19 October 1669) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Genoa. He was nicknamed Il Sarzana, after his birthplace of Sarzana nera Genoa. Biography He was the son of Giovanni Fiasella, a ...
, Giovanni Domenico Cappellino,
Andrea Semino Antonio Semini (c. 1485 – after 1547) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance, active in his native Genoa. He was born and trained in Genoa and died in Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lomb ...
, Giacomo Lomellini,
Cristoforo Roncalli Cristoforo Roncalli (c. 1552–1626) was an Italian mannerist painter. He was one of the three painters known as ''Pomarancio'' or ''Il Pomarancio''. Life Roncalli was born in Pomarance, a town near Volterra. His training occurred i ...
,
Gregorio De Ferrari Gregorio de Ferrari (c. 1647–1726) was an Italian Baroque painter of the Genoese School. Biography De Ferrari was born in Porto Maurizio. He came to Genoa to study law but instead became a painter. He apprenticed with Domenico Fiasella fro ...
,
Domenico Piola Domenico Piola (1627 – 8 April 1703) was a Genoese painter of the Baroque period. He was the leading artist in Genoa in the second half of the 17th century, working on ceiling frescoes for many Genoese churches and palaces and canvas paintin ...
(2nd chapel on right), and a ''Decapitation of Saint'' by
Carlo Bononi Carlo Bononi (1569? - 1632) was an Italian painter. An 1876 book lists him among "the last artists of any eminence in Ferrara". Page 175 Biography Bononi was active mainly in his home territories of Emilia and Ferrara, and is considered to be a ...
. The church contains a number of sculptures by Taddeo Carlone. The main altar design and sculpture were completed by Pierre Puget.


References


Sources

*{{cite book, first=Lorenzo , last=Pareto , author2=Camillo Pallavicino , author3=Massimiliano Spinola , author4=Giovanni Cristoforo Gandolfi , title= Descrizione di Genova e del Genovesato, Volumen III , publisher= Tipografia Ferrando , year=1846, pages= 112–114, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oDEEAAAAQAAJ
Siro Siro may refer to: *Siro (name) * Syrus of Genoa, saint * Syrus of Pavia, saint * ''Siro'' (harvestman), a genus of harvestmen in the family Sironidae See also * Siros, Pyrénées-Atlantiques * Syros Syros ( ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a ...
16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Renaissance architecture in Liguria