Santa Maria Assunta is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

church in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

, Italy. It is located in a residential sector called Carignano located on the hills just above the city center, thus the church is also known as ''Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano''.

Structure and facade

The church is on the

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a '' crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' ( ...

plan with four similar façades on each side. There are five domes and two squared-plan bell towers (four in the original design) at the Neoclassic main façade. The facade has two statues by Claude David.

Interior decoration

The interior is lavishly decorated by late Renaissance and Baroque artists. The four niches of the interior of the pylons of the dome have statues of ''Blessed Alessandro Sauli'' and ''St Sebastian'' (1668), (right) by

Pierre Puget Pierre Paul Puget (16 October 1620 – 2 December 1694) was a French Baroque painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His sculpture expressed emotion, pathos and drama, setting it apart from the more classical and academic sculpture of the ...

; and on the left, ''St Bartholomew'' (1695), by Claude David and ''St John the Baptist'' by Filippo Parodi. Along the walls, the statues of apostles and doctors of the church were completed by 1740 by

Francesco Schiaffino Francesco Maria Schiaffino (1688 – 3 January 1763) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo or late-Baroque, mainly active in his native city of Genoa. Born into a family of sculptors, including his older brother Bernardo Schiaffino. In ...

. The altars along the right nave include paintings of ''St Peter Healing the Lame'' (1694–1696) at the first altar by

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 ...

; ''Martyrdom di San Biagio'', (1680) at the second altar by

Carlo Baratta Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Cha ...

; ''Resurrection of Christ'', lateral to 2nd altar by Aurelio Lomi; ''Annunciation'' by Ottavio Semino; ''Virgin with Saints Domenic and Rosa'' at the third altar by

Paolo Gerolamo Piola Paolo Gerolamo Piola (1666–1724) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period active mainly in Genoa. His father was the prominent Genoese painter Domenico Piola. Paolo Gerolamo was very active painting sacred subjects and frescoes. He was ...

; ''Viaticum of St. Magdalene'' at the fourth altar by

Francesco Vanni Francesco Vanni (1563 – 26 October 1610) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher and printer active in Rome and his native city of Siena.

. The altars along the left nave include paintings of ''Blessed Alessandro Sauli Stops the Plague'', (c. 1630) at the fifth altar by

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. Biography He was born in c, the son of Giovanni Fiasella, a silver ...

; ''Pietà'', (c. 1571) at the sixth altar by Luca Cambiaso; ''Last Judgement'', lateral to sixth altar by Aurelio Lomi and ''Vision of St Domenic'' by

; ''Madonna with Saints Charles Borromeo and Francis of Assisi'', (c. 1620) at the seventh altar by

Giulio Cesare Procaccini Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574–1625) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early Baroque era in Milan. Biography Born in Bologna he was son of the Mannerist painter Ercole Procaccini the Elder and brother of Camillo Procaccini and Ca ...

; and ''St Francis of Assisi receives stigmata'', at the eighth altar by

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The ...

. The presbytery and main altar have paintings depicting of the ''Last Supper'' and ''Flight to Egypt'' by Giuseppe Palmieri. The marble and bronze main altar (1700) was created from designs by

Massimiliano Soldani Massimiliano Soldani or Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (15 July 1656 – 23 February 1740) was an Italian baroque sculptor and medallist, mainly active in Florence. Born at Montevarchi, the son of a Tuscan cavalry captain, Soldani was employed by th ...

with a bronze crucifix by Pietro Tacca, replacing a prior one by Pierre Puget. The sacristy has a canvas of a ''Holy Family'' by Luca Cambiaso.

Sources

References

{{Commons category, Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano, Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta Maria Assunta Renaissance architecture in Liguria Church buildings with domes Minor basilicas in Liguria