The Church of the Scolopi or ''Chiesa degli Scolopi'' is a late-

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style,

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 ...

but now deconsecrated church in

Alatri Alatri () is an Italian town and ''comune'' of the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. An ancient city of the Hernici,Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hernici". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). it is kno ...

, province of Frosinone, in the region of Lazio,

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 ...

. The term ''Scolopi'' is derived from the last two words of the formal name of the Piarist order: ''chierici regolari poveri della Madre di Dio delle scuole pie'' (in Latin ''Ordo Clericorum Regularium Pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum'').

History and description

The church was designed by the priest of the

Piarist Order The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz. ...

, Benedetto Margariti da Manduria, and built between 1734 and 1745. It was dedicated to the

Marriage of the Virgin The Marriage of the Virgin is the subject in Christian art depicting the marriage of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The wedding ceremony is not mentioned in the canonical Gospels but is covered in several apocryphal sources and in later redact ...

. The travertine marble facade has a central wing with two orders of Tuscan pilasters. The tympanum is a triangle with undulating superior sides. Initially, this was meant to be flanked by two bell-towers, but these were never built. The interior layout is that of a Greek-cross with a central dome. The interiors are decorated with monochrome painted stucco. The altarpieces include a ''Marriage of the Virgin'' (1731, main altar) painted by Carmine Spinetti, while the canvases on the lateral altars depict a ''Crucifixion'' by Benedetto Mora and a ''San Giuseppe Calasanzio'', founder of the order of the Piarists. The church is used for exhibitions.Comune of Alatri
short description.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scolopi Alatri Churches in the province of Frosinone Baroque architecture in Lazio 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy