You can put this video on your website by simply copying and placing the following embed code on your page:
Santa Teresa del Bambino Gesu
This cosy little church called Santa Teresa del Bambino Gesù was the work of the Bolognese architect Giuseppe Rivani. It was said of it at the time that it’s beauty is not just the plain fact that it serves a local community but also its simple gothic design which is perfect in harmony.
The front portal, again designed by Rivani was based on the design of the San Francesco church in Bologna. The mosaic, completed by Lorenzo Ceregato, illustrates St Teresa standing over this area to protect it from the bombs that reigned down here during WWII and also shows the destruction caused as a consequence.
Inside is where the church reveals its artistic side in the form of more gothic elements. The roof of the Santa Teresa is a piece of art. Noticed up close, artisans decorated the wooden trusses and timber frames that originate from the former Yugoslavia. It reflects a typical gothic style.
It was eventually consecrated on the 3rd of June 1926 by Cardinal Rocca in the presence of the parish priest Don Vigarani and Don Nascetti. Incidentally, this event helped to define the borders of this new parish.
Shortly after this the Cardinal also blessed the building opposite which housed a small refuge area, school and rooms for the local community that dated to 1924.
Rivani passed the responsibility of decorating the church to Agostino Mazzanti according to the rigorous demands of gothic art.1
Approaching the altar is the arch-of triumph represented by a painting of St Gabriel the Archangel on the left, the Madonna and Child on the right side and the Holy Spirit at the top.
This then leads into the apse where upon the apex of the apse is a ‘T’ donating Teresa. The colours and vibrant art work here is significant because the ‘rain of roses’ illustrates another aspect of her life that when she would die roses would fall from heaven.
The cycle of art work reveals subtle colours for the ornamental work while more vibrant ones give life to the figures of saints depicted holding flowers. This last aspect which is also repeated behind the altar but with metallic flowers instead of painted ones is attributed to St Teresa.
Luigi Corsini – the Regio Sopraintendente – noted here that the apse ‘has equilibrium proportions, and the whole building, in particular the gracious and noble frescoes correspond to the noteworthy religious cause they were destined for.’
The statue of the Madonna on the altar originated from the nearby parish of Alemani since it was often from here where a procession of the statue led to Santa Teresa.
Other people involved in the construction of the church include workers from a firm called Umberto e Aristide Lanzarini who completed the labouring. The ornamental aspects which cover balustrades, capitals and gothic artistic styles are the work of artisans from Cesena under the direction of the architect Egisto Belletti. Two more artists who worked on the windows were Augusto Buscaroli and Carlo Leonesi.
References
1Booklet, Strenna Storica Bolognese – A cura de Comitato per Bologna Storica E Artistica, Bologna 2006, pp293-310.
Categories: Architectural | Art | Business | Castles | Educational | Historical | Leisure | Monuments | Museums | Political | Religious |
RSS