Genoa, churches and the "common sense": S. Maria delle Vigne

In recent months, our attention was drawn to the ancient abbey of St. Stefano, where monthly (first Friday) and for other occasions, occasionally, we celebrate St. Mass in extraordinary form of the Roman Rite (the third church in Genoa, after St. Charles and Fegino and second centrally located) at that time had noticed the perfect orientation of the apse in the east ("East", "guidance" precisely ...);

Curious to see if other churches had the same peculiarity has been great, and use Google Earth is easy ... so other churches to present the "good sense" (where "direction" means the direction of the apse ...), some 'time.

This Sunday we begin with S. Maria delle Vigne, Piazza delle Vigne (Old Town).

The name of the basilica of Santa Maria delle Vigne is due to the vision of the Virgin Mary by a child (X - XI century) who had gone to play in the vineyards of the area, then outside the walls. Vision was at once created a small dome that gradually enlarged to become the largest basilica in the historic center of Genoa, second only to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. It was remodeled several times since the thirteenth century, with the first injection of the roof trusses that still retains over the seventeenth century when the nave.

Elements of the original Romanesque architecture are still present, as well as in time, even in walls and under floors, although the only part left intact by the time of its construction appears to be to the left of the transept, the only place between bell the perimeter walls of the church and cloister. The bell tower is open at the base and crossed by a wide arc that allows the transit road from the top is lighter and elegant mullioned pairs pentafore.

The cloister - built, like the church of San Siro Struppa around 1025 - spread over two floors that enclose a square courtyard structure. It is accessed from the left side of the road along the tower. It too has undergone major changes while maintaining their archaic style characterized especially by the squat form of columns and capitals.

The current main facade of the basilica - remained unfinished for a long time - dating back to 1842. Of late neoclassical style, is the work of Hippolytus Cremona. The heavier and more complex changes to the original Romanesque Basilica of Santa Maria delle Vigne have occurred since the end of '500, when it was decided the extension of the apse to the area behind the cemetery. Simultaneously, the two side apses were expanded with the implementation of existing chapels flanking the main altar. The extension works were funded by the family of Agapito Grillo and built by Gasparo Court. The Chapel of the Crucifix has a coating of marble, 1587, by Taddeo Carlone.

Only fifty years after this work, just before the half of '600, Cardinal Stefano Durazzo, a pastoral visit, he observed a degradation of the complex providing new jobs.

A document of 1642 shows how these works, in particular concerning the opening of three semicircular windows, rebuilding the interior columns and capitals, were entrusted to the sculptor and architect Daniel Casella Giovanni Battista Bianco. It was under these circumstances that were totally restored by the brotherhoods and the noble families of the chapels and side altars, enriched with paintings and sculptures (the times will be painted only after the eighteenth century).

The numerous did the basilica of Santa Maria delle Vigne, a completely different from the original Romanesque style, which remained in effect, in addition to the bell tower, the only plan of a basilica and a column that, according to tradition, would belong to the original Roman columns and on which there is a painting depicting the Madonna.

The replacement vessel in the central system to eight columns of Romanesque temple with four twin columns of greater height and thus diminishing the intercolumns from nine to five, has completely broken the Roman sense of spatiality. Opening windows then led a different distribution of light sources by taking on the structure of one large classroom where the lateral and central areas are nearly devoid of detachment

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