Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua
Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua | |
---|---|
Basilica Pontificia di Sant'Antonio di Padova | |
St. Anthony of Padua | |
Architecture | |
Groundbreaking | 1232 |
Completed | 1310 |
Administration | |
Diocese | Diocese of Padua |
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Location | Padua, Veneto, Italy |
Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iii) |
Reference | 1623 |
Inscription | 2021 (44th Session) |
Website | www |
Coordinates | 45°24′05″N 11°52′51″E / 45.4015°N 11.8809°E |
The Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua (Italian: Basilica Pontificia di Sant'Antonio di Padova) is a Catholic church and minor basilica in Padua, Veneto, Northern Italy, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.
Although the basilica is visited as a place of pilgrimage by people from all over the world, it is not the
History
Construction of the Basilica probably began around 1232,
Architecture
Sant'Antonio is a giant edifice without a precise architectural style. Over the centuries, it has grown under a variety of different influences as shown by the exterior details. It displays a strong influence of St Mark's Basilica in Venice.[1]
The new basilica was begun as a single-naved church, like that of
Later in the 13th century, the aisles were added in a more Gothic style, the length of each nave bay being divided into two aisle bays with pointed arches and quadripartite vaults.
The eastern apse was also extended in the Gothic style, receiving a ribbed vault and nine radiating chapels in the French manner. Later also, the Treasury chapel was built in 1691 in the
Externally, the brick facade has a Romanesque central section which was extended outwards when the aisles were built, acquiring in the process four deep Gothic recesses and an elegant arcaded balcony which stretches across the broad front of the building. The facade gable shows little differentiation between the nave and aisle, screening the very large buttresses that have the same profile and form a richly sculptural feature when the building is viewed from the side.
The domes, like the domes of
Established in 1396 the Veneranda Arca di S. Antonio is the organisation tasked with the conservation and maintenance of the structure belonging to the Basilica di St. Anthony of Padua and its connected buildings.
Art works and treasures
The high altar is by Donatello.[3] The interior of the church contains numerous funerary monuments, some of noteworthy artistic value. The Chapel of the
Relics of St Anthony are to be found in the ornate Baroque Treasury Chapel (begun in 1691). The body of the saint, which was in the Madonna Mora Chapel, has, from 1350, lain in a separate transept chapel, the Chapel of St Anthony, the interior decoration being attributed to Tullio Lombardo, who also provided the sixth and seventh reliefs depicting the miracles of St Anthony (Miracle of the stingy man's heart, Miracle of the repentant man). The third relief Saint bringing back to life a man who had been murdered is a masterpiece by Girolamo Campagna. The late-16th century statues are by Tiziano Aspetti.[5]
The Basilica contains several important images of the Madonna. The Madonna Mora is a statue of the Madonna with the Christ Child by the French sculptor Rainaldino di Puy-l'Evéque, dating from 1396. Her name refers to her black hair and olive skin tone, being interpreted as "swarthy".
The Madonna del Pilastro is a mid-14th-century fresco by Stefano da Ferrara, located on the pier adjacent the left aisle.
Among other sculptural work is the Easter candelabrum in the apse, finished in 1515 by
To the right hand side of the nave, opposite the tomb of the Saint is the large Chapel of St. James, commissioned by Bonifacio Lupi in the 1370s in Gothic style, with frescoed walls depicting the Stories of St. James and the
The chin and tongue of St. Anthony are displayed in a gold reliquary at the Basilica.
Musical history
The composer
Burials
- Costanzo Porta
- Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon[6] (His remains were removed from the Basilica at some unknown date to a location unknown.)
See also
- History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
- Church of Saint Anthony of Lisbon
- Padua Cathedral
References
- ^ a b c "Major Artworks". Saint Anthony of Padua. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ Draper, Authors: James David. "Donatello (ca. 1386–1466) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History". The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ISBN 978-1-78914-130-6
- ^ Handley, Marie Louise. "Girolamo Campagna." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908
- ^ Wilk, S., La decorazione cinquecentesca della cappella dell'arca di S Antonio, 'Le sculture del Santo', iv of Fonti e studi per la storia del Santo a Padova, (G. Lorenzoni, ed.) (Vicenza, 1984), pp. 166–9
- ^ Great Britain. Public Record Office; Bentinck, George Cavendish; Brown, Horatio F. (Horatio Forbes); Hinds, Allen Banks; Brown, Rawdon Lubbock (1864). Calendar of state papers and manuscripts relating, to English affairs, existing in the archives and collections of Venice, and in other libraries of northern Italy. University of Michigan. London, H. M. Stationery office.
Further reading
- Johnson, Geraldine A. (1999). "Donatello's Sculpture in the Santo". Renaissance Quarterly. 52 (3): 627–66. JSTOR 2901914.
External links
- Saint Anthony Basilica website
- "International and National Shrines". gcatholic.org.