The main building in Piazza San Dominico in Palermo is the church of the same name. This building is the second most important among the religious institutions of Palermo, with the Cathedral in first place.
History of origin
The Church of St. Dominic was built in the fifteenth century. It is known that another church of the Renaissance period previously stood in its place. In 1640, the building was significantly expanded. Andrea Cirrincione worked on the project. This building is an early example of Sicilian Baroque. One could say about the facade that it became complete only in 1726. Not so long ago, thanks to restoration work, the building regained its former beauty and shone with new colors.
Architecture
The church façade is decorated with twelve columns, statues that are recognizable as saints and popes in niches, and there is a color highlighting of architectural elements. Top part The building is decorated with two symmetrical side bell towers. If you look at the plan, you can see that the church has the shape of a Latin cross. It stores treasures of the Renaissance period, which were inherited from another church institution of the fifteenth century, so in the relief of 1477 you can recognize the image of the Holy Trinity. The vault is supported by semicircular arches supported by columns in the Etruscan style. The building consists of three naves. By left side From the temple there is what was once a Dominican monastery and a fourteenth-century courtyard, as well as an arched gallery. This complex protects the exhibits of the Renaissance Museum (meaning the reunification of Italy). It consists of three levels. The building is decorated with papal statues and sculptures of saints. The facade has twelve columns.
Neighborhood
Many tourists come to Palermo to see the gardens in the Golden Valley. The bright rays of the golden sun play on the luxurious plantations of citrus trees. Civilization has not yet reached here. You can visit Piazza Villenu, which dates back to 1600, during the period when the new streets of Palermo were being created. The project of the architectural ensemble of 1609 was carried out by Giulio, and brought to life in 1620 by Giuseppe de Avanzato. This is the area unusual shape, which is an octagon created by the corners of surrounding buildings of the same architectural style. The facades are decorated with fountains, which, in fact, are allegories of the seasons. In the middle tier are sculptures of Spanish royalty. These are Philip the Second, Philip the Third, Philip the Fourth and Emperor Charles the Fifth. On the upper tier are the saints: Agatha, Christina, Ninfa and Oliva, who were the patrons of the city until the beginning of the seventeenth century, and after that only four quarters remained under their protection: each has its own. In the middle of one of the nearby squares you will find the so-called “fountain of shame”. That's what they called him local residents because of huge amount nude statues with human appearance, although many famous people They consider this creation by a talented master to be the most beautiful in Palermo, and even throughout the country. It contains pools of various sizes. The fountain is surrounded by mythical characters, allegories, animals and monsters.
Note to tourists
Bologna, until recently famous and beloved by everyone, in the last one and a half to two centuries has found itself on the side of tourist trails trampled by hundreds of millions of feet. There are several orders of magnitude fewer visitors here than in neighboring Florence, and even those. for the most part, they arrived in the city on business. But it’s all the more pleasant to escape here for a couple of days and relax on the island of real Italy, not spoiled by the tourist industry. It seems to be a large city by local standards, and there are no eternal herds that shepherd guides drag along towards the beautiful. To be fair, it must be said that the Bolognese themselves are not very happy with guests; their character is harsher and prouder than their neighbors. Although, perhaps, this is just a resentment that their beautiful city was forgotten, covered in the thick shadow of its eternal rival - neighboring Florence.
Among other things, Bologna is rich in beautiful, very interesting churches, and today I will talk about the Basilica of St. Dominic, where the relics of the founder of the Dominican Order and the Inquisition found peace.
In 1219, Dominic and his followers settled in the Church of St. Nicholas on the outskirts of university and merchant Bologna. Gradually, the modest church was rebuilt into a luxurious basilica, adjoined on one side by monastery buildings, and on the other by a wide square with the column of St. Dominic and two medieval tombs of glossators (interpreters) - famous Bolognese lawyers, pillars of the local university, the oldest in Europe .
St. Dominic's Square, the basilica is on the right. 
Tomb of the Glossator Ronaldina di Passageri
View of the basilica from the top of the Asineli tower
Entrance to the basilica. The church bears traces of numerous rebuildings and reconstructions. Today's Baroque look was given to it by the architect Carlo Francesco Rotti, the creator of the main symbol of Bologna - the sanctuary of the Madonna di Santa Luca on Guard Hill.
The central nave of the basilica.
The main altar of the basilica and the choir.
To the right of the main altar is the chapel of St. Catherine, where one can see the last work of Filippo Lippi, "The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine." Still, Renaissance paintings look much better in the churches for which they were painted than in museums.
The pearl of the church is the chapel of the Rosary of the Virgin Mary, the whole flower of the Bolognese art school worked on it, which just a couple of centuries ago was considered the pinnacle of the development of Italian fine art. Times have changed, and now the names of these masters outside of Italy are known only to individual connoisseurs and art critics. The young Mozart played the organ in this chapel when he studied at the Bologna Philharmonic Academy with Padre Martini.
Chapel of Saint Dominic, which contains his tomb. Unfortunately, they don’t allow you to take pictures in the chapel itself, in principle, and this picture was taken clandestinely ;) . The vault is decorated with a fresco by the now half-forgotten, but once most famous artist of the Bolognese school, Guido Reni. A lot of work has gone into the white marble crypt by Nicolo Pisano over the centuries. talented people, including the young Michelangelo, who decorated it with sculptures of two saints.
Tomb of St. Dominic. The photo is not mine, they didn’t let me take this miracle off).
Behind the tomb - X-ray the remains of the Saint, everything is fair. The photo is also not mine.
St. Dominic's Church is one of the most beautiful churches in Macau. It is located in historical center cities, on Senate Square.
The Church of St. Dominic was built in the 17th century by Spanish Dominican friars. At that time, the main material for its construction was wood, and the facade was richly decorated with carvings and ornaments. The architecture of the church is notable for the fact that it combines well a mixture of two styles - Spanish and Portuguese.
In 1828, the Church of St. Dominic was reconstructed in stone, with paving stones in front of the entrance. There are three naves inside the church. The entrance is decorated with a stone arch, and the walls of the church are divided into three levels, with each level decorated with columns different styles execution. The ceiling of the temple was hand-painted and replete with decorative patterns. Above the altar there is an image of a crown, and on the top of the altar is an icon of Fatima Mother of God. Next to it are statues of St. Catherine and St. Dominic. The interior of the church is richly decorated with carvings, mirrors, paintings and multi-colored sculptures.
The sacristy houses more than three hundred valuable items: collections of silver, gold and copper dishes, wooden icons, statues of Jesus Christ, as well as the clothes of clergy and paintings of biblical subjects. The most famous of the paintings is “St. Augustine”. The bell tower houses bronze bells, the oldest in the city of Macau.
Last years St. Dominic's Church has become a favorite venue for Macau's music festivals. And in 2005, UNESCO included it on the World Heritage List.
(or Basilica of Saint Dominic) is one of the main architectural monuments of the city. The main relic of this church is the remains of St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order, who for a long time lived and preached in Bologna.
The artistic value of the basilica
The sarcophagus of the saint is a real work of art. IN different years Some of the greatest figures of medieval art worked on its creation and decoration: Nicolo Pisano, Arnoldo di Cambio, young Michelangelo.
Order of St. Dominic
Dominic arrived in Bologna in January 1218. He understood the importance of the status of a university city, which at that time only Bologna had in Europe. In 1219 the order began its activities in small church, which at that time was located outside the city walls. In 1220 and 1221, the first two meetings of the order were held in this church.
After Dominic's death, the brotherhood bought all the surrounding lands around the church, and between 1228 and 1240 the church was rebuilt and significantly expanded.
Subsequently, the Dominicans built almost all of their churches in the likeness of the Bolognese church. Of course, in the next centuries Dominican Church was rebuilt and expanded several times. For example, the church's bell tower was built in 1313, and its interior was significantly altered in the mid-15th century.
Reconstruction of the church in the 18th century
In 1728, under the direction of the architect Carlo Francesco Doti, the interior of the church was renovated in the Baroque style with funds allocated by Pope Benedict XIII.
This interior of the Dominican Church has been preserved to this day. Over the centuries of its existence, the Dominican Church in Bologna has received many valuable gifts in the form of works of art from its believers, so the church today is also a real museum where you can see the works of many great masters of Italian art.
Dominican Church on the map of Bologna
- Address: Largo Sao Domingos, 1150-320 Lisboa, Portugal
- Telephone: +351 21 342 8275
- Website: patriarcado-lisboa.pt
- Denomination: Catholicism
- Architectural style: baroque
In the historical center of the capital, there is the majestic Church of St. Dominic. This Catholic church has a rich but tragic history. It is a kind of monument that tells us about the elements that once raged here.
History of the Church of St. Dominic
They started building this temple in 1241, and 10 years later it was consecrated. In those ancient times, the Church of St. Dominic was the largest in Lisbon. Royal weddings and funerals took place here, Portuguese monarchs were baptized here and lavish religious celebrations were held here. However, built in the Tagus Valley, the church often suffered from floods, when streams of water rushed from the hills and destroyed everything in its path.
In 1531, during an earthquake, the temple was severely destroyed, but was soon rebuilt, and for almost 200 years the monastery of São Domingo was located there. During these times, inquisitors read their verdicts here. Heretics condemned to death were brought here and burned on a bonfire laid out in front of the church.
After the earthquake of 1755, only the altar and the sacristy remained from the church. Gradually the building was reconstructed, a new building was created in the Baroque style. In 1959, another disaster struck the church: during a devastating fire it was destroyed interior decoration and all the works of art that decorate it. After another reconstruction, the temple opened to believers in 1994.
Modern decoration of the Church of St. Dominic
This temple is considered a real symbol of the strong-willed Portuguese. From the outside, the church is not much different from other similar buildings. However, at the same time, visitors who have been inside the church are left with an indelible impression, not from the richness of the interior (it is modest and even ascetic), but from the traces that remained here after the disasters and upheavals suffered by the temple. As a reminder of the tragedies, bright red lighting is built into the walls of the basilica, and the walls of the temple and columns keep traces of soot and cracks - a silent memory of those terrible days.
How to get to the temple?
The Church of Saint Dominic is located in the center of Lisbon, on, next to. There is a train station nearby, so you can come here from another city by train. Within the capital, you can take a bus (Rossiu stop) or taxi.
The Church of St. Dominic is open daily from 08:00 to 19:00. Entrance to the temple is free.
