Church of San Giorgio in Braida
Religion
AffiliationRoman Catholic
Location
LocationVerona, Italy
Architecture
Architect(s)Michele Sanmicheli (dome)
TypeChurch
StyleRenaissance
Groundbreaking16th century

San Giorgio in Braida is a Roman Catholic church in Verona, region of Veneto, Italy. A church titled San Giacomo in Braida, was located in Cremona, and became superseded by Sant'Agostino.

History

In April 1046, the deacon of the Verona Cathedral, later bishop of Parma, Cadalo commissioned the construction of a Benedictine monastery outside the city walls, in a suburb called Braida on land which he had acquired from Bishop Walter of Verona.[1] Grassy area outside the city walls were once called "braide".[2]

By 1051, the monastery was generally complete, and the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III placed it under his protection. By 1121, the monastery had a church. The 12th-century bell tower is what remains of the monastery.[3]

By 1127, the then bishop Bernardo expelled the monks for "keeping an abbey in a situation of spiritual, temporal, and material degradation". By 1132, the bishop with the blessing of Pope Innocent II assigned the monastery to the Canons Regular, an Augustinian order. In 1441, Pope Eugene IV favored the transfer of the monastery to the Venetian Augustinian order of Canons Regular of San Giorgio in Alga, reflecting in part the ascendancy of the republic in Verona since their fusion with Venice in 1405. In 1668, these canons were abolished by Pope Clement IX. The monastery was sold at auction, but was acquired by the Nuns of Santa Maria di Reggio, who administered the church until their suppression in 1806. The church became an oratory subsidiary to Santo Stefano, and only acquired the parish dignity in 1874.[4]

Architecture

The present church was built in the 16th century in the medieval quarter of Veronetta. The facade is marble white with two rows of pillars. The statues of St. George and St. Lorenzo Giustiniani are on the sides. Around 1535 Michele Sanmicheli built the coffered dome of the church.[3]

The interior has a single nave built between 1536 and 1543, and contains above the main door a Tintoretto depicting the Baptism of Christ. The altarpiece of the main altar is Paolo Veronese's masterpiece, The Martyrdom of St George (1564).[3] Paolo Farinati's The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes is accounted his masterpiece.

In 1776 were cast the six bells tuned in the scale of G major, on which was developed the Veronese bellringing art. In San Giorgio the new bells were hung for full circle ringing.

References

  1. ↑ Gio. M. Allodi (1856). Serie cronologica dei vescovi di Parma con alcuni cenni sui principali avvenimenti civili (in Italian). Vol. I. Parma: P. Fiaccadori. pp. 118–119.
  2. ↑ "San Giorgio in Braida", Fondazione Verona Minor Hierusalem
  3. 1 2 3 "Chiesa di San Giorgio in Braida", CurateND
  4. ↑ Il monastero benedettino di S. Giorgio in Braida a Verona: nuove prospettive di ricerca sulla rifabbrica romanica (Sec XII), by Angelo Passuello, Rivista del Centro Storico Benedittino Italiano, Anno 61, Fasc. 2, July–December 2014, page 320-325.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Giorgio in Braida (Verona).
  • Borelli, G. (1980). Chiese e monasteri di Verona. Verona: Banca popolare di Verona.

45°26′56″N 10°59′45″E / 45.4489°N 10.9959°E / 45.4489; 10.9959


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