Church of Saint Bernardino of Siena (Crema)

The Church of San Bernardino da Siena is a Catholic place of worship in Crema, Italy, the parish church of the eponymous district. It is sometimes also referred to as the Church of San Bernardino outside the walls to distinguish it from the church of the same name in the city's historic centre.

History

In the autumn of 1421, Saint Bernardino of Siena, during his short stay in Crema, founded the monastery of Santa Maria di Supravalle in Pianengo.^[1] Not many years later (in 1452), faced with an increase in vocations, the province of the Observants decided to open a filiation outside Crema, beyond the river Serio, along the road to Izano.^[1] This monastery did not last long: at the end of the siege of Crema in 1514 it was demolished so that the military column led by the condottiero Prospero Colonna could not barricade itself there and attempt new assaults on the city; however, the church was spared.^[2]

The following year, the province of the Observants was granted permission to begin proceedings for the construction of a new convent in the city centre,^[3] leaving two monks to officiate in this external church^[2] and a hermit dedicated to its care;^[4] subsequently, in 1519, pastoral care was entrusted to the Lateran Canons of San Benedetto, while the records of the Castelli visitation of 1579 mention the priest of Vergonzana;^[4] however, also to cope with the peremptory night-time closure of the gates imposed by the authorities in 1590, San Bernardino was entrusted to the parish of Izano,^[4] but this was too distant and inconvenient, so in 1594 Monsignor Gian Giacomo Diedo erected it as an autonomous parish.^[2] The first parish priests were always the Friars Minor of San Benedetto until, from 1610, the church of San Bernardino was entrusted to secular priests.^[2]

Meanwhile, due to the growing population, the religious authorities in 1608 gave their approval for the construction of a new, larger church; it is not known exactly when it was built, but probably between 1614 and 1658; the first date corresponds to the pastoral visit of Bishop Pietro Emo, which mentions a fresco to be restored, leading Zucchelli to believe that at that time it must still have been the sixteenth-century church; the records of the visit of Alberto Badoer in 1658 describe a much more elaborate building with a baptistery, the high altar, and two side altars dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary and to Saint Charles, the latter not yet completed.^[2]

The church was further lengthened on the facade side in 1765 thanks to the offerings of the parishioners, also allowing the installation of two further side altars dedicated to Saint Andrew Avellino and Saint Francis Xavier.^[5]

Towards the end of the 19th century, the church was still insufficient for the spiritual needs of the even more numerous population, giving rise to discussions aimed at addressing the situation; the solution of building a new church from scratch was initially considered but then discarded, both because of the costs that would have been necessary for its construction and the difficulty of finding a location.^[6]

Pietro Schiavini, who was entrusted with the design study, did not consider intervening towards the facade, which already projected very close to the boundary wall of the garden of Villa Martini (on the site of the current churchyard), so he evaluated a rear enlargement. The start of work was particularly uncertain due to bureaucratic reasons, but also due to a shortage of funds.^[6] They began in 1891 using mostly volunteer labour with the contribution of the parishioners: the men worked on the church on holidays and the women collected eggs from the farms to sell them;^[6] only for the construction of the dome of the presbytery, given the construction complexity, was its construction entrusted to professional masons. On Christmas Eve 1891, a solemn ceremony inaugurated the enlargement.^[6]

In that decade, the need also arose to work on the bell tower, which was located along the northern side. The death of Countess Emilia Martini disappointed the parish priest Paolo Ghilardi, who had relied on her testamentary bequest for the construction, but only 3,000 lire arrived, an insufficient sum; however, at the urging of Bishop Ernesto Fontana, the project was nonetheless initiated based on a design by Massimo Girbafranti;^[7] the erection of the new bell tower began, but due to financial difficulties it stalled and remained stopped for all of 1901, resuming at the end of April 1902 and finally being completed at the end of the year with the installation of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.^[8]

After the appointment of the parish priest Don Vincenzo De Maestri (1951), the floor was redone and two chapels were set up; the parish priest also ordered the relocation of the altar of the Madonna; between the 18th-century chapels he had openings made to make them communicating, moved the baptistery to the first bay on the left, and provided the windows with new stained glass.^[8]

In 1953, the countess sisters Rossi Martini ceded the villa to the parish, so Don De Maestri took advantage of this to set back the boundary wall of the park, thus being able to create a large churchyard that enhances the facade of the building.^[8] With the transfer of the property and its appurtenances, the new oratory "for male youth" and "a suitable house for the curate" were built (records of the visit of Placido Maria Cambiaghi in 1956).^[4]

The relocation of the altar from the dorsal in accordance with the new liturgical prescriptions dates to 1960.^[8]

Don Vincenzo De Maestri Historic parish priest of San Bernardino was Don Vincenzo De Maestri, promoter of many works and rearrangements for the church, in addition to the purchase of Villa Martini to create the oratory and the construction of the churchyard. Born in 1912 in Pieranica, brother of two other priests (Antonio and Isacco), he was ordained a priest on 11 April 1936 and always carried out his ministry in the district for over 77 years, of which 14 as curate, 29 as parish priest and 22 as chaplain.^[9] He died on 4 March 2013 at the age of almost 101, and on 18 December 2021 a park was named after him.^[10]

Characteristics

Exterior

Facade

Built by advancing the seventeenth-century church, it presents a simplified Baroque style, entirely in exposed brick. The lower order is wider, divided into five panels by pilasters with Tuscan capitals resting on a high base; in the outermost ones, two moulded small windows open. The portal in the central part has a simple frame, surmounted by a moulded tympanum and the hint of an arch within the masonry. The doors are 18th-century walnut wood.^[11]

A high entablature with a small covering of coppi tiles divides the lower order from the upper one. The latter is narrower, divided into three parts, the outermost of which are embellished by inverted volutes. The central panel contains the large window with a particularly lively tympanum; the lateral ones contain empty niches, also with elaborate tympanums.^[11]

The whole is finished with a further entablature on which the curvilinear tympanum is grafted.^[11]

Bell tower

It is about 46 metres high, excluding the statue of the Sacred Heart, with a square base of 5 metres per side.^[12] It is entirely in exposed brick, with the shaft divided into three orders separated by corner and horizontal bands; the first order has a central small window with a round arch, almost blind. In the second order, two round-arched windows open, splayed towards the interior. The third order is blind (with decoration) on the east and west sides, while on the north and south there is a square clock; this order also has a decoration with brick arches.^[12]

A cornice divides the shaft from the bell chamber, which consists of mullioned openings with marble central columns; a further decoration with small arches is placed under a corbelled cornice that supports the final crown. It consists of a balustrade with solid pilasters surrounding a square body with chamfered corners and mullioned openings. The spire, surrounded by a railing, supports the statue of the Sacred Heart.^[12]

Interior

The internal structure bears the mark of the various transformations that have taken place over the centuries: from the first to the third bay, for example, the side aisles are very narrow and more like a corridor, with the intercommunicating openings created in the mid-20th century; consequently, they are decorated with fake altars with a strongly illusory effect. From the fourth bay, the widening begins; in the fifth, two 20th-century chapels have been built; then the wall of the intrados and the triumphal arch lead to the presbytery, which has a central plan and is raised three steps above the floor level of the hall.^[13] Behind the presbytery, an ambulatory develops.

The pillars of the hall are in a classical style, with three pilasters attached to them: the inner ones have Tuscan capitals and form the longitudinal arches, while the outer ones rise to support an entablature that runs along the entire church.^[14]

Along the entablature, an inscription has been created which, read consecutively, reads:

YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR SOUL YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF

The decoration carried out in the 1990s unified and concealed the breaks between the oldest parts and those due to the 19th-century enlargement.^[11] The vault is divided by transverse arches in line with the pillars that mark the bays; within each section, the sail vaults and ribs meet in central ovals containing clouds or cherubs.^[14] The large windows that provide light to the interior are equipped with stained glass depicting the theme of the Evangelical Beatitudes.^[13] Hanging on the pillars are the scenes of the Via Crucis by Mauro Picenardi.^[15]

Left wall

In the first bay is the 17th-century baptistery,^[16] closed by a 19th-century iron gate, and an 18th-century crucifix hanging on the wall. In the second bay hangs the canvas of Saint Charles Borromeo and Saint Pantaleon, a work from 1648 by Giovanni Battista Botticchio, framed in an illusory decoration that simulates the presence of an altar.^[13]

The third bay is also decorated with a fake Baroque altar framing the polychrome statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from 1939.^[13] In the fourth bay, wider than the previous ones, the side entrance opens, and on the walls are two banners (one is a processional fragment).^[17] In the fifth bay, a chapel was built around the mid-20th century, introduced by a pointed arch. The altar is in Rosso Verona marble, while above it is placed the polychrome wooden statue depicting Saint Bernardino, purchased in 1880 (Antonioni).^[18]

Right wall

On the wall of the first bay, a shelf supports a polychrome plaster statue depicting The Pietà (20th century), while the decoration from 1981 is by Gianni Macalli.^[18] The second bay is a chapel: there was an altar there, removed in 1960 and moved to the new chapel in the fifth bay, above which remains the canvas with The Crucifix, Saints Andrew Avellino, Gaetano da Thiene and the Souls in Purgatory by an unknown author.^[18]

The third bay is also a chapel and is dedicated to Saint Roch, with a fake 18th-century elevation that has been modified several times. The wooden statue dedicated to the saint, purchased in 1840, is placed in a niche.^[18] In the fourth bay, several canvases are hung: the Deposition of Jesus in the Sepulchre by Jacopo Borbone and the five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Via Crucis by Carlo Antonio Barbelli. In front of them stands a Pietà, a contemporary marble work by Amedeo Togni.^[18]

The 20th-century chapel in the fifth bay is dedicated to the Madonna and replaces the previous location of the baptistery and the confessionals. It contains the altar once placed in the second bay, with the polychrome plaster statue of the Madonna and Child from 1902.^[18] On the left and right hang the small paintings of the Mysteries of the Rosary by Carlo Antonio Barbelli.^[18]

Presbytery

The triumphal arch rests on pillars that end on the aforementioned entablature that runs along the entire church and continues into the presbytery. In the centre of the arch is a cartouche, in the middle a tiara and the keys of Saint Peter.^[13]

The entablature of the presbytery also bears an inscription:

THE LORD SAYS I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH THE LIFE GOSPEL OF SAINT JOHN XIV,6

The presbyteral area has five sides with as many pillars and pilasters supporting the entablature, near which the ribs of the dome develop, joining in a central rose with the dove of the Holy Spirit.^[13] The dorsal and the mensa date from the 18th century, but the latter was detached and moved forward, towards the faithful, to comply with the dictates of the Second Vatican Council.^[18]

The ambulatory is divided into bays and has a ceiling of broken sails supported by five arches: in the first, a stained-glass window dedicated to Saint Maria Goretti has been made, while below hangs a small double-sided canvas (Madonna and Child and Saint Bernardino) by Giacomo Desti. There is also another canvas depicting the Madonna of Caravaggio, made in 1898 by Eugenio Giuseppe Conti.^[19]

Under the stained-glass window of Saint Joseph in the second bay, there is another canvas by Giacomo Desti (Saint Fermo), a liturgical vestment, and a cork engraving of the Via Crucis.^[20]

In the central bay is the organ, built in 1910 by the Inzoli company and electrified by the Tamburini company; the console is detached and faces the pipes.^[21] The stained-glass window is dedicated to the Madonna and Child.^[20] In the fourth bay, the door leading to the sacristy opens, flanked by liturgical vestments; the stained-glass window is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist.^[20]

In the last bay, with the stained-glass window dedicated to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, three canvases are hung: The Miracle of Saint Blaise by Gian Giacomo Barbelli,^[22] Saint Francis by an anonymous 17th-century author,^[22] and a Pietà by Tommaso or Mauro Picenardi,^[23] once the altarpiece of the oratory of the Madonna della Pietà located along Via Brescia.

Counter-facade

The main entrance is equipped with a narthex and is flanked by 19th-century confessionals; in front are two holy water fonts, the work of Felice Bolzoni from the first half of the 20th century. Above hangs a processional banner depicting the Madonna and Child on one side and Saint Roch on the other.^[13] The upper stained-glass window depicts the titular patron saint of the church; on the wall are two other paintings from the Via Crucis cycle by Picenardi, which continues along the entire hall.^[13]