Sant'Afra (Brescia)
| Church of Sant'Afra | |
|---|---|
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Brescia, Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | Coordinates: 45°32′09″N 10°13′46″E / 45.535855°N 10.229441°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Country | Italy |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 1462 |
| Completed | 1700s |
The church of Sant'Afra in Brescia, also known as the church of Sant'Afra in Sant'Eufemia, is located on Corso Magenta, near Piazzale Arnaldo.
Built initially in the 1450s, it underwent major reconstructions starting in the 1600s. It contains a series of prominent artworks including a paintings by Sante Cattaneo, Paolo Veronese, and Enea Salmeggia. The latter painting replaced in 1867 the ‘’Altarpiece of Sant'Eufemia’’ (1526-1530), painted by Alessandro Bonvicino, known as il Moretto, and which was moved to the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo.
The term "Sant'Eufemia" derives from the fact, that the church was initially annexed to a monastery associated with the church of Sant'Eufemia della Fonte, just outside the medieval walls of the city. The suffix also distinguished this church of Sant'Afra with another found on via Francesco Crispi. The latter was destroyed during the bombardment of World War Two, and has only been rebuilt now as the church of Sant'Angela Merici.
Since it stood outside the city walls, the initial Benedictine monastery near the church, founded about 1022, was prone to looting, and stood mainly abandoned from 1300 to 1450s. In 1462, work begun on a new convent and church. In 1479, the church was finished and the relics of the ancient bishop of Brescia, San Paterio were interred in the crypt under the presbytery. The marble façade was added in the 1700s.
After suppression of the monastery in 1797, the monastery and church became an army barracks in 1859. This led to the loss of the frescoes of ‘’Stories of the old and new testament’’ by Lattanzio Gambara that were in the cloister.
The interior now contains a collection of original and transferred works. The baptismal font here came from the church of Sant'Angela Merici . The first chapel on the right has a Consecration of St Paterio by Camillo Rama; the next chapel has an Adoration by the Magi (1790) by Pietro Moro. The last chapel on the right has a canvas of St Mauro healing the sick by Pompeo Ghitti. By the main altar, on the walls at the end of the choir are the large altarpieces of Saints Catherine, Barbara, Agnese, Lucia, Cecilia, and Euphemia by Enea Salmeggia that replaced the Moretto altarpiece. The main altar holds the relics of St Paterio in an urn, and was sculpted by Antonio Calegari.
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