Church of San Filippo Neri (Turin)
The church of San Filippo Neri stands at via Maria Vittoria 5, in the centre of Turin, a short walk from piazza Carignano.[1] Turismo Torino describes it as the largest historic church in the city; its single nave, covered by a large barrel vault, is considered the widest interior among Turin's churches.[2][1]
Guarini's church and its collapse
Among the architects involved in the church was the Theatine father Guarino Guarini.[2] For San Filippo he envisaged three domes in a row; the church, still unfinished, collapsed between 1714 and 1715, according to the entry the Enciclopedia Italiana devoted to the architect in 1933.[3] The Touring Club dates the collapse of the dome, built roughly thirty years earlier, to 1714.[1]
Juvarra's reconstruction
The rebuilding of the entire church was entrusted to Filippo Juvarra and was completed in 1730.[1] The single hall rests on elliptical side chapels.[2] The Baroque main altar is supported by six twisted columns and holds an altarpiece by Carlo Maratta; the façade opens onto a neoclassical portico with large columns of white marble.[1]
Blessed Valfrè
The church holds the remains of Blessed Sebastiano Valfrè, a devotee of the Shroud of Turin (Sindone), adviser to Victor Amadeus II and a leading figure in the city's resistance during the siege of 1706; a painting depicts him next to the cloth.[2]
Sources
- S. Filippo Neri — Touring Club Italiano
- Chiesa di San Filippo Neri — Turismo Torino e Provincia
- GUARINI, Guarino — Treccani – Enciclopedia Italiana (Mario Labò, 1933)