Baroque art is primarily, almost by definition, Catholic art. Indebted to Italian inspiration, this style can only be called a divine gift. It was a vehicle of triumphal Catholicism, a pipeline for unparalleled beauty and greatness. One of its great exponents was Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a sculptor, architect, engineer, and painter who served eight popes with uninterrupted success.
One of Bernini's great creations near Rome was the lovely Collegiate Church of San Tomasso da Villanova. This simple yet mighty gem, with a recently restored exterior, is at the heart of the town of Castel Gandolfo. It dominates the main plaza and is situated under the gaze of the nearby papal summer villa. Its dome is a landmark overlooking Lake Albano, and visible from the papal apartments on the top floor of the papal palace.
The mastermind of its construction was Bernini who built it from 1658-1661. The project was commissioned by Alexander VII Chigi, whose family was powerful in the area. Nearby Ariccia just beyond Castel Gandolfo was also a Chigi stronghold. There Bernini built another grand church heavily influenced by his own favorite creation, the church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale in Rome.
These stately Baroque churches are all each unique. The creation at Castel Gandolfo is the most simple and yet is is perfect, not taking away from the natural beauty, the town physiognomy, or the presence of the popes at the nearby papal palace. The church of San Tomasso bring to mind the Latin words from Psalm 25:8: Dilexi Domino decorem domus Tuae ("I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of Thy house").
According to Baldinucci, the sun had not set on the first day of his papacy before Alexander VII sent for Bernini. The newly elected Pope kept the artist as chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica and made him his own personal architect as well as the architect of the "Camera." It is therefore under the papacy of Alexander VII that Bernini came into his own as an architect of international fame on the European continent.
It was also Alexander VII who had the Pontifical Palace fully completed. The town of Castel Gandolfo owes its distinction to the nearby summer home of the popes. This custom of the popes coming here began when the Holy See acquired a castle in 1596, dating from the 13th century. The Swiss-Italian architect Carlo Maderno then built in the 1620s a 17th-century palace for Pope Urban VIII Barbarini (1623-1644). He was the first Pope to sojourn in this residence in the spring of 1626, only after the completion of the earliest works of restoration and extension of the palace, carried out by Carlo Maderno.
The genius of the dome, seen below, is clearly modeled after the famous dome of Filippo Brunelleschi in Florence. Those who have been to Florence and see the dome of the Duomo, built between 1418 - 1434, recognize immediately the similar design, although the Castel Gandolfo version is much smaller and covered in metal, not Tuscan tiles as in Florence. The version in Florence still defies the imagination - it is one of the most significant architectural achievements of the Renaissance, and it remains the world's largest masonry built dome. The church also has one bell, seen below.
The main simple two-story façade (restored recently to its lovely white color as opposed to the previous ochre) can be seen as a large architectural triptych, of which the actual façade occupies the center, flanked by two recessed wings. The façade, with Tuscan pillars, is preceded by a low staircase leading from the cobbled piazza to a framed entrance portal, surmounted by an arched tympanum.
The inside has a notable altarpiece above the central altar, a painting of The Crucifixion of Christ by Pietro da Cortona. Cortona has been called Rome's third Baroque genius, listed after Bernini and Borromini. It is said he worked alongside Bernini in the church as they had done back at S. Bibiana in Rome some thirty-seven years before.
Today the church is a bit of a wedding chapel, with many local couples seeking to be wed here in such a beautiful and prominent setting. The parish includes within its boundaries the inhabitants of both Castel Gandolfo and the employees and staff of the Papal Palace and annexed Pontifical Villas. All since 1929 are considered "extra-territorial" properties of the Holy See.
The area was heavily bombed by the Allies during the Second World War, when the Propaganda Villa on the property of the Pontifical Villas was destroyed and bombs blew up just outside the Pope's bedroom window, of which some damage can still be seen today, having been preserved for all to see.
Originally the church was going to be named after St. Nicholas of Bari, but that plan was changed when Tomas of Villanova was canonized on November 1st, 1658, the year construction began on the new church on April 15th. The crypt chapel therefore retained the name St. Nicholas.
Bernini chose a Greek cross plan, slightly altered according to Baroque canons. In his typical way, he brings extreme dynamism to the design, building on Renaissance canons that came before. He seems to reconnect with a typically Renaissance conception of religious architecture, rather than an expressly Baroque vision. The interior has simple white walls. There is a simplicity in this creation that is refreshing, given the country setting.
The church offered the artist a further opportunity to practice his theme of urban planning. San Tommaso da Villanova must be considered not only in relation to the urban planning of Piazza della Libertà , of which it constitutes one of the fundamental elements, but also with the Papal Palace, fountain, and the massive lake.
Quit interestingly, in the construction of the church the main problem for the builders was the considerable difference in elevation between the square in front of the church and the terrace below overlooking the lake, which made it necessary to build a solid structure with a deep rear part, allowing for a significant basement with a second chapel and deep foundation. The communication between the square and the terrace on the lake had to take place via a narrow street or that flanked the church.
The rear part of the church seen from the terrace (now with outdoor dining) presents itself as a simple architectural mass, in which the walls of the sacristies are placed at the rear corners, with the upper church connected to the lower part one by one small staircase. The lower part has a chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas, to whom the former oratory was dedicated.
For further reading, a fascinating study can be found here.
