Key to Umbria: Gubbio
 


Santa Maria del Ponte (1570)


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This church, which is named for the nearby Ponte di San Donato (which was in turn named for the ancient nunnery of San Donato) belonged to the Confraternita della Beata Vergine.   Bishop Mariano Savelli gave permission for its construction in 1570 to house a Marian fresco that was to be detached from a wayside tabernacle on the site.  The inscription to the right of the entrance records that Pope Gregory XIII granted indulgences in relation to the church in 1573, at the request of Cardinale Giulio della Rovere.

The church became a parish church in 1983 and is administered by the Lateran Canons of San Secondo.

Exterior

The church is in the form of a Greek cross, with an octagonal brick drum without a lantern.  The facade and porch are built of white limestone blocks.  The campanile beside the drum was added in 1649.

The carved doors (1622) of the main portal are attributed to Corinzio Brizi, il Sanbrizio.

Interior

The interior was remodelled in 1793. 

The wooden high altar (1622) is attributed to Corinzio Brizi, il Sanbrizio.

Madonna and Child with saints (ca. 1450)

This fresco on the high altar was detached from a tabernacle on the site and installed (as noted above) installed in the newly-completed church in ca. 1570. It was restored in 1999, at which point a fragmentary inscription, “..VGVBIO”, was found on the throne, indicating that the artist came from Gubbio.  It was traditionally attributed to Domenico di Cecco, but has recently been attributed alternatively to Giacomo di Benedetto Bedi.  It depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with SS Bernardino of Siena and Ubaldus. 



Works Attributed to Virgilio Nucci (ca. 1605) 

The second altars on the left and on the right are similar in form and each contains an altarpiece that is attributed to attributed to Virgilio Nucci:

Annunciation

This altarpiece on the 2nd altar on the left is in two parts:

  1. ✴The upper part depicts the descending Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, surrounded by angels. 

  2. ✴In the lower part, the Annunciation takes place against the backdrop of Piazza Grande, Gubbio.

Christ and the Virgin with Angels

This altarpiece on the 2nd altar on the right is also in two parts:

  1. ✴The upper part depicts the Virgin enthroned with Jesus the Redeemer and the Archangel Gabriel.  The latter holds crown over the Virgin’s head. 

  2. ✴In the lower part, the Archangel Michael stands on the defeated the devil, flanked by SS Ubaldus and Joseph on the left  and SS Catherine of Alexandria and Mary Magdalene on the right.

Madonna and Child with saints (1635)

The inscription of this altarpiece on the 1st altar on the left records the artist, Basilio Maggeri of Urbino, the date and the name of the commissioner, the doctor Annibale Nicolini.  (An inscription on the counter-facade records his death in 1636).  The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child with SS Charles Borromeo and Francis.

SS Felix, Isidore and Antony of Padua (1654)

This altarpiece on the 1st altar on the right [is signed by Giovanni Battista Michelini, il Folignate and dated by inscription ?].   It represents St Felix (Pope Felix I) flanked by the other two saints.  This altar is dedicated to St Felix, and contains a presumed relic.


Read more:

This website provides basic information and links to a more detailed pdf.


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