The Temple of Santa Maria della Consolazione is an important Catholic place of worship in Todi, located outside the 13th-century walls of the city and linked to the ancient belief in miraculous healings that has survived to this day.
An internationally important architectural work, it is considered one of the symbols of Renaissance architecture. Its construction began in 1508 and took 100 years to complete. For those coming from Orvieto, the church is visible from a distance before entering the city. Its classical architecture contrasts with the medieval character of the historic center.
HISTORY:
Legend has it that at the beginning of the 16th century, a miracle occurred in Todi; it seems that an attendant cleaning an fresco of the Madonna was miraculously healed from a serious eye disease.
At this point, the possibility was proposed to make the miracle known in distant regions by building a Marian temple near the area: the church was to house the image of the Madonna and thus become a pilgrimage site for sick people of all kinds, arising on the site of a medieval chapel that was already present.
From a political point of view, the town of Todi had a competitive relationship with other nearby cities. Several of these had behind them the construction of prestigious medieval cathedrals: for the town of Todi, it was advantageous to build a highly representative church in Renaissance style, therefore considered modern.
Its peripheral location offered the advantage of presenting the city being very visible from a distance. The funding of the project was possible thanks to several sources: among these, the offerings made by sick pilgrims. Furthermore, the construction of a hospital was also started.
It is not known who is the originator of the project. Since the sixteenth century, it has been attributed to Donato Bramante, but there are no documents that prove it.
It is certain that Bramante never attended the work, while the names of the masters who succeeded in the construction phases are certain: from the beginning, and until 1512, the work was directed by Cola da Caprarola, later Baldassarre Peruzzi (until 1518), the Vignola (until 1565), and finally Ippolito Scalza, besides them, other architects have also contributed: among these Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Galeazzo Alessi, and Michele Sanmicheli.
The project began to conclude in 1586, when the construction of the drum followed by the rest of the dome began.
This last one was already approaching the architectural forms that would become typical of the baroque (the oval shape of the dome is one of the few elements that subtract the church from the architectural rules of the Renaissance).
EXTERIOR:
The building has a central plan, in the shape of a Greek cross: a square base built between four massive corner pillars.
Around the central block, four apses gather to form the arms of the cross and define much of the perimeter of the temple.
The church is decorated with a double Corinthian order of delicate columns. The succession of small windows is rhythmed by the alternation of triangular and curved pediments.
The four apses are headed by other semicircles that surround the square terrace at the base, around which four eagles were applied by Antonio Rosignoli between 1601 and 1604 symbolizing the town of Todi. With its balustrade, the terrace overlooks the large square block. From the terrace, a large dome with a drum rises, which is about 50 meters high.
INTERIOR:
The project reminds one of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, for which Bramante envisioned a centrally-planned church, as is the case with this temple. Given the smaller size of Santa Maria della Consolazione, it is easy to understand why the Todi project was more easily accomplished than that of St. Peter, which was characterized by continuous reconsiderations and compromises that would have resulted, among other things, in the abandonment of the Greek cross plan so dear to Renaissance architecture. The central plan corresponded to the ideals of the time: perfection, maximum balance between parts and unity of space.
However, these advantages were offset by practical disadvantages: an unsolved problem was the unclear allocation of a place for altars and faithful in these buildings. For example, it was unclear where to place the sacristy, so in 1613 an external sacristy was added that leaned against the north side, but this damaged the exterior harmony of the whole. The sacristy was then demolished in 1862. Geometrically, it was not evident on which side to place the image of Mary, since the four arms of the cross were equal. The problem was solved by building a semicircular apse to the north, different from the other three, which are polygonal in shape.
The east, south, and west apses are lightened inside by four niches each, each hosting the statue of one of the twelve apostles. Horizontally, there is a division with a double order of columns. In the church, there is also a wooden statue of one of the most prominent Tudertian personalities, Pope Martin I, who lived in the seventh century AD. Light comes from sources at different heights around the building. This arrangement ideally underscores the spatial unity of the construction.