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Sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta (Grassobbio)

Sanctuary Santa Maria Assunta
Religion
Affiliation	Catholicism
Province	Bergamo
Region	Lombardy
Location
Location	Grassobbio
State	ITA
Architecture
Completed	XIII century

The sanctuary of St. Maria Assunta is located inside the oratory of Grassobbio and is part of the diocese of Bergamo.

History

The date of construction of the building is not certain: in 1295, through the reading of some topographical maps it emerged that the sanctuary was already present inside the municipality, but it was dedicated to Santa Maria dei Campi. In addition, there are no sources regarding the year of consecration of the church. In the eighteenth century, it was subject to looting occurred with the arrival of the Austrians, causing the desecration of the main altar, reconsecrated subsequently.

At the beginning of the XVIII century, the altars were dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of the Assumption, the Virgin of Sorrows and St. Roch, which takes its name from the painting depicting St. Roch and St. Sebastian present behind the altar itself. The latter, in 1780, was named after St. Mary Magdalene. The main altar, of Fantonian school, was broken down by some priests in 1700: now there is an altar at the beginning of the presbytery and the statue of the Virgin Assumption, which in the past was joined to the liturgical table, in a lateral polygonal apse.

The frescoes inside the church regarding Mary's scenes of life, dating back to the XVI century, were neglected during the First World War, due to the lack of maintenance work occurred only in 1940. In 1962 Belle Arti decided to recover its frescoes and architecture, along with the reconstruction of the oratory and the parish house.

From 1984 to 2000, the sanctuary underwent several renovation works, including the lowering of the roof, the remaking of the sacristy, the addition of a concert of five bells and finally a conservative restoration work.

With the addition of the monument dedicated to the Alpini, the oratory was completed.

Architecture

The church sees a stone facade, where in the middle there is a huge front gate made with Zandobbio marble; on the left and above the big portal there are two flaring windows protected by iron grating. It points its direction towards East: the main entrance is located on the west side, in this way the observants will walk towards Orient, which symbolizes the rise of Christ.

The building exhibits a rectangular nave divided into three spans, surrounded by a two-slopes-roof and a wood truss. In the second span there is the chapel dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin. The presbitery, like the nave, is characterized by a rectangular plant: at the beginning it is covered by a barrel vault, ending with a lunette one.

There are two entrances (one on the left side and one on the center), which conduct to the bell tower and the sacristy.

Art

The frescos on the presbitery walls represent the cicle of the Virgin Mary's life and they were painted by Andrea Boselli. The figured scenes are taken both from the Canonical Gospels and Apochripha Gospels. The paintings are: The Magi Adoration, The Annunciation, The presentation of Mary to the temple, The wedding of the Virgin, The Visit of the Apostles to Mary, History of Gioacchino and Anna, The Assumption, The Death of Mary, Jesus at the Sepulchre of Mary, The Nativity, The Crucifixion, and finally The Piety of Saint Apollonia and Bernardino.

History of Gioacchino and Anna

Located on the left side of the presbitery, it represents the parents of Mary (Gioacchino and Anna), who at that epoque were considered damned because of the impossibility of having children. In the same scene, Boselli paints two different episodes: in the first (above on the left part) there is the Angel, who announces to Gioacchino the birth of a daughter; the second one, in the foreground, is illustrated the encounter between Gioacchino and Anna in front of the Gold Door of Jerusalem, which is represented as the colonnade of a farmhouse. In this scene the protagonists hug themselves personifying the Immaculate Conception and her Assumption, thus the mistery of Mary to whom the shrine is dedicated.An interesting particular is related to the sheperds: they wear typical Bergamo clothes, over a camel, which colour is the one of the donkeys used by the sheperds during agricultural acts. In the middle of the painting, a wood divides the two secens: a small bush, which has been broken by a lightning, is incredibly bloomed again. It represents the possibility for Anna to give birth again, in this case she could conceive the mother of God.

The frescos in this church, through popular narrative methods, seem to be a reflection about the misteries of the Marian theology: Immaculate, Mother of God and Assumption.

Annunciation

On the left side of the presbitery, this fresco shows the arrival of the Angel Gabriele in the house of Mary. The window seems to be opened suddenly, letting the dove of the Holy Ghost enter: in that right moment the prediction comes true. As far as the technical analysis is concerned, there is a strong contrast between the purple mantle and the withe of the tunic dressed by the Angel. They are characterized by a highlighted drapery that makes volume; this detail is present on the green curtains and on Mary's dress.

This scene marks the transition from the Old to the New Testament.

Death of Mary

The third fresco on the right represents the "Dormition". It is not present in the canonical gospels because it is thought that her death was not a real death, rather a state of sleep. Despite this belief, what is illustrated by Andrea Boselli is death, understandable by the figure of Mary reproduced as a corpse. The complexion, in fact, is tending to gray and gloomy. Around her are painted the twelve apostles, among whom Jhon the Evangelist and Saint Peter are recognizable. As in the Annunciation, the window was opened by the entrance of the Holy Spirit. On the top right is Christ holding a little girl who symbolizes the soul of Mary, surrounded by six angels and cherubim: togheter with the golden ceiling they are a source of light.

Assumption

The painting is located in the centre of the back wall of the presbytery, in the middle of the cycle of frescoes, althought chronologically corresponds to the last scene: it interrups in this way the narration of the life of the Blessed, so that the eye of the faithful falls first on it. Boselli used a different form than the other episodes, imagining it as an altarpiece: it follows the vaulted structure of the building's architecture resulting therefore larger and with a curved end. In ancient times it was at a lower level than the current, it is supposed to have been raised in the seventeenth century. The face of Mary was painted geometrically in the centre of the circle ideally drawn by continuing the curve of the semicircle. The scene depicts Mary rising from the square tomb to the sky raised by six angels. At the bottom are Jhon the Evangelist, Saint Peter and Saint Thomas.