Saint Spyridon Church, Trieste
The Church of the Holy Trinity and St. Spyridon (Serbian: Црква Свете Тројице и Светог Спиридона / Crkva Svete Trojice i Svetog Spiridona ), also Holy Trinity and San Spiridione or San Spiridione called, is the Serbian Orthodox church in the northern Italian city of Trieste. It was built in 1861-1866 after a design by the architect Carlo Maciachini. The church is one of the largest Serbian Orthodox communities in Italy. The church is located in the Trieste district of Borgo Teresiano ( Città Nuova) on the Grand Canal near the Catholic church of Sant'Antonio Nuovo. The church belongs since 2010 to the Eparchy of Austria, Switzerland and Italy of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
- 2.1 prehistory
- 2.2 Architectural History
Architecture
Facade
The church was built in the Neo-Byzantine style is presented with five blue domes. The massive central dome is surrounded by much smaller domes of the four bell towers that rise up at each corner of the building and are broken up by an open belfry each in the upper part.
The main entrance is located in a letter addressed to the Via San Spiridione side extension with pitched roof. 1883 a mosaic depicting the saint Spyridon was placed over the main entrance. Above is a series of statues of saints Emilio Bisi. The mosaic above the relief showing the four evangelists.
The other three side pods are lower than the main entrance and will be completed by the blue half-domes with a diameter corresponding to the central main dome. About the side entrance of the Grand Canal of the Archangel Michael is depicted. In the niches left and right above the side entrance mosaics can be seen, showing the Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, and Athanasius. On the side facing the Via Genova side of God the Mother and Child and the Holy Basil and John Chrysostom are shown.
The richly decorated facade comes from the Milanese painter Pompeo Bertini. The windows are the work of Antonio Caremi.
The 40 -meter-high church is 38 meters long and 31 meters wide. Inside, about 1,600 believers have space.
Interior
The ground plan of the church is a Greek cross. The interior is dominated by the iconostasis, the usual the choir of the room separates as in the Eastern Churches, in which reside the faithful. The partition wall is painted with saints and scenes from the life of Jesus: Baptism, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ. It is located in the apse is a representation of Jesus on the throne, surrounded by his apostles, by Giuseppe Bertini. In the center of the main dome is an icon of Christ Pantocrator. The silver Votivlampe at the main entrance was the church of the Russian Tsar Paul I gave during his visit on January 6, 1772. The most valuable icon of the church is the Madonna Hodighitria, by Andrea Rico as Candia ( 1422-1492 ).
History
Prehistory
The beginning of the Serbian community in Trieste dates back to the year 1748, when the first originating from present-day Bosnia - Herzegovina merchant, Jovo Kurtović (Italian Giovanni also Curtovich ), settled in the port city. The explanation of Trieste a free port in 1719 and the conscious tolerant attitude of the Habsburgs against other religions and nations attracted originating from a poor background dealers from Trebinje in the city and allowed him and his family, in a very short time a trading empire with connections to Vienna, Odessa, İzmir Philadelphia and build. More merchant's family followed the example Kurtovićs.
Although the Trieste population probably declined the small Illyrian community due to its rapid economic success, promoted Empress Maria Theresa their development. On 3 March 1750, it allowed the Orthodox population in Trieste to join together in a community. The Greek Nicolò Mainti then founded an Orthodox community, whose members mostly Greek Orthodox, to a lesser extent but also Illyrian- orthodox (now Serbian Orthodox) were.
On February 20, 1751, Maria Theresa issued on the initiative of the Greek Orthodox abbot Damasceno Omero of the newly formed Greek- Illyrian community permission to build a church in Trieste. Greeks and Serbs erected in 1753 together with the help of an Imperial loan of 12,000 Florentines on the Grand Canal, the church of Santissima Trinità and San Spiridione, the Holy Trinity and St.. Spyridon was ordained. At the insistence of the ever-growing community of Illyrian service was held in Serbian 1769. Parted Probably due to the conflict over the language used during the Divine Liturgy, the Greek Orthodox community in 1781 by the Serbian faithful and built on the waterfront its own church, San Nicolò dei Greci. The Serbian community remained in God's house on the Grand Canal, which was expanded in 1782 at the expense of the Serbian merchant Giovanni Milletich two steeples. Since the soil under the building increasingly absenkte, had to be demolished in 1850 one of the Campanile. The increasing dilapidation and the associated danger of collapse of the church led in 1860 to its complete demolition.
Architectural History
1858 wrote the Serbian Orthodox church of the design for a new church. Of nine designs submitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice chose from the blueprint of the Milanese architect Carlo Maciachini. However, the design did not meet the former requirements for non-Catholic worship. Due to the decree of Empress Maria Theresa from 1751, it was non-Catholics allowed though, in Trieste to practice their faith in their own church, but the building had to meet some requirements. So were allowed places of worship of other religions do not have direct access from a public road and have no bell tower. However, the mayor Muzio de Tommasini sat for the project of the Serbian Orthodox church and enfeebled the imperial obligations, since in Trieste already churches of other denominations existed such as the Basilica San Silvestro the Protestant community Helvetic Confession or the church building of the Lutheran communion with the Augsburg Confession, which no longer corresponded to these guidelines. In August 1860 Maciachinis plans were finally approved by the Austrian governor. 1861 was started under the supervision of Peter Palese with the construction of the temple. Work on the building construction was completed on July 9, 1868; the furnishing of the interior and the decoration of the facade were not completed until 1885. On December 24, 1885, the inauguration of the new church took place.
Trivia
According to the superstition of Trieste, the priests of the Church have the power to ward off the evil eye and to end losing streaks. Many even believe that lighting a candle in the church would bring good luck.