San Gianuario Church, Marsico Nuovo, Italy

San Gianuario is a Roman Catholic church in Marsico Nuovo, Basilicata. It is cited as the co-cathedral of the town along with the church of San Giorgio.

The church is thought to have been erected at the site of a pagan Serapeum, and that some of the capitals of the columns are spolia from such a temple. The site had a pre-Christian cemetery. Documents maintain the Abbey of Santo Stefano was erected here under the patronage of a Count Osmondo during the rule of the Norman Robert Guiscard in the region. The abbey putatively held the relics of San Gianuario, a 4th-century bishop martyred nearby by Diocletian. The abbey however fell into disuse and ruin, leaving behind only this church. The structure has been refurbished over the centuries.

The church houses a number of artworks including a detached fresco derived from the church of San Francesco. The church has paintings by Simonelli, Feliciano Mangieri and Nicola Peccheneda. A stone portal, attributed to Melchiorre da Montalbano, consists of flanking column-pilasters with bas-reliefs of bishops. In a niche above the portal is a half-figure bust of San Stefano. The bronze doors (1699) are by Antonio Masini.

References:

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Religious sites in Italy

User Reviews

Luciana Ranaldo (2 years ago)
Dominating the valley, in a wonderful natural setting, the finely decorated portal stands out

Emiddio Michele Gianuario Votta (3 years ago)

Sergio S. (4 years ago)
In the early Middle Ages the powerful abbey of Santo Stefano stood here, founded on the ruins of the temple of Serapis. The church of San Gianuario, formerly the abbey of S. Stefano, was rebuilt in 1071 by the Norman Rinaldo di Malaconvenienza. In 1599, when the monastery disappeared, the church was completely rebuilt, with the recovery of the medieval structure.

Sassano Enrico (5 years ago)

Ferdinando Pagliarulo (5 years ago)

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