THE CHURCH OF ST. MARIA DEL SUFFRAGIO

THE HISTORY
The church of the “Suffragio”, as it is known by the people of Viterbo, only came by its name in 1618. The primitive construction stood in the San Matteo in Sonsa area and was dedicated to San Quirico, martyr of Antiochia It had been opening its doors to followers since the XII century and had been mentioned in documents in the thirteenth century together with other parishes of the area such as Santo Stefano, San Matteo and San Giovanni. The only things we know about its original architecture was that it had a spacious porch in front of the façade under which notaries used to draw up their deeds. In the great reform following the Council of Trento, many parishes lost their authority owing to the lack of inhabitants and resources. St Quirico was also suppressed in 1572 and carried on only as a simple rectorate associated with Santo Stefano, the large collegiate which stood in Piazza delle Erbe. In 1618 Cardinal Bishop Tiberio Muti gave the church to the new confraternity of Santa Maria del Suffragio which had the aim of praying and the collection of alms-giving for the celebration of masses for intercession of the souls in Purgatory. The brothers wore a white sackcloth robe with a black mozzetta. The group soon gained importance allowing radical changes to be made to the original church, building a large presbytery (1717) which served as an oratory for the brothers. Further and rather questionable work for the decoration of the walls were carried out at the beginning of this century.

THE EXTERIOR
The elegant and elaborate façade is the result of restoration work carried out in the XVII century. It is divided into two levels by a trabeation made of peperino stone. A fresco portraying the Virgin with the Souls in Purgatory (12) stands above the main door in a rectangular niche defined by cornices and brackets decorated with festoons and cherubs. There are also side niches which were probably meant to house statues of saints. These niches have blind rectangular windows above them. In the particularly well-looked after elegant upper level we can see a false window with moulded cornices around a peperino conch with a round tympanum on top. The Baroque decorative repertoire is completed by the torch-holders, the side scrolls which connect this floor with the lower level and by the play of pilasters which define the space and support the cusped tympanum. Near the tympanum we can see a large crest in peperino stone with the coat-of-arms of Cardinal Brancaccio, Bishop of Viterbo and promoter of the restoration works of the façade. There is a side bell-tower on the left side at the back which houses three bells.

THE INTERIOR
The church has one nave in a rich and elegant Baroque style with an octagonal raised presbytery which has three steps leading to it. The entrance is through a spectacular arch which stands on consoles held up by two columns. A corbel runs the length of all the wall dividing it into two levels and there are three windows above this. Some heads symbolizing tortured souls can be seen above the corbel on the extensions of the pilasters which mark the space along the walls. The ceiling is covered by a huge painted jute canvas stretched across it which, despite it being considerably damaged, still has a superb painting in the middle (1) by an artist of Viterbo (XVIII century) which portrays God the Father in Glory among Christ and the Virgin and the souls of Purgatory. There are four Baroque marble altars as well as the high altar. There are two altars along each side. The first one on the right (2) has two columns holding up a trabeation with a shrine resting on it and there is a canvas showing the Crucifixion of 1700. In the next one down there is a Baroque‘macchina’ framed with columns and an interrupted tympanum, the altar-piece (3) portrays The Angel and Tobiolo and there is a hole which allows the viewing of an ancient fresco of the Madonna with Child on the partition below. In the pendentives of the arch which leads to the presbytery some eighteenth century allegorical figures are painted while in the oratory vault (4) there is a rare pictorial work by the celebrated architect Luigi Vanvitelli of Abacuc and the Angel and Daniel in the lions’ den (1730). The sides of the octagonal presbytery are of different sizes. The presbytery is illuminated by two large windows and there is one door on each of the four sides, decorated with roundels portraying the Evangelisti with women’s galleries above them. On the right-hand side of the presbytery (5) hangs a seventeenth century altarpiece of the Coronation of the Virgin among five Saints, among which we can see St. Rosa da Viterbo (who is recognisable by the garland of roses on her head.) On the opposite side (6) we can see the Birth of St. John (probably contemporary). Both of these canvases are attributed to local artists. The high altar (7) is made of marble and is an elegant Baroque episode with four columns holding up the trabeation which has two kneeling angels holding up a garlanded oval with the symbol of the MCadonna. The altarpiece is by Francesco Maria Bonifazi of Viterbo (end of 1600s – beginning of the 1700s) and recently had some of the overlaps which were disfiguring it taken away (8), It portrays Santa Maria del Suffragio with the Child on her lap, standing, while an Angel gives her a purified soul leaving Purgatory. Above the altar, which is similar to the altar in front of it, along the left-hand wall in the nave (9) hangs a XVII century painting portraying the Death of St. Andrea Avellino. Another noteworthy painting can be seen on the next altar down (10) which looks like the other two. This is by the older brother of Francesco Maria called Anton Angelo and portrays the Baptism of Christ (1630). This exquisite Baroque painting was reproduced on a postage stamp in 1993 issued by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In the chancery by the entrance (11) stands a beautiful organ by Raffaele and Domenico Fedele of Camerino (1777) which is still in working order.

ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

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