THE CHURCH OF THE VISITAZIONE, also known as THE Church of the Duchessa

THE HISTORY
The female branch of the Cistercians has been in Viterbo since 1276, when they inhabited the convent of St. Maria del Paradiso. After three hundred years the Cistercian nuns were moved to the new foundation on the wishes of Gerolama Orsini Farnese, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Castro, from which they got their present name of the Monastery of Maria SS. Della Visitazione, also known as “of the Duchess”. Gerolama, wife of Pier Luigi Farnese, son of Paul III, came to live in the Castro Dukedom after her husband was killed at the hands of some conspirators in Piacenza in 1547. She had conceived the idea of creating a new monastic centre and subsequently the coenoby was founded in 1553. The Duchess purchased the land of the ancient Palace of Cardinal Raniero Capocci along with cottages with gardens which were close to the ancient church of San Bartolomeo. However, because these properties were within the boundaries of the convent, the title of parish was taken away. On the first of January, 1557, the Duchess, through her son Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese, obtained a Brief from Pope Paul IV giving permission for the institution of the Monastery, with an indefinite lease of the juspatronato to the Dukes of Castro. Twenty-five converts arrived immediately from the Castro territory and Cistercian Nuns were called from Florence to manage it, which they still do to this day. After a time, it was decided that the old church of San Bartolomeo should be knocked down and a new temple built in its place. The first stone was laid on the 28^th July, 1607 and it was consecrated on the 25^th May,1614 by Bishop Cardinal Tiberio Muti. As well as the main altar, there were also the altars of the Crucifix, built by Girolama Santacroce, of the Saints Benedict and Bernard, of the Saints Bartholomew and Francis and of St. Charles. On the 26^th May, 1645, Innocence X conceded the privilege to the high altar and the clemency for the festival of the Visitation, of St. Bartholomew, St. Benedict, St. Bernard and of the seven Altars, the same as that of the seven churches of Rome, and also for the climbing of the Holy Staircase on one’s knees for which an internal staircase was built in the Monastery. A new consecration of the church took place on the 23^rd April, 1729, celebrated by Bishop Sermattei, on the completion of the substantial restoration work. Gregory XVI was welcomed by the Cistercian nuns on the 4^th October, 1841 when he paid a visit to the Monastery which had become a school in 1841 after having been threatened with closure. The church once again underwent new works of renovation, restoration, gilding, painting and furnishings in fake marble. Another consecration took place on the 21^st March, 1873, celebrated by Bishop Luigi Serafini.

THE EXTERIOR
The façade has peperino stone strips and a cusp on top. The cartouche of the dedication is placed on the console among ornamental designs with a stone semi-arch and a square window above it. A peperino stone portal is decorated with trimmings, heads of angels and the symbol of the Holy Spirit. On the left-hand side we can still see a walled up portal and the bell-tower with its original column design. Further down, in the wall, there is the relief of a large rounded arch above which there are two embedded double-lancet windows which were in the original Capocci Palace.

THE INTERIOR
The building has one nave and above the main door there is a plaque commemorating its consecration on the 25^th May, 1614. The first altar on the right (1) is decorated by the painting of the Martyr of St. Bartholomew, a copy of Guercino, painted in 1774 by Annunziata Verchiani of Rome. In the next altar down (2), there is an exquisite canvas by the Viterbian Maestro Anton Angelo Falaschi, depicting the Madonna and Child with St Benedict and St Bernard (XVIII century). In a niche covered by a curtain in the third altar (3) we can see the simulacrum with the relic of the head of St. Crescenziano Martyr which was placed there in 1833, as commemorated by the plaque. Two women’s galleries open up in the wall of the presbytery. Underneath the right-hand one (4), there is the Chapel of Donna Maria Benedetta Frey, also known as the “Sainted Nun”, who died in 1913 after 52 years of illness which she accepted with serene resignation. In 1960 the recognition of the body was carried out. It was found to be whole and intact and thanks to the many miracles that are attributed to her, her beatification was requested. On the altar stands the miraculous image of the Holy Child, a small wax statue from the end of the 1700s which Sister Maria Benedetta was particularly devoted to. She had received it as a gift from a man and his wife from Rome. This small statue had been stolen from their house for its gold decorations. It was found on the roof of their house after 16 years where it had been abandoned by the thieves and despite the considerable length of time it had been exposed to the elements, there were no signs of deterioration. In the small square apse with a barrel-vault roof we can see the grates in the wall which allow the nuns to follow the services. Above the altar on a temple-shaped shelf stands a Crucifixion of the XVII century (5). High up on the wall there is a gold-leafed crest with the coats-of-arms of the Farnese and Orsini families. On the (6) left wall, on the altar next to the presbytery, we can see a canvas depicting the Visitation (XVII century). The next altar (7) has a nineteenth century altar-piece with the Sacred Family and Angels. Above the entrance (8) we can see a wooden choir of the 1600s, with gilded decorations and ornaments. The coffered ceiling (9) painted in red and light blue with gilding and stuccos is of particular interest and was created in 1672-73 by Giovan Battista Magni from Modena. The canvas with the Trinity with St. Bernard and St. Benedict by Falaschi (XVIII century) can also be found here. There are further works by Falaschi in the monastery (which cannot be visited due to the enclosed order.) Among these is the fresco portraying the Last Supper which hangs in the refectory and the paintings of St. Michael the Archangel, St. Sabine, St. Lawrence. The cloister has a small fountain with two basins and is of an original design of slender columns placed in front of square pillars, A balcony in peperino stone can be seen above the vaults.

ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Agostini Filippo, Viterbo: Monastero della Visitazione della Vergine Santissima, Viterbo 1973.
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F. Egidi, Guida della città di Viterbo e dintorni, Viterbo, 1889.
Italo Faldi, Mostra di restauri, in “L’arte nel viterbese”, Viterbo, 1965.
Italo Faldi, Museo Civico di Viterbo. Dipinti e sculture dal Medioevo al XVIII secolo, Viterbo, 1955.
Italo Faldi, Pittori viterbesi di cinque secoli, Roma, 1970.
Italo Faldi, Restauri acquisti e acquisizioni al patrimonio artistico di Viterbo, catalogo, Viterbo, Palazzo dei Priori, 1972.
Augusto Gargana, Viterbo. Itinerario di Augusto Gargana, Viterbo, 1939.
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A. Muñoz, Uno sguardo al nuovo Museo Civico di Viterbo, in “Per l’inaugurazione del Museo Civico di Viterbo”, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1912, pp. 33-     45.
G. Oddi, Le arti in Viterbo, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1882.
Cesare Pinzi, I principali monumenti di Viterbo. Guida pel visitatore, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1911.Cesare Pinzi, Storia della città di Viterbo, voll. I-III, Roma, 1887/89, vol. IV, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1913.
A. Scriattoli, Viterbo nei suoi monumenti, Roma, 1915-20.
Giuseppe Signorelli, Viterbo nella storia della Chiesa, Viterbo, 1907-1969.
Mario Signorelli, Guida di Viterbo. Monumenti del centro cittadini, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1964.
Mario Signorelli, Storia breve di Viterbo, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1964
Simona Valtieri, La genesi umana di Viterbo, Roma, 1977.