Madonna of Trapani

About

Madonna of Trapani is the common name for the Basilica-Sanctuary of Maria Santissima Annunziata, a Roman Catholic church, minor basilica, and former Carmelite convent in Trapani, Sicily. The sanctuary is dedicated to the Annunciation and to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. The sanctuary includes the Chapel of the Madonna of Trapani, where the marble statue of the same name, a medieval representation of the Virgin and Child, is preserved. The sanctuary stands on the eastern edge of Trapani along the historic route to Erice. At the time of its foundation in the early fourteenth century it lay outside the medieval city walls, in an area that was later incorporated into the urban fabric. The church forms part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trapani.

The Carmelites, expelled from Jerusalem and brought to Sicily in 1194, settled in Trapani in the area of the present convent enclosure; the first abbot was Palmerio.

On 20 November 1270 the church hosted for 15 days the mortal remains of Saint Louis IX of France, who had died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade, together with Cardinal Rodolfo ( Raoul Grosparmi ), bishop of Albano and a fervent supporter of the campaign against the infidels. Philip III of France ordered the temporary transfer of his father’s remains to the Chapel of Saint Louis of the French in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nuova in Monreale, and later to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis, in Paris.

According to the 19th-century Trapani historian Giuseppe Maria di Ferro, the church of the Annunziata was completed in 1332, as attested by an inscription in a plaque bearing the date and recorded by Father Daniele della Vergine Maria. Over time the building was enriched with additional works and decorative interventions.

In 1537 the Chapel of the Madonna of Trapani was completed by the Gagini. It houses the precious statue in Parian marble of the Madonna of Trapani, depicting the Virgin and Child, attributed to Nino Pisano. The statue arrived in Trapani after 1300 and became venerated throughout the Mediterranean.

In the eighteenth century the church was enlarged to its present form. The Carmelite prior Vincenzo Ferreri entrusted the decoration of the interior to the Trapani architect Giovanni Biagio Amico, who designed Corinthian-order columns and pilasters without altering the original dimensions of the church. Di Ferro reports that errors in the execution of later works in 1760 caused structural problems in the vault, leaving several marble elements unused.

On 25 March 1950 Pope Pius XII elevated the sanctuary to the title and dignity of a minor basilica.

The Carmelites, expelled from Jerusalem and brought to Sicily in 1194, settled in Trapani in the area of the present convent enclosure; the first abbot was Palmerio.

On 20 November 1270 the church hosted for 15 days the mortal remains of Saint Louis IX of France, who had died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade, together with Cardinal Rodolfo ( Raoul Grosparmi ), bishop of Albano and a fervent supporter of the campaign against the infidels. Philip III of France ordered the temporary transfer of his father’s remains to the Chapel of Saint Louis of the French in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nuova in Monreale, and later to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis, in Paris.

According to the 19th-century Trapani historian Giuseppe Maria di Ferro, the church of the Annunziata was completed in 1332, as attested by an inscription in a plaque bearing the date and recorded by Father Daniele della Vergine Maria. Over time the building was enriched with additional works and decorative interventions.

In 1537 the Chapel of the Madonna of Trapani was completed by the Gagini. It houses the precious statue in Parian marble of the Madonna of Trapani, depicting the Virgin and Child, attributed to Nino Pisano. The statue arrived in Trapani after 1300 and became venerated throughout the Mediterranean.

In the eighteenth century the church was enlarged to its present form. The Carmelite prior Vincenzo Ferreri entrusted the decoration of the interior to the Trapani architect Giovanni Biagio Amico, who designed Corinthian-order columns and pilasters without altering the original dimensions of the church. Di Ferro reports that errors in the execution of later works in 1760 caused structural problems in the vault, leaving several marble elements unused.

On 25 March 1950 Pope Pius XII elevated the sanctuary to the title and dignity of a minor basilica.

The basilica consists of a single nave terminating in the high altar. In the choir stands a bronze lectern composed of five elements, executed in 1582 by the Trapani sculptor Annibale Scudaniglio, who placed his own portrait and signature on the work. Di Ferro praised the refinement of its ornament, figures and expressive qualities.

Two notable paintings flank the choir: a Martyrdom of Saint Andrew, attributed by Di Ferro to Cavalier Mattia, and a Christ Bearing the Cross by Andrea Carreca, inspired by the Michelangelo statue in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.

The bell tower on the southern side of the church was designed and directed by the Trapani architect Simone Pisano.

Di Ferro recorded the patronage of several noble families, including the Marchese Fardella and Don Emmanuele Fardella, Prince of Paceco. Other notable patrons were Don Marcello Pepoli e Carafa, the Prince of the Cattolica of the Bosco family, and the Viceroy Count of Albadalista.

The nave, with sixteen columns and silvered stuccoes, was transformed in 1742, based on a design by the Trapani architect Giovanni Biagio Amico, in a Baroque–Renaissance style. A radial rose window surmounts the main portal.

- Chapel of Saint Teresa, formerly of Saint Vitus, on the Gospel side, a space created in 1570.

- Triumphal arch. An expression of the Sicilian Renaissance, the monumental entrance arch of the Chapel of the Madonna of Trapani, the marble portal commissioned from Antonello Gagini in 1531 and completed after his death in 1537, was the result of collaboration by his heirs, the brothers Giandomenico, Antonino and Giacomo. In the roundels of the pillars are sculpted the profiles of ten prophets ; in the medallions of the pendentives are the representations of the Announcing Angel and the Announced Virgin ; in the pediment is the half-figure of God the Father in high relief with a globus cruciger in his left hand, surrounded by winged putti on clouds. On the cimaises lie the full-length statues of Saint Elijah (on the left with the flaming sword) and Saint Elisha (on the right with the book of Scripture). In contrast to the whiteness of Carrara marble, the structure presents rich decoration with acanthus leaves, garlands, festoons, grotesques and rosettes.