Nostra Signora del Carmine e Sant'Agnese, Romanesque church in Genoa, Italy.
Nostra Signora del Carmine e Sant'Agnese is a Romanesque church in Genoa featuring three naves supported by arched pillars throughout the interior. A rectangular apse serves as the chancel, and original Gothic capitals on the pillars show the building's medieval craftsmanship.
Carmelite friars began construction in 1262 on the site of an earlier chapel, with the bishop laying the foundation stone on May 21 of that year. This marked the start of the building that stands today in central Genoa.
The church keeps the double title of Nostra Signora del Carmine and Sant'Agnese: the parish of Sant'Agnese, suppressed in 1797, was transferred here on 26 November of that year. The prior holds the title of abbot. Palmiro Togliatti was baptised here on 27 March 1893, and in 2013 the funeral of don Andrea Gallo, founder of the Comunità di San Benedetto al Porto, was held here; Gallo had been removed from the church in 1970 as a young curate.
The church stands on Via Brignole De Ferrari, a short walk from Via Balbi, and the "Circonvallazione a monte" passes directly in front, skimming its forecourt. The convent and cloister were demolished in 1870 to open this street toward the Albergo dei Poveri. Remains of the older church of Sant'Agnese, a stretch of perimeter wall and a brick column, are visible inside a building at Via Polleri 4.
The Carmelites, who arrived in 1254 with the retinue of King Louis IX of France after his defeat by the Mongols, first rented the chapel of the Annunziata, built in 1182, before obtaining permission to build on its site. The church was consecrated three times: around the mid-14th century by Alberto, bishop of Nicomedia, again on 7 July 1637 by Angelo Mascardi of Sarzana, and on 29 June 1833 by Agostino De Mari of Savona.
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