Saint Dominic monastery, Gothic monastery and art collection in Taggia, Italy
The Convento di San Domenico in Taggia was founded in 1459 by the Dominican Cristoforo da Milano; its buildings were erected between 1460 and 1490 by the Comacini masters Gasperino da Lancia and Filippo da Carlono. The cloister has five late-Gothic arches per side under cross vaults, with lunettes painted in 1613 with the Stories of Saint Dominic. The church, dedicated to Santa Maria Misericordiarum, holds twelve altars and paintings from the Renaissance to the late Baroque.
The convent was founded in 1459 by the Dominican father Cristoforo da Milano. Its buildings were erected between 1460 and 1490 by the Comacini masters Gasperino da Lancia and Filippo da Carlono. The cloister was added in the 1470s with late-Gothic columns, five arches per side.
The church is dedicated to Santa Maria Misericordiarum, not to Saint Dominic. In the refectory, Giovanni Canavesio's fresco of the Crucifixion (c. 1482) gives the founder Cristoforo da Milano the features of Saint Dominic. In the Canavesio polyptych, the coats of arms of the commissioning families were scraped off during the Ligurian Republic.
The convent stands on Piazza Beato Cristoforo in Taggia. From the cloister, visitors pass into the church, then the sacristy, the chapter hall and the weekday chapel, now used as a museum. The refectory, reached from the northern wing, holds Canavesio's fresco. The cloister has five arches per side around a square perimeter.
In the refectory, Giovanni Canavesio's fresco of the Crucifixion (around 1482) gives Saint Dominic the features of Blessed Cristoforo da Milano, the convent's founder. In the church, the face and breast of a Saint Catherine were slashed by Barbary pirates during a raid in 1564, and the cuts are still visible.
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