San Domenico church, Religious monument in Fabriano, Italy.
San Domenico is a former church in Fabriano, now used for exhibitions. Its left side, polygonal apse and two-level bell tower keep the 14th-century Gothic brickwork, with tall pilaster strips, cusped tabernacles and a polychrome stone Chiavelli coat of arms. The interior has a single nave with a barrel vault and Baroque stuccoes.
Dominican friars built the first convent here in 1297. From 1365, with funding from the Chiavelli family, they rebuilt the church and convent, renaming it Santa Lucia Novella; in 1373 the Chiavelli added their burial chapel. The 1741 earthquake caused severe damage, prompting a partial Baroque reconstruction that raised the church and added stucco interiors, while the facade was redone but left unfinished.
The church is also called Santa Lucia Novella, a name it took after the Dominicans rebuilt it from 1365 with funding from the Chiavelli family. In the Cappella di Sant'Orsola and the sacristy, Allegretto Nuzi and his school painted frescoes in the second half of the 14th century. In the former convent, the chapter house was painted around 1480 by Antonio da Fabriano, drawing on the Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence.
The former church now hosts exhibitions, and the adjoining Dominican convent houses the Museo della Carta e della Filigrana, entered through two 15th-century cloisters. Look for the 1933 restoration plaque beneath the bell tower. The bell tower itself stands on a large pointed arch, and the left flank, apse and tower keep the 14th-century brickwork.
The building is an important research subject for scholars studying architectural development in the Marche region. Its layered construction history makes it a valuable example of how regional building styles evolved.
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