Chiesa della Beata Vergine della Purità (Oratorio della Purità)

Beside Udine's cathedral, the Oratorio della Purità preserves an intimate eighteenth-century decorative ensemble by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo. The church was created from the former Teatro Mantica, whose walls became the framework of the new oratory.

Why it matters

Patriarch Daniele Dolfin acquired the theatre in 1754 and commissioned a church for the religious education of children. Giambattista Tiepolo painted the Assumption of the Virgin on the vault in 1759, while his son Giandomenico created monochrome biblical scenes on the walls. The compact interior brings together the two artists' work in a single devotional programme.

What to notice

The vault fresco shows the Assumption surrounded by angels, with side panels of angelic glory. Eight monochrome scenes on gold grounds include episodes from both the Old and New Testaments; one bears the signature “Domi. Tiepolo filius, Anno 1759”. The altar holds Giambattista's Immacolata Concezione. Three dolphins, the emblem of the Delfino patriarch, appear in the portal lunette. A fifteenth-century baptismal font by Giovanni di Biagio da Zuglio was moved here from the cathedral in 1793.

Context and history

The Teatro Mantica was built by Count Carlo Mantica and opened in 1680. After Dolfin acquired it in 1754, it was demolished in 1756, with some perimeter walls retained for the oratory. Work began in 1757 under master builder Luca Andrioli. The church was blessed on 28 June 1760, and its altar was consecrated on 1 July. The building remains part of the Museo del Duomo circuit and preserves the history of both the former theatre and its later religious use.