Chiesa di Santa Chiara

Bernardo Antonio Vittone designed Santa Chiara for the Poor Clare nuns. Built from 1742, the quadrilobed church is crowned by a double pierced dome, and its choir area has also hosted concerts.

Why it matters

Designed by Bernardo Antonio Vittone, Santa Chiara has a quadrilobed plan and a double dome pierced by windows, a form known as the "cupola diafana". Light from the dome falls onto the altar, giving the church one of Vittone's characteristic spatial effects.

What to notice

The quadrilobed plan has four curved lobes set on massive pillars rather than a conventional nave. Its double dome is pierced by openings beneath a central lantern. Pietro Paolo Operti painted the illusionistic decoration; two large paintings by Pietro Dalle Ceste were installed on the side altars in the 1950s. The 1942 marble floor echoes the geometry of the vault above.

Context and history

The Poor Clare nuns of Bra commissioned the church, and construction began in May 1742; after six years of building it opened for worship. The monastery's fortunes were turbulent — the community endured repeated confiscations of the church and its adjoining convent — and in the twentieth century the Capuchin Fathers took over, restoring the complex and reopening it for worship around 1930. Their interventions also included the 1950s addition of the Dalle Ceste altarpieces. The choir area has also been used for concerts, adding a musical role to the church's sacred history.