Art pleasures out of the tourist hotspots: the Royal Chapel of Saint Joseph in Turin
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- Church of Saint Teresa, Turin, 2014.
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- Confessional, XVI cent., Church of Saint Teresa, Turin.
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- Confessional, XVI cent., Church of Saint Teresa, Turin. Detail.
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- Filippo Juvarra, Royal Chapel of Saint Joseph, 1733 – 1736, Church of Saint Teresa, Turin. On the vault, freosces by Corrado Giaquinto.
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- Filippo Juvarra, Royal Chapel of Saint Joseph, 1733 – 1736, Church of Saint Teresa, Turin.
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- Simone Martinez, Glory of Saint Joseph, 1736.
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- Filippo Piffetti, door of Royal Chapel of Saint Joseph, 1745; ivory, mother-of-pearl and woods. Detail.
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- Filippo Piffetti, door of Royal Chapel of Saint Joseph, 1745; ivory, mother-of-pearl and woods. Detail.
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- Filippo Piffetti, door of Royal Chapel of Saint Joseph, 1745; ivory, mother-of-pearl and woods. Detail.
The Church of Saint Teresa of the Discalced Carmelites is a hidden treasure in the city of Turin. Built in the XVII century by the Discalced Carmelites – the monastic order re-formed in 1593 by the spanish Saint Teresa of Àvila and Saint John of the Cross –, the Church hosts the relics of Madama Reale Cristina di Francia, who had indeed commissioned this building.
Despite part of the chapels are currently under restoration, it is nonetheless possible to appreciate some of the elements which, in our opinion, characterize this church: the six engraved confessionals from the 16th century, the two carved doors in ivory, mother-of-pearl and select woods by cabinet maker Pietro Piffetti (1745) as well as the altar piece representing the Holy Family by Sebastiano Conca (1730-32), placed in the Altar of the Holy Family and the Royal Chapel of Saint Joseph, both of them designed by architect Filippo Juvarra from Messina. This latter in particular, located at the head of the transept, was commissioned by Carlo Emanuele III – according to the will of his second wife Polissena d’Assia – and erected between 1733 and 1736.
The whole chapel, characterized by precious marble and gold, as to highlight the royal commission, is dominated by the impressive sculpted group of the Glory of Saint Joseph, realized in 1736 by the nephew of Juvarra, the sculptor Simone Martinez. The group of sculptures proudly stands within the oval-shaped niche, while on the walls and on the vault we find freosces by Corrado Giaquinto –pupil of Sebastiano Conca – representing events of the life and death of Saint Joseph, including the Assumption and the Flight into Egypt.
September 7, 2014
