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Chiesa di San Tommaso da Villanova in Castel Gandolfo: A Masterpiece by Bernini in Piazza della Libertà
The Church of St Thomas of Villanova is the Pontifical Parish Collegiate Church of Castel Gandolfo. It looks onto Piazza della Libertà, a few steps from the Pontifical Villas, the historic summer residence of the popes. Pope Alexander VII Chigi commissioned its construction in 1658, entrusting the design to Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Three years of work, from 1658 to 1661, gave rise to a small yet great Baroque masterpiece.
The dome and the façade
Bernini adopted a Greek-cross plan, a Renaissance model, reinterpreting it in a Baroque style, verticalising the entire building. The dome, clad in lead sheeting, towers above the square. The façade is two-tiered: the portal on the lower level, a large window on the upper, crowned by a pediment bearing the coat of arms of the Chigi family.
The artworks
Inside, the stucco decoration of the dome is by Antonio Raggi: eight medallions depicting scenes from the life of St Thomas. On the high altar hangs the Crucifixion by Pietro da Cortona, with the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene and Saint John. Further artistic treasures are the paintings by Guillaume Courtois, known as il Borgognone (the Burgundian), and the altarpieces in the transepts.
