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Church of St Dominic in Rieti: the basilica brought back to life after the earthquake
The Church of San Domenico is located in the historic center of Rieti, where in 1263 the friars of the Order of Preachers decided to open a convent. The choice was not random: it was in Rieti, in 1234, that Pope Gregory IX had canonised Dominic de Guzmán.
A basilica built in haste
Construction moved quickly. By the end of the 13th century, the church was already ready to host the General Chapter of the Dominican Order. Blessed Martin of Perugia began the Chapter at the old church of Saints Simon and Jude the Apostles, which partly belonged to the Dominicans of San Sisto.
Frescoes saved from the carpentry workshop
The walls still preserve much of the original decoration. Significant portions of the 14th- and 15th-century frescoes were detached and transferred onto canvas in the 1920s, when the church had been reduced to a carpentry workshop. Before that it had served as a stable for the mules and horses of the Royal Army. Pieces such as the Massacre of the Innocents by master Liberato di Benedetto di Cola di Rainaldo are now housed at the Civic Museum, along with the polyptych by Luca di Tommè and a Vesperbild of the German school.
The organ and the rebirth
The 1979 earthquake caused the roof to collapse. The church only reopened on December 8, 1999, after a lengthy restoration. Inside stands the Pontifical Dom Bédos-Roubo organ, built by master organ builder B. Formentelli, based on an 18th-century design and dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI.
