This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
The Temple of St James the Greater in Vicovaro: the Gothic and Renaissance Orsini Mausoleum
The Tempietto of San Giacomo Maggiore dominates the central square of Vicovaro, which is located along the Aniene Valley. The white stone façade, laden with sculptures, is one of the most refined examples of the transition from late Gothic to the Renaissance in Lazio. It was commissioned by Giovanni Antonio Orsini, Count of Tagliacozzo, as a family tomb. Work began in 1448, but the building was never used for burials: no Orsini was ever interred there.
Two Sculptors, Two Styles
The lower part of the portal is the work of Domenico da Capodistria, who died in Vicovaro around 1456. Built in a late Gothic style with a ‘northern’ flavour, it features 24 small niches with statuettes of saints, framed by pinnacles, gables and colonettes that resemble stone lacework. After 1464, Giovanni Dalmata completed the upper part at the behest of Giovanni Orsini, Archbishop of Trani, featuring the Fathers of the Church, Evangelists, roundels with the Annunciation, and a lunette in which Saints Peter and Paul present the patrons to the Virgin Mary. Above is a pediment with cherubs bearing coats of arms and the statue of St James, protector of the family.
The Interior and the Miraculous Painting
In the octagonal building the high altar houses the Madonna Avvocata Nostra (Our Lady Advocate), painted by Giacomo Triga in 1738, venerated for the supposed miracle of the moving eyes.
