Santa Maria dei Servi Basilica: Where History and Tradition Converge
The famous Santa Lucia Christmas market is held at the church of Santa Maria dei Servi, which is near the Two Towers.
It is preceded by a wondeful quadriportico from the 1400s.
The Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi is just a few minutes’ walk down Strada Maggiore from the Two Towers. The church dates back to the Middle Ages. It is well-known in Bologna, especially for the Santa Lucia market, which is held every year under its arcades.
History
Antonio di Vincenzo started building the church in 1346. A few years later, he would also be in charge of the design of the Basilica of San Petronio.
Father Andrea Manfredi da Faenza, who was an architect and the general of the order of the Servants of Mary, helped with the expansion work that came next. He finished the work just under 30 years later, in 1383.
From the outside, the church looks very simple. It has a brick front that is brightened by an oculus that was meant to be a rose window.
But the portico, which runs along the front and sides of the building and has light arches, is the real star of the basilica. The thin Veronese marble columns make a wide passage with a great atmosphere that is perfect for holiday markets.
The side part, which dates back to 1392 and was designed by Andrea Manfredi himself, is the oldest and most changed part of the whole portico. The frescoes below the arches, which were painted by artists from Emilia in the 15th century but have been covered by decorations from the 17th century and are now very damaged, are proof of this.
Over time, the portico of Santa Maria dei Servi has grown toward the front of the building by adding on to it. Its current shape, a quadriportico, was made possible by a project by Giuseppe Modonesi in 1864.
The basilica’s interior
As soon as you walk into the basilica, you’re in a large room with three naves and columns and octagonal pillars that are placed next to each other. The space is mostly filled with the reddish-brown tones of the terracotta and the white of the cross vaults. The focus then goes to the high altar, a marble tabernacle by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli that shows the risen Christ between the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist.
There are paintings by Dionisio Calvaert, Lippo di Dalmasio, Innocenzo da Imola, and Bartolomeo Cesi in the side chapels. The first chapel on the right has an Eternal Father by Guercino. But behind the apse in the ambulatory area are other works of art that are worth seeing. Here, if you enter to the right of the altar, you can still see pieces of frescoes that are thought to have been done by Vitale da Bologna, whose work is also shown in the National Gallery.
The path then opens up into three radial chapels. The Maestà by Cimabue, made between 1280 and 1290, is one of the Basilica dei Servi’s oldest masterpieces. It is a tempera and gold panel that shows the Madonna sitting on a throne with a child and angels. The same chapel is also home to a fresco by Lippo di Dalmasio that shows the Madonna and Child along with Saints Cosmas and Damian.
In the left aisle of Santa Maria dei Servi, you can see the tombstone of Andrea Manfredi da Faenza, who was the father of the architect and built the church.
Santa Maria dei Servi’s organ concerts
The Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi has a long history of music, especially organ music. This goes back to the 1600s, when the church had four organs. Even now, the church has a beautiful pipe organ by Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini called the Tamburini opus 544 of 1968. The organ’s notes come out of the left arm of the transept. The church also has a musical chapel that is home to the choir with the same name.
Because of this connection to music, the basilica has become known over the years for putting on high-quality concerts every year, especially of classical music.
In the 1978 song Eskimo, Francesco Guccini also talks about the Santa Maria dei Servi portico and its Christmas market.
Useful information for the visit
Monday hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, from 7:30 to 12:30 and from 16:00 to 19:30.
Getting there The ZTL of Bologna is where Santa Maria dei Servi is found. If you come by train, we suggest taking a bus from the central station to get there. Those who drive to Bologna can park on the blue lines or in the nearby parking lots outside the city walls.
