CHIESA DI SAN DOMENICO (ISCHIA PORTO)
Latest page update: 4 December 2024
CHIESA DI SAN DOMENICO (ISCHIA PORTO)
Constructed: 19th century
Location: Via Vecchia Cartoromana, Ischia Porto
Like so many churches in Ischia, the Chiesa di San Domenico was the site of a much earlier church of the 15th c, serving the community of Dominican monks, but this was destroyed by an earthquake in 1557. With the suppression of the monasteries in the 17th c, there was a decline in the number of resident monks at San Domenico, to the point where the convent was no longer viable and it went into decline.
However, in 1836, during the cholera epidemic, the outbuildings were used as a hospital for the scores of patients who were affected – the city cemetery being conveniently close. But in the 1870s, after an agreement was reached between the Pope and the Bourbon King, the church was enlarged and restored with donations from the local community. The latest work on the church was carried out in 1984.
The church has a barrel vaulted nave and groin vaulted aisles with a semi circular apse at the Eastern End. Hanging above the altar is a most prized and beautiful painting of The Madonna del Rosario (16th c) oil on panel. This painting has been restored and cleaned and shows the enthroned Madonna and Child, with gleaming gold halos, and Santa Rosa and San Domenico kneeling before them in the foreground. The Madonna offers a rosary to Santa Rosa, while the Child blesses San Domenico.
This Church is in one of the most spectacular settings on the island, high above the small beach of Cartoromana, with views across to the Aragonese Castle.
Location: Via Vecchia Cartoromana, Ischia Porto
Like so many churches in Ischia, the Chiesa di San Domenico was the site of a much earlier church of the 15th c, serving the community of Dominican monks, but this was destroyed by an earthquake in 1557. With the suppression of the monasteries in the 17th c, there was a decline in the number of resident monks at San Domenico, to the point where the convent was no longer viable and it went into decline.
However, in 1836, during the cholera epidemic, the outbuildings were used as a hospital for the scores of patients who were affected – the city cemetery being conveniently close. But in the 1870s, after an agreement was reached between the Pope and the Bourbon King, the church was enlarged and restored with donations from the local community. The latest work on the church was carried out in 1984.
The church has a barrel vaulted nave and groin vaulted aisles with a semi circular apse at the Eastern End. Hanging above the altar is a most prized and beautiful painting of The Madonna del Rosario (16th c) oil on panel. This painting has been restored and cleaned and shows the enthroned Madonna and Child, with gleaming gold halos, and Santa Rosa and San Domenico kneeling before them in the foreground. The Madonna offers a rosary to Santa Rosa, while the Child blesses San Domenico.
This Church is in one of the most spectacular settings on the island, high above the small beach of Cartoromana, with views across to the Aragonese Castle.
Related links