Micro-Architecture

• Research seminar series 2015-16

Speaker: Rebecca Gill (University of Birmingham)

Title: Micro-Architecture: Eucharistic Tabernacles and Concepts of Church Reform

‘This lecture takes as its focus three Eucharistic tabernacles designed by the Perugian architect Galeazzo Alessi in the mid-sixteenth century, for the churches of Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano, Genoa; Santa Maria presso San Celso, Milan; and the Upper Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi. Through an examination of the climate of early Church Reform in which Alessi was operating, this paper will explore the ways in which his designs for Eucharistic tabernacles can be seen to reflect a new found emphasis within the Catholic Church on the importance of the sacrament of the Eucharist and in particular the idea of transubstantiation, which had been heavily criticised by the protestant reformers. Particular emphasis will be placed on the innovative elements of Alessi’s designs and the ways in which an examination of these micro-architectural structures changes our understanding of the development of Eucharistic tabernacles during the Counter Reformation period in Italy.’

Venue: Barber Lecture Theatre, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Refreshments served