21 IL CAPITALE CULTURALE Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage eum Rivista fondata da Massimo Montella Capriotti G., Katarina Horvat-Levaj, edited by (2019), The Collegiate Church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik: The Dubrov- nik Diocese – The Collegiate Church of St Blaise; Zagreb: Institute of Art History; Zagreb: ArTresor Publishers, 460 pp. «Il capitale culturale», n. 21, 2020, pp. 451-454 ISSN 2039-2362 (online); DOI: 10.13138/2039-2362/2333 Katarina Horvat-Levaj, edited by (2019), same site» (p. 13). In effect, as the editor The Collegiate Church of St. Blaise in of the book, Katarina Horvat-Levaj, wrote Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik: The Dubrovnik in her The Historical Interpretation of the Diocese – The Collegiate Church of St Church of St. Blaise, a group of specialized Blaise; Zagreb: Institute of Art History; scholars finally dealt with the problem of Zagreb: ArTresor Publishers, 460 pp. reconstructing the history of an important church, on which we have so far had By telling the history of the collegiate only individual and disconnected, albeit church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik, from important, research studies, published its foundation to the completion of its since the 1950s on a number of different most recent restoration in 2016, this occasions. Thanks to this book, the spirit monograph tells the complete history of of a Dalmatian city, with all its Adriatic a city which is one of the most important and Mediterranean connections (from harbours on the Adriatic coast. While Venice to Ancona, from Milan to Puglia, reading this book, one can truly see the from Naples to Genoa), clearly emerges. history of the city unfolding, because St. The book is structured in 3 parts, Blaise, having become its patron, became containing a total of 12 chapters, each the epitome of Dubrovnik and of the of which is divided in small paragraphs entire history of the city reflected in the with specific subtitles, making it a lot church dedicated to him. As told in the easier for the readers to follow the line of introduction by Mate Uzinić, the Bishop argumentation and to easily find the part of Dubrovnik, this volume «brings before they are interested in. The first introductory the public for the first time, in a clear way, part is composed of only one chapter, the results of scholarly research into the written by Nella Lonza and entitled Saint history of the construction, furnishing and Blaise, the Divine Patron of Dubrovnik, renovation, architecture and artworks, Guardian of its Liberty and Peace. The and the historical and artistic context of author gives a history of worshipping of the present baroque building and the late- Dubrovnik’s patron saint, who became medieval church that preceded it on the the symbol of freedom of the Republic 452 GIUSEPPE CAPRIOTTI against the Venetians (and afterwards to the saint. This essay is striking due to the Turks). She also clarifies how at the the ability with which the author is able beginning of his history in Dubrovnik, St. to reconstruct the very distant history of Blaise was not alone. However, between the church, combining an extraordinary 1153 and 1158 the city appointed the variety of controversial and contradictory fourth-century martyr from Cappadocia sources. as the town’s patron saint, as it happened Archival documents are the focal point in Split with St. Domnius and in many of the amazing essay by Ana Marinković, Italian cities, to create a strong identity entitled The Late-Medieval Church of St. through the choice of a patron saint. Still Blaise. Passing from the periphery to the under the Venetian domination, the cult centre, the church was built in the Placa of St. Blaise suffered no restrictions, co- as a votive building against the plague in existing without any conflict with the cult 1348. The author quotes many testaments of St. Mark, the patron of Venice. After that contain donations for the building of the arrival of the relics in 1346, the cult the church and gives the names of some of the saint became more solid, and in the important protomagisters: the first one is 15th century the very famous legend of the Anđeo from Zadar, culturally connected apparition of the martyr to Don Stojko with the architecture of Puglia; other in 971 was told and written for the first protomagisters came from Tuscany; time. These are the reasons why the figure and the last important name is the one of St. Blaise is still present everywhere in of Bonino da Milano (from 1417), who Dubrovnik, appearing in visual documents used more Venetian models. Thanks to from different centuries. the records of pastoral visits, the author The second part, The Church of St. Blaise reconstructs the positions of the altars, from the Beginning of the City to the Fire the relevant presence of the pala feriale in 1706, is composed of two chapters. by Lovro Dobričević and the important In the first one,The first church of St. patronage of the Gučetić and Visconti Blaise in Dubrovnik, Danko Zelić rebuilt families. In general, the chapter is an the captivating history of the first church extraordinary example of how to deal dedicated to St. Blaise and documented with the lost heritage, working mainly on since 1255, solving in particular the the documents. This chapter is amazingly problem of the location of the building. illustrated not only with floor maps, but We have literary sources for two different also with a 3D model reconstruction locations: in the area near the monastery that clearly explains the shape of the old St. Claire and in the Placa (where the church. church is located now). Analysing many Going to the second part of the different typologies of sources (archival monograph, that is, The Baroque Church documents, legends, literature, urban of St. Blaise from its Construction data), the author clarifies that the original (1706-1715) to the Present, we find an location was a marginal area of the city, interpretation of the art and architecture previously occupied by the Poor Clares, of the present church. The core chapter, probably near a tower. At the same time The Baroque Church of St. Blaise – A the author discusses the obsessive care for Design by Marino Groppelli, is written by the relics of the patron, assigned to the the editor of the book, Katarina Horvat- procurators, and the important foundation Levaj, who explains the double unicity of of a confraternity of laymen dedicated the church: whereas the main buildings of KATARINA HORVAT-LEVAJ, EDITED BY (2019), THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF ST. BLAISE IN DUBROVNIK 453 the city were destroyed by the earthquake the organ builder Moisè, born in Trieste, in 1667, the church of St. Blaise survived; as well as interesting relationships with while all the buildings (in particular the organ builders from Ancona in the 17th cathedral and the Jesuit church), which century. Other two chapters are written by had been destroyed by the earthquake, Radoslav Tomić. The first one is dedicated were rebuilt after the Roman model, the to the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Century church of St. Blaise, which was burnt Sculpture. The author first analyses the down in 1706, was rebuilt by a Venetian documented statues of Nikola Lazanić, architect Marino Groppelli. St. Jerome and St. Blaise, after which he After having analysed the results of a rich provides a comparative monographic archival research, thanks to which we study of Marino Groppelli’s sculptural are able to learn a lot about the difficult oeuvre, including not only the works in process of selecting the right architect and the church and in Dubrovnik, but also the relationships that the artist continued in Venice, Fratta Polesine, Udine and St. to have with the city for a long time, Petersburg (commissioned by the Russian the author masterfully illustrates the Tsar Peter the Great). The chapter is also a architecture of the church, with in-depth survey on the activity of Groppelli’s sons, descriptions of each detail. Thanks to Gianbattista and Francesco. The latter is these analyses the author shows the artist’s known in particular for having created the connections with the late baroque and main altar of the church. Tomić is also the neo-Palladian Venetian architecture, also author of a very rich chapter on Paintings touching on the issue of the training of in the Church of St. Blaise, in which he the architect in the workshop of Giuseppe analyses the polyptych commissioned Sardi. At the same time, Groppelli was by the Gučetić family in the 16th century able to converse with the heritage of the and the problem of its attribution and old Dubrovnik that, after the earthquake, cultural collocation. Secondly, he deals was still under reconstruction as a big with the cycle of four evangelists, painted Roman baroque building site. The chapter in the workshop of Mattia Preti, and the is also a sort of an exhaustive monograph cycle of paintings by Petar Mattei for on Groppelli as an architect and a sculptor. the choir, rebuilding in both cases the After these analyses, we enter the part circumstances of their production. The dedicated to The Furnishings of the author underlines the important presence Baroque Church, composed of 7 chapters. of a rare iconography in Dubrovnik in this Two chapters are written by Daniel last cycle, that is, the martyrdom of St. Premerl, who first writes about the gilded Blaise. At the end of the essay the author silver statue of St. Blaise from the 15th also discusses an interesting 18th century century, the only survivor of the 1706 fire. painting that represents St. Blaise or St. The author discusses the possibility that Emygdius, protecting the city from the this statue was part of the documented earthquake.