Aerial view

Galeazzo Alessi was the leading High Renaissance architect in both Genoa and Milan, his villas and town palazzi establishing a definitive pattern for the genre. His greatest sacred building was Santa Maria Assunta in Carignano, the central planning of which shows the influence of Donato Bramante and Michelangelo.

The contract between Alessi and members of the Sauli family for the construction of Santa Maria Assunta in Carignano dates from September 1549, but the foundation stone was laid only in 1552, the wooden model was constructed between 1552 and 1554, and by 1567 it had reached the stage of vaulting; only then was thought given to the dome, with probable variations made to the original model. The church was completed in 1603.

The model for the Sauli church was clearly derived from Bramante’s work in Rome. The plan of the building is centralized, consisting of a Greek cross set within a square, with a central dome and smaller domes over the arms of the cross and four bell-towers emphasizing the corners of the square. Deriving from the same Roman background are the powerful, solid pillars and the coffered vaults, where the contrast of light and shade is brought out by the white plaster walls.

The fa�ade, with its alternating areas of white and pink, achieves a remarkable clarity of composition, both defining and emphasizing the structural elements without detracting from the ample, interlinking areas of wall surface that surround the dome.

View the ground plan and section of the church.