BATTAGGIO, Giovanni di Domenico

In 1490 Battaggio designed his most complex structure, the church of Santa Maria della Croce, Crema. The church was built about two and a half kilometre from city centre, outside the medieval walls, on the road to Bergamo where a Marian apparition may have affected Caterina degli Uberti, a woman from Cremona.

This church is central in plan, circular outside and octagonal inside. The oblique walls of the octagon open on to apsidal chapels that do not project from the external profile; the straight sides open on four chapels with an exterior octagonal profile and a Greek-cross plan inside. The exterior is executed in polychromed terracotta. An arcaded gallery runs around the circular corps de logis that rises above the ensemble of projecting chapels.

The plan of the church reflects the influence of Classical and Early Christian models: the central plan with satellite wings comes from San Lorenzo in Milan, the scheme of the octagon inscribed in a circle from Roman mausolea, and the plan of the peripheral chapels recalls that of the chapel of Sant’Ippolito in San Lorenzo. Similarly, on the upper level the system of superimposed galleries shows the influence of such medieval monuments as the baptistery of Cremona.

According to the records, Battaggio was dismissed from the project c. 1499 because of a disagreement with his clients. The master builder Antonio Montanaro of Cremona brought the church to completion in 1500, introducing Gothic decorative elements to the Renaissance plan.

View the axonometric drawing of the church.

The Tempio Civico della Beata Vergine Incoronata in Lodi, Lombardy, is considered one of the masterworks of the Lombard Renaissance art. The church was designed in 1488 by Giovanni Battagio, continued by Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono and finished by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. It was built at expenses of the Lodi commune, whence the denomination “Civico” (“Municipal”), on the site previously occupied by a brothel.

A centralized, octagonal plan and prolific ornament characterize Battaggio’s design for the church. On each side wedge-shaped pilasters at the vertices of the octagon mark the opening of a trapezoidal chapel. An annular gallery runs around the walls above the chapels, and the building is crowned with an internal dome enclosed within the rectilinear walls of the tiburio. It would appear that the design of the Incoronata was inspired by the imperial mausolea of Milan, and the baptisteries to which Bramante had given a modern interpretation in the sacristy of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan; the illusionistic choir of the latter probably inspired the highly foreshortened perspective scheme of the chapels of the Incoronata.

View the ground plan of the church.

In 1490 Battaggio designed his most complex structure, the church of Santa Maria della Croce, Crema. The church was built about two and a half kilometre from city centre, outside the medieval walls, on the road to Bergamo where a Marian apparition may have affected Caterina degli Uberti, a woman from Cremona.

This church is central in plan, circular outside and octagonal inside. The oblique walls of the octagon open on to apsidal chapels that do not project from the external profile; the straight sides open on four chapels with an exterior octagonal profile and a Greek-cross plan inside. The exterior is executed in polychromed terracotta. An arcaded gallery runs around the circular corps de logis that rises above the ensemble of projecting chapels.

The plan of the church reflects the influence of Classical and Early Christian models: the central plan with satellite wings comes from San Lorenzo in Milan, the scheme of the octagon inscribed in a circle from Roman mausolea, and the plan of the peripheral chapels recalls that of the chapel of Sant’Ippolito in San Lorenzo. Similarly, on the upper level the system of superimposed galleries shows the influence of such medieval monuments as the baptistery of Cremona.

According to the records, Battaggio was dismissed from the project c. 1499 because of a disagreement with his clients. The master builder Antonio Montanaro of Cremona brought the church to completion in 1500, introducing Gothic decorative elements to the Renaissance plan.

The photo shows the sanctuary.

View the axonometric drawing of the church.

The photo shows the main altar of the sanctuary.

The Tempio Civico della Beata Vergine Incoronata in Lodi, Lombardy, is considered one of the masterworks of the Lombard Renaissance art. The church was designed in 1488 by Giovanni Battagio, continued by Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono and finished by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. It was built at expenses of the Lodi commune, whence the denomination “Civico” (“Municipal”), on the site previously occupied by a brothel.

A centralized, octagonal plan and prolific ornament characterize Battaggio’s design for the church. On each side wedge-shaped pilasters at the vertices of the octagon mark the opening of a trapezoidal chapel. An annular gallery runs around the walls above the chapels, and the building is crowned with an internal dome enclosed within the rectilinear walls of the tiburio. It would appear that the design of the Incoronata was inspired by the imperial mausolea of Milan, and the baptisteries to which Bramante had given a modern interpretation in the sacristy of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan; the illusionistic choir of the latter probably inspired the highly foreshortened perspective scheme of the chapels of the Incoronata.

View the ground plan of the church.

The photo shows a view of the cloister.