The architecture of the Church of the Suffrage (also known as the Church of the Purgatory), decisively marks the urban profile of the city of Carrara: its beautiful dome, covered with slate scales and concluded by a slender lantern with marble uprights, is the only one in the historic center, and it dominates the panorama. The facade, on the other hand, with its large marble portal, forms a scenic backdrop to the present-day Via del Plebiscito, with the octagonal drum of the dome, enclosed between the two small bell towers, forming an unusual suggestion of Roman Baroque in Apuan lands.
The first stone of the building was laid in 1688, under the auspices of the Duke of Massa Alberico II, and construction proceeded with the support of the Confraternita del Suffragio (founded in the cathedral of Sant’Andrea in 1659), the Lazzoni family and, it is said, Cardinal Alderano Cybo. The design was due to Innocenzo Bergamini, the last descendant of a dynasty of architects long active for the dukes of Massa, and has features unique to the city, with a Latin cross plan and a cross vault topped by a high dome.
From the mid-19th century, the Suffragio’s story became intertwined with that of the Daughters of Jesus nuns, who settled (1855) in the adjacent school-convent, provided with direct access to what would become popularly known as the “nuns’ church.” Damaged on several occasions by earthquakes and storms, the building was eventually closed to worship and used as a warehouse. A complex restoration, carried out in 1995-1998, made the monument accessible again, designated, at first, as a venue for exhibitions, concerts and cultural events. Finally, since 2010, the Purgatory Church has been entrusted to the Romanian Orthodox Church, and is home to the parish of St. John Chrysostom.
Theexterior is enriched by a late 18th-century marble high-relief of St. Gregory interceding for the souls in Purgatory, by Vitale Finelli (1736-1816), a sculptor from Carrara known for being among the very first professors of the local Academy of Fine Arts (from 1769), and father of the celebrated neoclassical artist Carlo Finelli (1785-1853). The cartouche with the inscription “In flammis clamant auxilium” (Amidst the flames they cry for help), is closely related to the subject of the relief, where the souls of the purgatives are stirring in the flames pleading for the intervention of the angel, who grabs one by the arm, removing it from punishment, while the saint addresses his plea to a Christ on the cross, carved in the round and forcefully emerging from the surface, invading the real space of the viewer.
The interior, strongly characterized by the use of antique pink for the walls (salvaged from the oldest layers of paint), still features the original flooring, scattered with tombstones. The richly crafted high altar is surmounted by two allegorical marble figures (Faith and Hope) of the early 18th century, and embellished with refined ornate details, among which the two skulls in yellow Siena marble, set in the side volutes, of very elaborate design, are striking. Coeval, or slightly older, is the canvas with theMadonna and Child and Saints above it, where the motif of purgative souls, surrounded by flames, returns.
Prominent among the side altars is the one dedicated to the Holy Family, with a Roman-inspired marble altarpiece depicting St. Joseph intent on his carpenter’s work, with Mary, Jesus and a triumph of cherubs against a classical background; it dates from the early 18th century and comes from a suppressed oratory named after St. Ceccardo (in today’s Santa Maria Street). It was readapted to its new location by Antonio Anselmi in 1797, as was the facing altar of the Crucifix, which came from the same building and was modernized by sculptor Domenico Andrea Pelliccia (1736-1822) in 1798. The high relief above it, with God the Father, is instead the work of Bartolomeo Franzoni (1746-1812).