Situata nel rione del Borgo Vecchio, a Fossano, la Chiesa di San Filippo ben spicca per la sua altezza tra i bassi edifici medioevali che contraddistinguono quest'area urbana
L'edificio religioso sorge dove un tempo c'era la casa dei fratelli Giovenale e Matteo Ancina, seguaci del movimento dei Padri Filippini. In loro onore, nel 1635 l'amministrazione comunale fece costruire un piccolo oratorio dedicato alla Visitazione di Maria, ad un'unica navata e con la facciata parallela alla via Maestra.
Rinnovato nel 1651 per mano di Giovenale Boetto, dopo un secolo, considerando l'aumento della congregazione, tra il 1706 e il 1713, venne in parte demolito per far posto alla chiesa attuale ed ampliato il vicino convento. Questi lavori rivoluzionarono anche l'identità urbana del Borgo Vecchio stesso.
La facciata è stata realizzata in cotto rustico e si presenta divisa in due ordini sovrapposti, slanciata grazie alla presenza di due coppie di colonne binate che sorreggono in alto un timpano lunato e abbassato.
A fianco delle colonne sono presenti due nicchie che originariamente ospitavano le statue lignee di San Pietro e San Paolo, scomparse alla fine degli anni Sessanta del secolo scorso.
Sopra il portale rimane un riquadro affrescato databile 1739.
L'interno della Chiesa di San Filippo è un trionfo di Barocco. Realizzata ad un'unica navata, ha sei cappelle laterali comunicanti tra loro da archi a tutto sesto e archi minori in modo da apparire come piccole navate. Le pareti e le volte sono completamente decorate da finte architetture, trompe-l’œil, semicolonne in finto marmo ed affreschi eseguiti tra 1718 e 1739 dai fratelli Pietro Antonio e Carlo Pozzo e da Michele Antonio Milocco, che già stavano lavorando nella chiesa fossanese dei Battuti Rossi.
Sulla volta centrale è possibile ammirare l'affresco della Gloria di San Filippo Neri, mentre nel catino dell’abside c'è l’Assunzione della Vergine. La pala dell'altare maggiore opera di Sebastiano Taricco rappresenta la Visitazione di Maria e nelle nicchie delle cappelle laterali sono poste sculture lignee settecentesche degli artisti liguri Torre e Parodi e del carignanese Riva.
Sebbene gli arredi della Chiesa di San Filippo siano principalmente di tipo scultoreo, ciò che più colpisce ed affascina sono le soluzioni illusionistiche applicate che tendono ad arricchire lo spazio architettonico come si vede, ad esempio, nella volta a vela completamente trasformata dall’affresco nella cupola proiettata verso l’alto.
Interessante è anche la sacrestia con il suo arredo ligneo completamente integro, la volta decorata da affreschi di fine Settecento e quattro sovraporte che rirpoducono scene bibliche attribuite a Bagnasacco, artista seguace del Beaumont.
Del vecchio convento, adiacente l'edificio oggi rimane solo la parte del porticato sul lato sinistro, resti di uno dei due chiostri originari.
Church of San Filippo - Fossano
Located in the Borgo Vecchio district, in Fossano, the Church of San Filippo stands out for its height among the low medieval buildings that distinguish this urban area.
The religious building stands where once was the home of the brothers Giovenale and Matteo Ancina, followers of the movement of the Philippine Fathers. In their honor, in 1635 the municipal administration built a small oratory dedicated to the Visitation of Mary, with a single nave and the facade parallel to the Via Maestra.
Renovated in 1651 by the hand of Giovenale Boetto, after a century, between 1706 and 1713, considering the increase of the congregation, it was partially demolished to make way for the current church and enlarged the nearby convent. These works also revolutionized the urban identity of the Borgo Vecchio itself.
The facade was made of rustic terracotta and is divided into two superimposed orders, slender thanks to the presence of two pairs of paired columns that support a lunate and lowered tympanum at the top.
Next to the columns there are two niches that originally housed the wooden statues of San Pietro and San Paolo, which disappeared in the late sixties of the last century.
Above the portal there is a frescoed panel dating back to 1739.
The interior of the Church of San Filippo is a triumph of Baroque. Built with a single nave, it has six lateral chapels communicating with each other by round arches and minor arches so as to appear as small naves. The walls and vaults are completely decorated with fake architectures, trompe-l'œil, half-columns in fake marble and frescoes executed between 1718 and 1739 by the brothers Pietro Antonio and Carlo Pozzo and by Michele Antonio Milocco, who were already working in the Fossanese church of the Battuti Rossi.
On the central vault it is possible to admire the fresco of the Glory of San Filippo Neri, while in the basin of the apse there is the Assumption of the Virgin. The main altarpiece by Sebastiano Taricco represents the Visitation of Mary and eighteenth-century wooden sculptures by the Ligurian artists Torre and Parodi and the Carignanese Riva are placed in the niches of the side chapels.
Although the furnishings of the Church of San Filippo are mainly of a sculptural type, what is most striking and fascinating are the illusionistic solutions applied which tend to enrich the architectural space as seen, for example, in the sail vault completely transformed by the fresco in the dome projected upwards.
Also interesting is the sacristy with its completely intact wooden furniture, the vault decorated with frescoes of the late eighteenth century and four over-doors which re-paint biblical scenes attributed to Bagnasacco, artist follower of Beaumont.
Of the old convent, adjacent to the building, today remains only the part of the portico on the left side, which was part of one of the two original cloisters.
Located in the Borgo Vecchio district, in Fossano, the Church of San Filippo stands out for its height among the low medieval buildings that distinguish this urban area.
The religious building stands where once was the home of the brothers Giovenale and Matteo Ancina, followers of the movement of the Philippine Fathers. In their honor, in 1635 the municipal administration built a small oratory dedicated to the Visitation of Mary, with a single nave and the facade parallel to the Via Maestra.
Renovated in 1651 by the hand of Giovenale Boetto, after a century, between 1706 and 1713, considering the increase of the congregation, it was partially demolished to make way for the current church and enlarged the nearby convent. These works also revolutionized the urban identity of the Borgo Vecchio itself.
The facade was made of rustic terracotta and is divided into two superimposed orders, slender thanks to the presence of two pairs of paired columns that support a lunate and lowered tympanum at the top.
Next to the columns there are two niches that originally housed the wooden statues of San Pietro and San Paolo, which disappeared in the late sixties of the last century.
Above the portal there is a frescoed panel dating back to 1739.
The interior of the Church of San Filippo is a triumph of Baroque. Built with a single nave, it has six lateral chapels communicating with each other by round arches and minor arches so as to appear as small naves. The walls and vaults are completely decorated with fake architectures, trompe-l'œil, half-columns in fake marble and frescoes executed between 1718 and 1739 by the brothers Pietro Antonio and Carlo Pozzo and by Michele Antonio Milocco, who were already working in the Fossanese church of the Battuti Rossi.
On the central vault it is possible to admire the fresco of the Glory of San Filippo Neri, while in the basin of the apse there is the Assumption of the Virgin. The main altarpiece by Sebastiano Taricco represents the Visitation of Mary and eighteenth-century wooden sculptures by the Ligurian artists Torre and Parodi and the Carignanese Riva are placed in the niches of the side chapels.
Although the furnishings of the Church of San Filippo are mainly of a sculptural type, what is most striking and fascinating are the illusionistic solutions applied which tend to enrich the architectural space as seen, for example, in the sail vault completely transformed by the fresco in the dome projected upwards.
Also interesting is the sacristy with its completely intact wooden furniture, the vault decorated with frescoes of the late eighteenth century and four over-doors which re-paint biblical scenes attributed to Bagnasacco, artist follower of Beaumont.
Of the old convent, adjacent to the building, today remains only the part of the portico on the left side, which was part of one of the two original cloisters.
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