ARTE E FEDE NELLA VERONA DEL VESCOVO GIBERTI

The thesis deals with the relationships between art and faith in Verona during the time of Bishop Gian Matteo Giberti ( 1524-1542). In that period the city became one of the most relevant centres of the Catholic Reformation. The chronology of the following survey covers the period of the deep and dramatic crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in its challenge to the Protestant Reformation. The Bishop's pastoral work encouraged the commitment in the care of souls, the preaching, the education of the young, the assistance to the needy. The research aimed to verify how much the reformist thrust is reflected in the Bishop's and in his closest associates' artistic promotion and commissions. The essay, thanks to written and visual sources, and to archive surveys, is divided into four sections. The first part is devoted to the history of Church and religious life in Verona in the 16th century. The second section focuses on the episcopal commissions and looks at the main chapel rearrangement in the cathedral, its frescoes by Francesco Torbido, inspired by Giulio Romano, the “tornacoro”, attributed to Michele Sanmicheli, and the Eucharistic altar. The next section regards the commissions related to the episcopal residences, especially the most relevant ones, like the fresco Crucifixion for the church in the villa “Santa Maria di Nazareth”, attributed to Battista del Moro, or like the Crucifixion in bas-relief that was made - according to Vasari – by the sculptor Giovanni Battista for Gian Matteo Giberti's private chapel during his bishopric. The last section aims to reconstruct del Moro's artistic life as celebrated master, sculptor, master of stucco, engraver, goldsmith, painter and Giulio Romano's close associate.