ST. ANDREW’S BASILICA (13th century)

Artistic Information

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We do not know the names of the builders of St. Andrew’s. They were probably some Italian masters linked to Benedetto Antelami’s school and influenced by the French Gothic style. We can find some remarkable analogies among the Duomo of Borgo S. Donnino, the Baptistry of Parma and St. Andrew’s in Vercelli.The plan of the basilica is a Latin cross with a nave and two side aisles, separated by some cylindrical pillars with big ogival arches. It is an example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic. The dome rises at the junction of the aisles with the transept. The symbols of the four Evangelists are carved in the dome shell. On the octagonal dome shell there was an old bell tower, but a new imposing one was completed at the beginning of the 15^th century.The colours of the basilica are not so bright as they used to be in the past. Nowadays we can still see the grey stone from Varallo, the white marble of the small loggias, the Veronese red, the light plaster. Unfortunately the stained glass windows which created such a mysthical atmosphere in the church are no longer there. The crochet Gothic capitals as well as the Byzantine capitals with floreal motifs are very characteristic.The outside is rich in functional and decorative elements: buttresses, galleries, spires and pinnacles. On the banisters of the outside galleries there are some arches leaning upon consoles decorated with human figures, which might guard the builders’ secret identity. The hut façade has two small loggias, a rose-window and three splay portals. A cockerel and a Greek cross stand out on the two side bell-towers. St. Andrew’s martyrdom is carved in the lunette of the central portal and it can be ascribed to Benedetto Antelami’s school. In the left lunette Cardinal Guala Bicchieri is offering the saint a model of the new church. The inscription below  explains the founder’s cultural and religious gifts as well as the reasons for the devotion to St. Andrew.                             CRUCIFIXThere are two more crucifixes in the basilica, besides the one overlooking the altar: the former, dating back to the 14^th century, is kept in the sacristy, the latter, dating back to the 16^th century, stands in the first chapel on the left of the altar. As a matter of fact these two crucifixes were an indissoluble unit until 1993, because the oldest had been covered with canvas painted in accordance with the Counter- Reformation style. Recent restoration has removed the covering, revealing the beauty of the Christus patiens after reassembling the canvas on another stand.                                          CHAPTER HOUSEThe chapter house adjoining the sacresty can be considered a little gem of   the abbey. In the middle of this square room there are four columns, each with a capital on top. You can also admire two fine frescoes, probably by Lanino and two busts representing Pope Gregory IX and Umolio, a benefactor of the abbey. Peace between local Guelphs and Ghibellines was signed in this room  in 1310  in the presence of Henry VII of Luxembourg.                                       CHOIRIn the rectangular apse you can see an imposing wooden choir dating back to the 16^th century. It was built by abbott Pettenati in 1511. The choir was damaged in 1802 and restored in 1829. The wooden inlays of the stalls represent symbolic subjects, altar cloths and holy vessels, musical instruments and details of the town. In the middle of the central stall you can see St. Andrew carrying his cross ( instrument of his martyrdom) and a book symbolizing his mission.                                       TOMMASO GALLO’S TOMBSt. Andrew’s first abbott, master of a flourishing theological school, died in 1246. His tomb stands in the second chapel on the right of the altar. It is a wonderful synthesis of painting, sculpture and architecture.                                                                            THE CLOISTERThe cloister room was already present in the first plan of the abbey, which followed the Cistercian scheme. In the 16^th century it was readjusted many times. In the wide rectangular porch you can see small columns and arches, a well in the middle and a wonderful lunette on the southern side representing  The Agnus Dei, St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist.                                       HISTORIC OUTLINE          St. Andrew’s abbey in Vercelli is a tripartite unit: a church, a cloister, a hospital. It was founded by Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, a local noble, canon of St. Eusebius and expert in law studies. He was appointed cardinal in 1205 and successfully completed various missions of peace in Italy, France and England. He helped Henry III to be crowned king of England and confirmed the Magna Charta. He also promoted  the clergy’s spiritual and cultural reformation in some French, English and Italian dioceses. In 1215 he bought some land near the ancient St. Andrew’s church in Vercelli and obtained permission to found a regular rectory from Bishop Ugone of Sesso.         The first parish priest was James, a canon from Mortara’s congregation. The Canons of St. Victor’s in Paris came in 1219, led by Master Thomas, first abbott of st. Andrew’s. On 19^th February 1219 both the Cardinal and the Bishop laid the foundation stone of the basilica, which was completed in 1227. In the same year its founder died.         The first regular Lateran abbott was elected in 1467. Abbott Gaspare de’ Pettenati ordered a major restauration in the 16^th century.         The three rectories of St. Mary’s of Crea, St. Peter’s of Gattinara and St. Sebastian’s of Biella were influenced by St. Andrew’s basilica.         Six Lateran canons became bishops. The local tradition gives abbott Giovanni Avogadro of Quinto ( second half of the 15^th century) the title of Blessed.         The first historian of St. Andrew’s was Giuseppe Antonio Frova, abbott from 1782 to 1788. The Lateran Canons were replaced by the Cistercians of the Fogliense Congregation from 1798 to 1802. Bishop Grimaldi entrusted the restoration of the whole unit to Count  Carlo Emanuele Arboreo Mella in 1818. From 1823 to 1866 it was the seat of the Oblates of the Saints Eusebius and Charles, whose aim was to form the young clergy and to help the old ill priests. The Regular Lateran Abbotts came again in 1929 and stayed until 2004.         Nowadays the Basilica, which depends on the diocesan clergy, hosts the Confraternity of the Transfiguration.

          SOME MEASUREMENTS OF THE CHURCH         ( according to R. Pasté and F.A. Mella)- Surface of the church (except the main bell tower)                       m. 1987- External length from the façade to the buttresses                              m. 69,74- Lenght of the nave and the aisles between the external                m. 29,16  lines of the buttresses                                                                            - Internal length of the choir from the centre of the pillars  to the wall at the end of the church                                                  m. 17,55- Internal width of the main chapel from one wall to the other                m. 9,48- Width of the façade including the bell towers                                               m. 31,63- Height from the inner floor to the highest point  in the central nave                                                                       m. 24,9-2- Internal width of the dome                                                                   m, 9,48- Width of the tambour including walls                                                 m. 11,82- Height from the floor to the spire                                                        m. 56,51- Height of St. Andrew’s bell tower                                                        m. 50,62- Height of the main bell tower                                                     m. 59,65 (Translation by Prof.ssa Grazia Gattaneo Molinaro, for Associazione Culturale Chesterton          Onlus, Vercelli)