Discover Chiesa di Sant'Andrea, Bra

The chiesa di Sant'Andrea is the parish church of Bra, in the province of Cuneo and the archdiocese of Turin. The building is Baroque, and it was erected to a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini under the guidance of Guarino Guarini.

The first stone was laid in September 1672 and construction concluded in 1687 — although at that point the dome and the crowning of the facade were still missing. It is a grandiose church, and its realisation was possible thanks to many citizens who, besides offerings of money, made days of work available.

It was not always Sant'Andrea. Originally the church was dedicated to the Corpus Domini, and it became the seat of the parish of Sant'Andrea Apostolo only in 1816. The transfer happened because the medieval church of Sant'Andrea, which stood on the upper part of the hill, was interdicted on 14 November 1816 and progressively demolished between 1837 and 1845.

Pieces of that older church survive. Its 18th-century bell tower and retro-sacristy are still visible in Via Fasola; two stylophore lions are in the local Museo Civico; and a stone bas-relief with a vegetal ornamental motif is walled into the external wall of the present church facing Via Barbacana.

The parish priest here holds the title of Priore.

This is Baroque, and unusually well-connected Baroque for a provincial parish church.

The design is Gian Lorenzo Bernini's; the execution was under the guidance of Guarino Guarini, the Theatine architect whose work defines Baroque Turin. A church begun in 1672 under those two names is a Roman idea delivered by a Piedmontese hand.

The plan is three naves with deep chapels — the chapels are where the paintings are, which is why this interior rewards walking the sides rather than the centre.

The facade is Baroque and movimentata, restless: surfaces that advance and recede rather than sit flat.

What was never finished is part of the building's character. At the end of works in 1687 the dome and the crowning of the facade were missing. The record does not say when, or whether, either was completed — so the honest description is a church whose two most conspicuous elements were outstanding when the builders stopped.

The sacristy of around 1860 is the latest significant addition.

The interesting thing about the construction of this church is who paid for it.

The citizens did, in two currencies. The record says the realisation of so grand a church was possible thanks to many citizens who, besides offerings in money, made days of work available. Labour was subscribed alongside cash.

The campaign ran from September 1672 to 1687 — fifteen years — to Bernini's design and under Guarini's direction.

It stopped incomplete. The dome and the crowning of the facade were still missing when building concluded.

The furnishing came later, and civically. The Altar of San Sebastiano of 1760 was willed by the Comune and carried out by Barelli, with Claudio Francesco Beaumont's oval above it.

And one piece was carried in from a demolition. When the medieval Sant'Andrea came down between 1837 and 1845, a stone bas-relief from it was set into the outer wall of this building on Via Barbacana — a deliberate act of continuity between a church that was destroyed and the one that took its name.

Did Bernini really design it? The record states that the church was erected to a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini under the guidance of Guarino Guarini.

When was it built? First stone September 1672, construction concluded 1687 — with the dome and the crowning of the facade still missing at that point.

Why is it called Sant'Andrea if it was dedicated to something else? It was originally dedicated to the Corpus Domini. It became the seat of the parish of Sant'Andrea Apostolo in 1816, when the medieval church of Sant'Andrea up the hill was interdicted on 14 November 1816 and then demolished between 1837 and 1845.

Is anything left of the old church? Yes — its 18th-century bell tower and retro-sacristy in Via Fasola, two medieval stylophore lions now in the Museo Civico, and a stone bas-relief walled into this church's exterior on Via Barbacana.

What is the best thing inside? By the record's own judgement, Claudio Francesco Beaumont's oval of the Martyrdom of Sant'Andrea over the Altar of San Sebastiano: the finest 18th-century painting in the city.

Why is the priest called Prior? The parish priest of Sant'Andrea takes the denomination of Priore.

Is there an admission charge? None is given. It is a working parish church of the archdiocese of Turin.