IGLESIA DE LA PURÍSIMA

En 1631 don Manuel de Zúñiga y Fonseca, VI Conde de Monterrey, llega a Nápoles con el título de Virrey, después de haber sido embajador en Roma durante varios años. Don Manuel se convertirá en uno de los mecenas más importantes de su tiempo. En 1633 encarga un nuevo retablo para la iglesia del Convento de las Úrsulas de Salamanca. Este convento, estrechamente vinculado a la familia Fonseca desde su fundación a finales del siglo XV por el arzobispo Fonseca —linaje al que pertenecía el Conde de Monterrey—, había servido desde entonces como panteón funerario de la familia.

El encargado de realizar ese retablo fue al arquitecto y escultor Cosimo Fanzago. Fanzago, como retablista y escultor será, la figura central de la actividad artística napolitana en el siglo XVII. El Conde de Monterrey le encarga un retablo de mármoles embutidos para la iglesia de las Úrsulas en Salamanca que debía estar coronado por cinco esculturas de mármol representando un Calvario. Cuando el retablo ya estaba iniciado, el conde cambió de parecer y decidió hacer una nueva fundación en la que pensaba construir su panteón funerario. Fundó entonces un nuevo convento para las Agustinas descalzas de San Roque, que habían perdido el suyo en la célebre Riada de San Policarpo de 1626. Monterrey puso como condición para la nueva fundación que el convento cambiara su advocación de San Roque a la de la Purísima Concepción. Monterrey quiso erigir en esta iglesia no sólo su panteón funerario, dejando para la posteridad un testimonio de su grandeza terrenal, sino que a la vez deseaba manifestar su profunda devoción, compartida con su esposa, hacia la Inmaculada Concepción. El convento acogió desde 1656 a la hija natural -y única hija- del conde de Monterrey.

Las obras del nuevo convento comenzaron hacia 1636, siguiendo los planos elaborados en Nápoles por el arquitecto italiano Bartolomeo Picchiatti. Cósimo Fanzago fue el encargado de realizar los retablos de la iglesia, ejecutados en mármoles polícromos, así como el magnífico púlpito. Los retablos distribuidos por la iglesia albergan dieciséis lienzos debidos a grandes maestros de la época, como Guido Reni, Giovanni Lanfranco o José de Ribera, autor de la célebre Purísima que preside el altar mayor. El lienzo de San Agustín con el ángel, también situado en el altar mayor, ha sido atribuido a Rubens o a su escuela. Las esculturas de mármol destinadas a los cenotafios de los Condes son obra de Giuliano Finelli.

The Church of La Purísima was built between 1636 and 1687. It has a Latin cross plan, with a single nave of four sections, a side chapel on each side of the nave, a dome over the transept, and a high choir at the foot.

On the exterior, Neapolitan influence is evident, especially in the two porticos flanking the facade. This facade is organized into three sections: the central one, higher and crowned by a large pediment, and the lateral ones topped with eaves of wide volutes. The main entrance, a work by Cósimo Fanzago, was made of grayish marbles, with pilasters decorated with diamond points. The attic houses the foundational plaque with an inscription alluding to the founder. Above the curved pediment, the coat of arms of the Count of Monterrey, supported by angels, all in white Carrara marble, stands out. The original dome collapsed in 1658 and was replaced by the current octagonal one, topped with a lantern.

The interior reflects the sobriety typical of the 17th century, with walls enlivened by fluted pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The capitals of the transept are decorated with beautiful images of the cardinal virtues. Beneath the dome, in the church's subsoil, is the large funerary crypt, never used as a pantheon since the counts were not buried there.

Upon entering, the contrast between the colored marble altars and the golden Villamayor stone is striking. The main altarpiece, attached to the wall, is organized into three sections, with the central one presided over by the large canvas of the Immaculate Conception, while the lateral ones are divided into two bodies whose resulting spaces are also occupied by paintings.

The large canvas of the Immaculate Conception was painted in oil by José de Ribera in 1635. It depicts the Virgin Mary in a dynamic, ascending pose. The Virgin appears young, with a white tunic and blue mantle, crowned with twelve stars and the crescent moon at her feet, while raising her gaze to heaven with hands crossed as a sign of acceptance. In the upper part, the Eternal Father blesses her and sends the dove of the Holy Spirit. She is surrounded by angels carrying symbols of the Marian litanies, such as the full moon, lilies, roses, a tower, an unblemished mirror, an olive tree, and a palm tree, which reinforce her purity, strength, and justice.

From top to bottom, on the right side, are The Embrace of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne before the Golden Gate, a symbol of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and Saint John the Baptist by Guido Reni; on the left, we see Saint Joseph and Saint Augustine and the Angel. The first three are by Italian painters, while Saint Augustine is of Flemish origin, attributed to Rubens' workshop.

The attic houses Ribera's Pietà canvas. On its sides are distributed the white Carrara marble sculptures with the protagonists of Calvary: the Virgin and Saint John in the center, Mary Magdalene and Saint James the Great at the ends, and above them, Christ Crucified, flanked by two large Monterrey coats of arms. The entire ensemble is presided over by a red-toned marble frame housing a canvas with God the Father blessing, attributed by some scholars to Lanfranco. Also by Fanzago is the monumental tabernacle situated on the altarpiece's altar table, made from noble materials (lapis lazuli, malachite, jaspers, and gilded bronzes).

On both sides of the main altar are the praying statues of the Counts of Monterrey, made of Carrara marble by Giuliano Finelli, and framed in marble niches designed by Cósimo Fanzago.

The frames of the transept and nave altarpieces, made of colored marbles and also by Fanzago, house the magnificent collection of Italian painting commissioned specifically for this church:

• In the Gospel side transept are the canvases of Saint Januarius and Saint Augustine, both by Ribera, and The Epiphany signed by the Genoese painter Luciano Borzone.
• In the altars of the Epistle transept there is a Nativity by Ribera; Saint Nicholas of Tolentino by Lanfranco, and above this, The Communion of the Virgin attributed to the Madrid school.
• The three paintings in the nave represent the beautiful Annunciation by Lanfranco, located opposite the pulpit; a Crucifixion by Bassano, and the Virgin of the Rosary by Maximo Stanzione.

In the Epistle nave, the pulpit is particularly striking. It is a magnificent work of polychrome marble inlay, conceived as a monumental balcony. It rests on two marble corbels, between which the large figure of a gray marble eagle, symbol of Saint John the Evangelist, spreads its wings. Beneath the eagle, the great Monterrey coat of arms, repeated so many times in the church on doors and altars, unfolds. But, undoubtedly, this is the most notable of them all.