Position: Massa centro
The church of Santa Teresa, is located going down from Piazza Vescovado via Palma in Massa Centro. On the left, there is located the convent, in addition to the church . The complex was founded in 1673 at the behest of the University and Bishop Francesco Maria Neri. The land was donated by a local girl, Augusta Maldacea, who became a nun in the convent under the name of Sister Anna del Bene.
Initially, religious work struggled to “take off”. Only with the arrival from Capri of the mystical and religious Serafina di Dio, who stayed for a long time in Massa Lubrense, the convent could develop, joining the Carmelite family.
Moreover today, the courtyard on which the building of the convent overlooked no longer exists. Also the arcade was closed to allow the construction of the current road that leads from the main square to the port. The volumetric masses of the convent conclude with the façade of the church.
Description of the Church of Santa Teresa
As regards the facade of the church, completed by the architect Giuseppe Stendardo, is divided horizontally by a high cornice in piperno, which is repeated in the crown. Vertically, it is punctuated by simple red brick pilasters, which delimit the spaces corresponding to the arches behind. In the upper part, the pilasters end with capitals “alla michelangiolina”.
The entrance arch, framed by pilasters and with a volute as key, is surmounted by a high window with piperno frames, which corresponds to the inner choir. This window is flanked by two openings, today walled, overlooking the courtyard. On the lower floor, two other openings in the shape of ox eyes, once open, correspond to the upper openings.
Access to the church is through a ramp under the central arch, which is divided into two symmetrical side stairs, leading to the Conservatory and the church itself.
The interior of the church has a single nave, with two side chapels: one dedicated to the Sacra Famiglia, the other to the Madonna del Carmine. Along the entire nave there is a long matroneum, ending in a closed choir that occupies the entire apse upstairs. A second choir is placed at the same level as the church floor. It once housed seventeenth-century reliquary busts containing the remains of Roman martyrs from the church of the Jesuit College of Lubriano. It was the Jesuit Father General Claudio Acquaviva who donated the precious relics to Father Vincenzo Maggio, the founder of the Lubrense college.
The internal architectural
The internal architectural of the Church of Santa Teresa is obtained with high pilasters decorated with lanceolate spikes, whose capitals are embellished by angels, following the best Fanzanghian tradition.
In addition, the current high altar, made of polychrome marble in Baroque style, was erected between 1757 and 1763. A canvas depicting Saint Teresa of Avila, attributed to Andrea Malinconico, dominates the altar. On the sides of the altar there are two sepulchral stones belonging to the Persico family, with coats of arms and epigraphs.
Finally, particularly precious is the ancient majolica floor of the eighteenth century, perfectly preserved and attributed to Chiajese. Along the sides, the elegant solution to bring out decorative pieces majolica from others left in natural terracotta gives the floor a striking appearance. In the middle, a cruciform decorative motif formed by leaves seems to recall the arms of the star symbolizing the Holy Spirit.
