Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Savona, Italy

The side chapels of the Cathedral of Savona hold a rich history and a variety of significant artworks. On the right side aisle, several chapels feature remarkable pieces. The first chapel displays “The Apparition of the Virgin in Savona” by Ratti. The second chapel features the “Sacred Heart” by Paolo Gerolamo Brusco, while the third chapel holds the “Madonna with Child and Angels,” as well as scenes from “Jacob’s Dream” by Giovanni Baglione and “Abraham with Angels” by Giovanni Lanfranco. Below this aisle is a door leading to the cloister, surmounted by a gilded wooden tribune from which Pope Pius VII observed religious functions during his imprisonment in Savona from 1809 to 1812, imposed by Napoleon. The fourth chapel contains the monument to Bishop Righetti, designed by Renata Cuneo. In the transept chapel, a 17th-century altar dedicated to the deceased takes prominence, while a sixteenth-century altarpiece and funerary monuments of prelates adorn the chapel to the right of the presbytery.

On the left side aisle, the chapels also feature significant works. In the first chapel, a 17th-century altarpiece depicting Saint Francis of Paola is accompanied by frescoes by Brusco. The second chapel holds an altarpiece of the “Adoration of the Magi” by Bernardo Castello, while the third chapel showcases the “Martyrdom of Saint Ursula” by Giovanni Battista Paggi. Continuing along the aisle is the side door, topped by the 14th-century tympanum of the ancient cathedral. The remaining chapels on both sides hold even more evocative significance due to their connection to miraculous events. The fourth chapel, which holds the “Madonna della Colonna,” contains a medieval fresco from around 1430-1440. This image of the Madonna is said to have miraculously detached itself from a column of the old Church of San Francesco in 1601 when the building was being demolished. The chapel features seventeenth-century altarpieces, such as “The Presentation of Mary in the Temple” and “The Annunciation,” along with stories from the life of Mary depicted on the vault. Additionally, on either side of the Madonna, there are altarpieces of Saint Ambrose and Saint Bernard.

In the fifth chapel of the transept, the Baroque altar (1663) dedicated to the Madonna of Mercy was transferred here in 1870 from the demolished Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of Santa Teresa. In the center of this altar stands the statue of Our Lady of Mercy, with Antonio Botta kneeling before her. Created in 1625 by Stefano Sormano, the statue commemorates the apparition of the Virgin to a peasant named Antonio Botta on the heights of Savona in 1536. The frescoes on the ceiling are from the seventeenth century, while the statues of St. Joseph with Child and St. John the Evangelist, along with the nineteenth-century canvases on the side walls depicting the Redeemer blessing the children and the adulteress, were added later. The chapel to the left of the presbytery is dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament and displays the urn containing the skeleton of Blessed Ottaviano, the Bishop of Savona, who is said to have saved the population from the plague and predicted the apparition of Mary. The chapel features canvases from the 17th and 18th centuries, including one from the Roman school depicting the “Martyrdom of Saint Stephen.” Finally, the cathedral is also home to relics of Saint Valentine, the Martyr and patron saint of lovers.