A brief History   

The Church of Santa Maria of Constantinople

History and Culture

Little is known about the origins of the devotion of Mary, venerated in Pietracatella as the Virgin Mary of Constantinople, affectionately known over the centuries as Madonna della ricotta. However, the veneration of the Virgin Mary of Constantinople is deep rooted and prevails mainly in the south of Italy in those areas once belonging to the kingdom of Naples and Sicily. In fact it is possible to find the same devotion in other villages of Molise.

One of the earliest forms of devotion in Pietracatella dates back to the 14th-15th centuries when in the area called Chiesa rotta (broken church), located near today’s cemetery, a tiny rural church was built. This church probably housed a multicoloured wooden statue of the Virgin Mary dated 1370. The statue was of Mary with Baby Jesus on her lap holding in his left hand the globe with the cross whilst blessing with the other hand. A delicate work and significant example of the Abruzzi School whose features recall those of the Madonna of Constantinople housed in the shrine of San Michele Arcangelo on Gargano, Apulia. This early chapel allegedly dates back to the 11th-12th centuries. There are no records about this church from the 14th century onwards until approximately 1606 when a small bell (housed in today’s belfry) was donated by Gianfrancesco Ceva Grimaldi who became Marquis of Pietracatella in the same year. The Marquis Ceva Grimaldi’s coat of arms is engraved on one side of the bell and on the other side there is Virgin Mary’s image with the words ‘Verbum caro factum est’. Given its small size, the bell was probably placed in an equally small belfry, probably the bell tower of the above-mentioned chapel.

As noted in the report of the fourth pastoral visit by Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Orsini (elected Pope Benedict XIII in 1725) this church was used until July 1696 when it was ruled: ‘… being the walls of the church damaged because of weak foundations, the appointed Vicar is hereby instructed to desecrate the church by demolishing the altar... and to transfer the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Church of San Rocco”. It is important to point out that the statue mentioned in the said document is not the one dated 1370. It is indeed the statue by Giacomo Colombo (1663-1731) dated 1695 which is housed today in the church of Pietracatella. Colombo was a famous skilled artist from Naples. The exact reasons for this commission are unknown, though certainly in the 17th century, with a renewal in faith and in the Virgin Mary’s veneration, requests for exquisite wooden statues such as those typically produced in Naples increased in the area. In those days the city was a renowned centre for artists. The Church of San Rocco, mentioned in the above document, was built before 1690 (it appears in the Register of Chapels and Confraternities) and became home to the statue of the Virgin Mary. Dedicated to St Roch, the church stood beyond the village walls on a clearing facing Porta d'Achille, one of the five gateways to the medieval centre.

Eventually in 1701 an injunction by Cardinal Orsini ordered the demolition of the old chapel of the Virgin Mary of Constantinople. Just a few years later in 1705 the local faithful unanimously decided to dedicate and rename the Church of San Rocco as the Church of Santa Maria of Constantinople. It was formally consecrated on 23 July 1713 by Cardinal Orsin. According to the ‘Libro delle conclusioni, che si fanno dalla consulta e da tutti i confratelli’, the Confraternity register, written for the first time in 1834, the church was rebuilt after it had collapsed. It is written: “On this 1st day of January in the year 1837 the plan submitted by Agnello Rea, builder, whose intention it is to reconstruct the collapsed chapel under the fair terms imposed is approved”. Despite going heavily into debt, the Confraternity decided afterwards to extend the church to reach its the actual size. On this point the above-mentioned book says: “On the 3rd day of June in the year 1855 the complaint of Antonio Vecere, builder, who objected by way of the instrument presented on the 2nd day of September in the year 1853, being imposed to undertake on contract all the construction works and embellishments of the congregation church in conformity with the plan and the assessment is examined. Angelo Palmieri, architect, confirmed the prices were too low and therefore found the request of the contractor legitimate... On the 5th day of January in the year 1856, the Confraternity Director Anselmo Pillarella made public that A. Vecere, builder from San’Elia a Pianisi, contractor of the works to be made on the church had not respected what had been previously agreed; hence the works were to be continued by Andrea Minchillo, builder from Pescopennataro.”

In 1863 the church was finished but was consecrated only on 23 May 1893 by Cardinal Camillo Siciliano from Rende, as the marble plaque on the façade confirms:

THIS CHURCH BUILT IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF CONSTANTINOPLE WAS CONSECRATED ON 23 MAY 1893 BY HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL CAMILLO SICILIANO FROM RENDE.

The stone façade was built in 1874, whilst the adjoining bell tower was not completed until 1939 by a local builder, Donato Spallone. This church ranks among the finest 19th-century buildings of the region for its size and elegance.

The façade has two tiers: the lower one features a pair of Tuscan twinned pilasters. The upper one features a pair of Doric twinned pilasters. They adorn the façade, dividing it into three parts corresponding to the three internal aisles to which lead the two side portals and the imposing main central portal. Exquisite stained-glass windows dominate the façade. They were donated by one of the Confraternity’s Directors in the Jubilee Year of 2000.

The interior echoes the typical architecture of basilicas and consists of two aisles whilst a third, the nave, ends with a polygonal apse. The statue of the Virgin is housed at the end of the central aisle. On the left side, two small niches contain the statues of St Luis Gonzaga (1876) and St Vincent de Paul. The former is a wooden statue made by Gabriele Falcucci, a sculptor from Abruzzi. The latter is made of papier-mâché whose author and year are unknown. On the right side, another two niches house the statues of St Philip Neri and St Gaetano. Also in these cases, the artists are unknown but seem to belong to the same school.

Above the centre, the dominating cupola is at the intersection of the transept. Below the cupola stands the multicoloured marble High Altar which is decorated at both ends with two white marble cherubs.

An 1899 multicoloured marble altar rail encloses the chancel. The pulpit was built in the same year. A wood choir once existed near the apse. The transept is flanked by two small altars facing each other. On the left stands the altar dedicated to St Philomena with a wooden statue dated 2nd November 1836 by Saverio Verzella, a sculptor from Naples. On the right is the altar dedicated to the Madonna Incoronata with a wooden statue by an unknown artist representing the Virgin Mary of Foggia.

On each side aisles there are four smaller altars. The first of these is dedicated to St Roch (to whom the church was formerly dedicated) with a wooden statue probably once housed in the old church. Next is the altar dedicated to St Anthony of Padua with a huge oil painting by Giuseppe Chiarolanza (1868-1920). Also on show is the image of the Madonna del Rosario of Pompei.

The aisle on the right features the altar dedicated to St Lucy of Siracusa with a statue that has recently replaced a wooden statue dated 1836 by unknown artist. Next is the altar dedicated to the Madonna del Carmine over which hangs a huge oil painting by Giuseppe Chiarolanza (1868-1920). Then follows a painting of St Rita over what was once the entrance to the crypt. In 1954 this room was closed following restoration to the floor. A life-size wooden Crucifix donated in July 1991 adorns the end side wall. Above the main entrance four Doric columns support a gallery that houses a 17th-century organ by Severino Gennaro of Naples.

The 25-metre bell tower dominates a great part of the village. The belfry contains five bells: two small ones are incorporated in the clock tower (one dates back to the 16th century), an old bell dated 1606, a bell once housed in the central arch weighing 160 kilos, and finally a bell commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the church consecration weighing 320 kilos. On this occasion in 1993 a plaque was placed on the façade:

THE PEOPLE OF PIETRACATELLA WITH THIS NEW BELL BLESSED BY MONSIGNOR ETTORE DE FILIPPO, METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP OF CAMPOBASSO-BOIANO, PRAY, PRAISE AND ACCLAIM THE BLESSED MARY OF CONSTANTINOPLE, VIRGIN REGINA MOTHER.

On 31 October 2002 Pietracatella, like the surrounding area of the Frentani mountains, was hit by a devastating earthquake. It caused heavy damage to the church that was closed for restoration until 2006. It reopened in May 2006 just in time for the celebrations in honour of the Virgin Mary. Restoration work, including the integration of tie beams, has made safe the entire structure. Nevertheless, the Confraternity and the people of Pietracatella are still raising funds to complete the necessary restoration work.