For the church with same name in Siena, see Santa Maria dei Servi, Siena

Santa Maria dei Servi

Servite Order

The Servite Order is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. Its objects are the sanctification of its members, preaching the Gospel, and the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God, with special reference to her sorrows. The members of the Order use O.S.M. as their post-nominal...

is a Catholic basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 in Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

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It was founded in 1346, as the church of the Servite Community of the Blessed Virgin Mary and was designed by Padre Andrea da Faenza whose work can also be seen at the Basilica of San Petronio, also in Bologna. It was raised to the status of basilica by Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII

The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....

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Interior

The basilica is 100 metres long by 20 metres wide. It has the form of a Latin cross but the transepts do not project beyond the aisles. The shallow apse is five segments of an octagon, as is common in Italian Gothic churches.

It was designed in the Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 style with pointed arches throughout. At the death of Padre Andrea in 1396, the work was not complete. However, the completion in the 15th century saw little change to the design of the basilica itself, which is entirely Gothic in appearance.

The central nave and side aisles are divided from each other by stout round columns with floriate capitals, the shafts being red in colour and the capitals and bases of contrasting pale stone, adding a decorative effect to the very simple architecture. The plastered walls above the arcade are pierced by occular windows set high under the gothic vault. The vault is of a simple quadrupartite form with the brick ribs in contrast to the infilling.

Exterior

Externally, the church is very plain, undecorated brick. The facade, which was constructed in several phases, has never been decorated.

The remarkable feature of the church is its courtyard or atrium. This is a feature that was common in Early Christian churches, including the earlier St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...

 in Rome, but has almost always disappeared. This is an unusual case of an atrium being built in the 16th century. It appears to have been modelled on the arcade built by Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. He is perhaps most famous for inventing linear perspective and designing the dome of the Florence Cathedral, but his accomplishments also included bronze artwork, architecture , mathematics,...

 at the Hospital of the Innocents (Ospedale degli Innocenti

Ospedale degli Innocenti

The Ospedale degli Innocenti is a historical building in Florence, central Italy. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who received the commission in 1419, it was originally a children's orphanage. It is regarded as a notable example of early Italian Renaissance architecture...

) in Florence, and later extended to other parts of the large piazza, including the front of the Church of the Assumption.

In the case of Santa Maria dei Servi, the piazza in front of the basilica was quite small and a wide arcade was able to be built around it, enclosing the entire square without interruption. The arcade is closed on one side by the conventual buildings, but on two side it is open to the street, and extends along the entire left side of the building. Where the arcade meets the facade, it forms a "narthex" or wide portico of five arches, stretching across the front of the church. The arcade has a decorative cornice and the spandrels each have a circular moulding which echoes the occular window in the facade.

This unusual feature of the basilica is particularly Bolognese in character, as the city has retained a great number of street arcades, some of them clearly medieval, but including those which are believed to date from the Roman city.

Artworks

Among the artworks included in the church, are a Holy Virgin Enthroned by Cimabue

Cimabue

Cimabue , also known as Bencivieni di Pepo or in modern Italian, Benvenuto di Giuseppe, was an Italian painter and creator of mosaics from Florence....

, a marble altarpiece of the Annunciation of Mary by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli

Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli

Giovanni Antonio Montorsoli , also known as Fra Montorsoli, as Michele Agnolo and as Angelo di Michele d' Angelo da Poggibonsi, was an Italian sculptor.-Biography:...

, known as "Michelangelo" Montorsoli (1558), traces of 14th century frescoes by Vitale da Bologna

Vitale da Bologna

thumb|250px|St. George and the Dragon, detail.Vitale da Bologna , also known as Vitale di Almo de' Cavalli or Vitale degli Equi, was an Italian painter, of the Early Renaissance.left|thumb|Madonna dei denti....

, and many others.

The church also contains a famous pipe organ, regarded as one of the finest in Europe. The organ is unusual in that it can be operated with a mechanical action, as a barrel organ

Barrel organ

A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...

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