Italy in Photos

Piazza S. Bernardino, 75012 Bernalda, Italy ( June 2019)

Chiesa Madre di San Bernardino da Siena

Located in Bernalda’s historic core, the Chiesa Madre di San Bernardino da Siena stands as the spiritual and architectural centrepiece of this Lucanian town. Built between 1510 and 1532 by decree of Bernardino de Bernaudo, founder and feudal lord of Bernalda, the church was dedicated to its patron saint, San Bernardino da Siena, replacing the older devotion to San Donato, and symbolizing the town’s rebirth as “Bernauda” under its new protector. Originally conceived as a modest single-nave Romanesque structure with a simple gable façade and a low, crenellated bell tower, the church reflected the early population and spiritual needs of the nascent settlement. As Bernalda expanded during the 16th and 17th centuries, the building was gradually enlarged. A right-side nave was created from the former sacristy, while a left nave was added by the late 1700s, giving the church its current three-nave configuration, though at the expense of original architectural harmony.

Further modifications continued into the 20th century. In the 1920s, attention turned to the baptistery, sacristy, and main altar, while the 1950s saw the bell tower raised with a new spire, covering and altering earlier Romanesque features such as the rose window. Mid-century restorations sought to recover the church’s original simplicity and modest aesthetic while accommodating liturgical and structural needs. The interior offers a rich tapestry of liturgical furnishings and artworks. A gilded wooden pulpit, a nine‑register pipe organ dating from the 18th–19th century, an early modern holy water font (1607), and an ornate wooden cantoria from the 1700s adorned with allegorical virtues and Basento Valley motifs, illustrate local artistry and devotional culture. A baptismal font carved from wood and stone (dating to the 16th–17th century), along with statues in wood and plaster and two 20th-century paintings by Cosimo Damiano Sampietro, add further depth to the devotional ambiance.

Historically, the church hosted two small cemeteries: one under the choir reserved for priests and another beneath the baptistery for unbaptized infants—features now long removed but once indicative of ancient burial customs. Today, the church anchors Bernalda’s Piazza San Bernardino, set against the medieval castle, and faces the bronze statue of its saintly namesake by sculptor Nicola Morelli, enhancing the sense of sacred continuity. During the annual Festa di San Bernardino, culminating each August with the veneration of a relic donated by Pope Innocent X, thousands of pilgrims gather inside and outside the church, giving new life to its centuries-old devotion