Oratory of the Guardian Angels

The Oratory of the Guardian Angels, a treasure trove of architecture and painting built in the mid-17th century, is a small Baroque jewel in the heart of the city, hidden behind the sober and almost anonymous façade of the historic center, on Via dell'Angelo Custode.

Crucifix with Baroque decoration depicting the light of the Holy Spirit in the Oratory of the Guardian Angels. The walls are decorated with trompe l'oeil frescoes depicting Baroque architecture, gilded stucco, and cherubs holding festoons of flowers.

Hidden behind a green door, like many in Lucca's historic center, in the maze of streets, the Oratory is located on Via dell'Angelo Custode, a stone's throw from the Guinigi Tower. It was built in 1638, designed by Vincenzo Paoli and commissioned by the Congregation of the same name, founded by Bonaventura Gasparini in 1627. The idea was to provide a place where education could be provided to the many children who could not afford it. This idea was later taken up by the Ricovero degli Artigianelli in 1914.

But the precious treasure contained in this oratory are the Angels, to whom all the canvases depicting various episodes in which these creatures are the protagonists are dedicated.

The nine paintings decorating the interior walls, created by 17th-century Lucca masters such as Girolamo Scaglia, Filippo Mannucci, and Antonio Franchi, all focus on themes that exalt the role of angels as intermediaries with God.

The canvases contained within were entrusted to masters of great caliber, all focusing on the theme of the exaltation of angels as intermediaries of God. There is Saint Jerome having a vision of the angels of the Apocalypse (Anonymous), and also from the Apocalypse, the episode of a powerful holy archangel, the mythical Saint Michael, who cuts through the chaos to defeat the Dragon, the personification of evil (Pier Filippo Mannucci); there is Hagar who, abandoned with her son in the desert, is saved by an Angel who shows her a well where she can quench her thirst (Girolamo Scaglia); there is the Cala degli Angeli appearing in a dream to Jacob (Girolamo Scaglia) and an apparition of the Holy Face, a must-see in Lucca, to whom the Angels entrust the children (Mateo Boselli). In the background of this painting, one can glimpse the city skyline, with its mighty walls.

Giovan Domenico Lombardi did the rest, proposing a surreal, illusionistic interplay between reality and painting in a complex dialogue between painted elements and material decorations, supported by a veritable explosion of color. An experience designed to amaze, almost stun, visitors.

The pictorial decoration itself is the true protagonist. A complex and fascinating dialogue between pictorial elements and material decorations that, on every surface, translates into an explosion of color. In this work, the artist, Giovan Domenico Lombardi, proposes an illusionistic interplay between real and painted architecture, drawing those who enter into an almost sensorial experience that amazes and amazes.