The instructions of s. Carlo Borromeo in the Vistabella church. Castellon. Espana

Abstract

The church of "Nuestra Senora de la AsunciOn", located in the small town of Vistabella, in the province of CastellOn, was built in the early seventeenth century (1604-1624). This is one of the finest Renaissance churches in the Valencian architecture, and was declared as Cultural Heritage with the category of a monument, on September 28th of 2007. In the late sixteenth century, the conditions imposed by the Council of Trent promoted the construction of new churches. In this context s. St. Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, wrote Instructionum fabricae et suppellectitis ecclesiasticae (1577), which explained how churches should be built to follow the precepts of Trent. The Borromeo's book was written to apply only at to the archbishopric of Milan, but it has been very important in the development sacral architecture and has never stopped publishing. No wonder that the Borromeo's text come to Spain, because Milan was Spanish. Further, St. Carlo Borromeo was a friend of Juan de Ribera, Archbishop of Valencia. Comparing conditions Borromeo's book with the church of Vistabella, we find many coincidences. The conclusion is that the architect knew the book and followed it. The aim of this article is to explain the coincidences we have found.