Page 249 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

VILNIUS  247

. Vaulted Nave and VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Cupola
The exuberance of the Practical Information
decoration attains a Antakalnio gatvė 1. Tel 234 0229.
dizzying scale as the nave 5 7am, 7:30am, 6pm Mon–Sat;
reaches the cupola – the 8:30am, 1pm Sat; 7:30am, 10am,
rectangular reliefs, flowers 11:30am, 1pm, 6pm Sun. Ser vices
and cartouches giving in Lithuanian & Polish only.
way to a spiral of
animated angels and the
face of God at the apex.
The Italian Connection
The first flowering of Lithuanian Baroque
in the early 17th century took place
when Lithuania’s rulers invited Italian
architects and sculp tors to redesign
the city. Matteo Castello (1560–1632)
designed St Casimir’s Chapel (see p229).
His nephew, Constante Tencalla (1590–
1646), completed it, then created the
façade of the Church of St Theresa (see
p238). Half a century later, artists Perti,
Galli and Palloni arrived in Vilnius to
adorn the Church of Sts Peter and Paul.

Smiling Madonna in the Chapel of St Casimir in
Vilnius Cathedral

. Chapel of
St Ursula
Ursula was an English
prin cess seized by the
Huns with 10 virgin
com panions and shot with
arrows. Images of their fate
are balanced by four
sculptures of female saints
including Mary Magdalene.

Ornate Stucco Portico
The rippling central shield above the doorway, flanked
by figures of young boys, displays a fleur-de-lis, a
symbol from Pac’s coat of arms. The glorious stucco
work adorning the entire church is attributed to the
Italian masters Pietro Perti and Giovanni Maria Galli.

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