8. Chapel of the Pietà or of the Virgin of Sorrows
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8. Chapel of the Pietà or of the Virgin of Sorrows
The Chapel of the Pietà, also known as the Chapel of the Virgin of Sorrows, was built as a funeral chapel by the Corella family at the end of the 17th century. This chapel is considered one of the jewels of Aragonese Baroque, forming part of one of the most spectacular ensembles together with the chapels of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Joachim, Saint Joseph and the corners of the back of the choir.
The interior of the chapel has a rectangular floor plan and is covered with a barrel vault. Both the doorway and the vault are profusely decorated in full Baroque style, with stuccoes that cover the entire surface, developing scrolls, angels playing trumpets, cherub heads, garlands of fruit and flowers, among other motifs.
The doorway of the chapel, with a semicircular arch, is flanked by two pilasters that support an entablature and a curved split pediment with prominent scrolls. The inner box of the attic contains a relief of the Virgin of Solitude, topped with a curved split pediment on which sits the Archangel Saint Michael defeating the devil. On both sides, in dynamic positions, allegories of the virtues are represented: Faith and Hope guard the entrance to the chapel, while Justice and Fortitude are placed on the volutes of the pediments, following the same model as the façade of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist. The arms of the Corella family appear on the doorway, the vault and the altarpiece.
The altarpiece, made of gilded and polychrome wood, is covered with profuse plant decoration and the presence of Solomonic columns, fitting in with the canons of the full Baroque of the late 17th century. The vertical elements are brought forward and recessed to generate dynamism and luminous and theatrical effects. On the bench of the altarpiece are two reliefs representing two of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary: The Flight into Egypt and the Fall of Christ on the road to Calvary. In the central section, a niche in a lowered arch shelters a round Pietà, in which the Virgin holds the inert body of her son at the foot of the cross, with the seven swords symbolising his seven sorrows appearing above his head. In the central street of the attic is Saint Anthony of Padua, flanked by Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa of Jesus on the sides.
Hanging from the side walls of the chapel is a canvas depicting St Francis of Paola and an oil painting with images of St Mary of Egypt and the Venerable Zosimus of Palestine.
