Il re Giovanni III Sobieski e la Chiesa della Trasfigurazione a Varsavia

Abstract

The Church of the Transfiguration located in the very heart of Warsaw was founded by King Jan III Sobieski in the years 1683–94. It was built for the Capuchin friars, who also took care of the chapel at the Royal Castle. The iconographical programme of the church with its main altar depicting a scene of the Transfiguration, in which the king was buried on 23 December 1697, has never been studied in depth. The present paper seeks to answer the question: why did King Jan III choose this particular dedication for the church? In the light of the research presented here, it would appear that the monarch, who was highly educated, had a keen interest in theology. He used to discuss theological matters with Carlo Maurizio Vota, an Italian Jesuit, and with Abbot Melchior de Polignac, the French ambassador to Poland. The king was in possession of many books by the Church Fathers. Moreover, the Feast of the Transfiguration was considered to be anti-Turkish.