FUNERARY MONUMENT OF FLAMINIUS GARNIER

Flaminius Garnier was the secretary of the Private Council at the time of Alexander Farnese. The latter was the son of Marguerite of Parma, natural daughter of Emperor Charles the Vth, and a brilliant general and also for a while governor of the Southern Netherlands. He reconquered several towns in the Southern Netherlands and in France during the religious wars and also participated in the famous battle of Lepanto in 1571. This victory is the origine of the name of this church “Our Lady of Victories”. Garnier was an intimate collaborator of Alexander Farnese. He was knighted by the German emperor and received the rendition of Brussels which had been taken by the Protestants. The monument is a magnificent example of the Renaissance style. The decorations and the sculptures of Garnier and his wife Barbe de Réversé are either in white Carrara marble or in black marble. The alabaster bas-reliefs illustrate the life of the Virgin Mary. In the lower part Her wedding, Her birth and arrival in the Temple. Higher the Purification, Visitation and Annunciation. Originally the monument was polychrome.

Act of knighting of Flaminius Ganier