CHIESA, GIANNICOLA. - Augustinian ascetical-mystical writer, b. in Genova in 1695, d. 23 Apr. 1782. He entered the Hermits of S. Agostino in 1711, transferred (1725) to the Congregation of S. Giovanni a Carbonaria in Napoli, and was lector and regent of studies, prior, and secretary general of his Order. A religious of austere life, he was regarded as one of the best masters of the spiritual life of his time.
Perhaps the most widely circulated and important of his spiritual works is Il religioso in solitudine ovvero esercizi spirituali proposti ai religiosi agostiniani (Napoli 1736; 5th ed., ivi 1899); also worthy of mention is the Breve istruzione intorno alle vie mistiche (ivi 1768), in which C. preferentially follows ancient authors, including s. Agostino, s. Gregorio, and s. Bonaventura, while also making use of some more modern authors, such as Luigi da Ponte and the cardd. Bona and Brancati.