Chiesa delle Benedettine, Piacenza
The Church of Benedictines (Italian: Chiesa delle Benedettine) and its attached convent are a Baroque-style Roman Catholic church and monastery, located in central Piacenza, Emilia Romagna region, Italy.
History
The church and the Benedictine convent were built by Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma as a result of a vow he made, to build a church if his wife, Maria d'Este, were cured of an illness. Initially dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the complex was designed in 1677 by the court architect Domenico Valmagini, and was consecrated on August 31, 1681.[1] The interior quadratura decoration was made by Ferdinando Bibiena.[2] In 1810 the nuns were expelled and the convent was used as an armory. Only at the end of the last century was the church restored. The church has a Greek cross plan surmounted by an octagonal drum on which stands a bronze-pleated dome covered in lead and adorned with a roof lantern, surmounted in turn by the Farnese Lily. Most of the portable artwork from the interior has been removed.[3]
References
- ^ Nuovissima guida della città di Piacenza con alquanti cenni topografici, statistici, e storici, by Tipografia Domenico Tagliaferri, Piazza de' Cavalli, #55, Piacenza (1842); Page 183-184.
- ^ Piacenza Musei Archived 2015-01-28 at the Wayback Machine website.
- ^ Comune of Piacenza Archived May 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, entry on churches in the city.