The Basilica of San Savino is an ancient

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

in the city of

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

in the

Province of Piacenza The province of Piacenza ( it, provincia di Piacenza) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Piacenza. As of 2016, it has a total population of 286,572 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a popu ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is dedicated to Saint

Sabinus of Piacenza Saint Sabinus of Piacenza ( it, San Savino di Piacenza) (333 – December 11, 420), venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic church, was bishop of Piacenza until his death in the year 420. Life Sabinus was born in Milan around 330 - 340. Initia ...

, second bishop of the city. San Savino was established as a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery in 903. The original construction appears to have been poor. In February 998,

Pope Gregory V Pope Gregory V ( la, Gregorius V; c. 972 – 18 February 999), born Bruno of Carinthia, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 May 996 to his death. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was made pope by his cousin, Emperor Ott ...

confirmed its right to freely elect its abbots. It was rebuilt outside the city walls by Bishop Sigifredo in 1005. The present structure is mostly a rebuild of 1107 with later modifications, although it includes a few elements from the 903 edifice. The crypt of the church has 12th-century mosaics depicting the zodiac signs on a marine background. The presbytery has a contemporary mosaic showing battle scenes and a depiction of Christ. In the 1500s, the church became property of the

Hieronymite order The Hieronymites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome ( la, Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rule o ...

, who reconstructed it. In the 18th century, the church interior was decorated in a

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style, hiding much of the original Romanesque details. In 1721, the present facade was built. Among the works of art in the church is a wooden crucifix and frescos from the 12th century and a 15th-century fresco in the presbytery depicting an ''Enthroned Madonna and child''. In 1819, the hospice for "orphans and the exposed" (Ospizio degli Orfani ed Esposti) with 60 children was moved to the Girolamini monastery attached to San Savino. The hospice had been founded in 1573 by the then bishop, and run by the Somaschi order of clerics regular. They were affiliated with the parish church of San Stefano. The orphanage had been housed in the convent of Sant'Anna.Nuovissima guida della città di Piacenza con alquanti cenni topografici, statistici, e storici
by Tipografia Domenico Tagliaferri, Piazza de' Cavalli, #55, Piacenza (1842); Page 229.

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Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Churches completed in 1107 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy San Savino, Piacenza Orphanages in Italy