The church of Chiesa del Voto or Votive Church of Modena is a
Baroque style
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
church in the city of
Modena,
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 ...
. It is located near the town center, and was built to give thanks for the cessation of the
plague of 1630. Older texts cite a full name of the church of the Madonna Santissima del voto della Città.
History
Work on the structure began in 1634, under the direction of
Cristoforo Malagola, also called ''il Galaverna''. The church is modeled after the church of
San Salvatore in Bologna. The dome recalls the Basilica of the
Basilica della Ghiara
The Tempio della Beata Vergine della Ghiara (Temple of the Blessed Virgin of Ghiara), also known as Basilica della Madonna della Ghiara, is a church in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy. The building is the property of the ''comune'' (municipality) o ...
in
Reggio.
Among the canvases in the church are those depicting the events of the ''Intercession during Plague'' by
Ludovico Lana
Ludovico Lana (c. 1597–1646) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Modena, where he died in 1646. He is also known as ''Lodovico Lana''. He was the director of the Accademia Ducale of Modena. He is said to have been bo ...
. The canvas has the Madonna beside
St Roch and St Sebastian, two saints traditionally affiliated with healing from the plague, as well as
Saint Homobonus, also a patron saint of the city.
The apse has two canvases, a ''Glory of the Virgin'' by
Jacopo Consetti and a ''Glory of St Joseph'' by
Francesco Stringa
Francesco Stringa (1578–1615) was an Italian painter of the early- Baroque era, active mainly near his native city of Modena.
He apprenticed initially, in 1595, in the Roman studio of Federico Zuccari, but soon came under the influence of the a ...
.
Musei Modenesi
on Stringa canvases. Stringa also painted in the church a ''Madonna and Child with St Antony''. An altarpiece depicting ''St Filomena'' was painted by Adeodato Malatesta
Adeodato Malatesta (May 6, 1806 – December 24, 1891) was an Italian painter, trained in a grand Neoclassical style, depicting mostly of sacred and historic subjects.
Biography
He was born in Modena. His father was a captain in the Granducal ar ...
.
L. Lana Pala della peste.jpg, ''Virgin, child and saints intercede to stop the plague'', by Ludovico Lana]
Modena, Chiesa del Voto 003.JPG
Modena, Chiesa del Voto 005.JPG, ''Crucifixion'' altarpiece also by Lana
References
{{Authority control
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1634
17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Voto
Baroque architecture in Modena
1634 establishments in Italy