The Church of the Theatines (Teatini), also known as Santa Maria della Pietà is a

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 ...

Baroque 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 ...

-style church and monastery located on Corso della Giovecca, in central

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, region of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

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 ...

. In 1618, prompted by Laura Sighizzi, along with Cardinal Carlo Emanuel Pio of Savoy bought a house in the neighborhood of Giovecca to open an oratory for the Theatine Order dedicated to the Madonna della Pieta. The architect

Luca Danese The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all Cell (biology), cellula ...

was commissioned to design the church, which was completed in 1653 and decorated in Baroque fashion. The facade remains incomplete in brick. The interiors are highly decorated according to an inventory from the late 18th century. In the choir were paintings depicting the '' Life of San Gaetano'' by

Clemente Maiola Clemente is both an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese surname and a given name. Notable people with the surname include: Surname * Aldo Di Clemente (born 1948), Italian amateur astronomer * Anna Clemente (born 1994), Italian racewalker * Ari Clement ...

. Maiola also frescoed angels in a ceiling for the chapel near the presbytery, which also has works by

Scarsellino Scarsellino or Ippolito Scarsella (1550 (or 1551) – 28 October 1620) was an Italian mid-to-late sixteenth century reformist painter and one of the most important representatives of the School of Ferrara. His landscapes of both sacred and secu ...

. The canvas depicting ''John the Baptist'' to the right of the main chapel was painted by

Andrea Sacchi Andrea Sacchi (30 November 159921 June 1661) was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors ...

. The main chapel has a ''Mary at the Temple'' by

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vig ...

. A ''Sant'Andrea Avellino'' was painted by Camillo Ricci. The ceiling of the sacristy is frescoed with a ''Glory of San Gaetano'' by Alessandro Naselli. In the first chapel is a '' San Gregorio Taumaturgo'' by Costanzo Cattanio. Another chapel has a ''San Gaetano'' and a ''Resurrection'' by

Alfonso Rivarola Alfonso Rivarola (1590 – January 8, 1640) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Ferrara, where he was born. He is also known as ''il Chenda'' because of an inheritance he received from someone with that name. From a ...

known as il Chenda. Among the columns and pilasters, are canvases depicting the ''Life of San Gaetano'' by Cesare Mezzogori. He also painted friezes of angels in chiaroscuro on the ceiling and canvases around the Altar of the ''Purification of the Virgin''. The latter work was completed along with Giovanni Battista Felletti, who painted a ''San Gaetano and the Jesus Child''. Under the altar of St John the Baptist is the body of the San Secondino, Bishop and Martyr; and in chapel of the Virgin of the Graces, the relics of San Faustino Martire, both transported here supposedly from the Cemetery of Santa Lucina in Via Aurelia outside of Rome. The General Antonio Domenico Balbiani is buried in the last chapel. The general defended Ferrara for Pope Clement XI. He was named Grand Prior of Armenia and Grand Admiral of Malta. The oratory of the Theatines adjacent to the church is also decorated with painted artworks. The main altarpiece was a ''Santissima Virgin'' by

Costanzo Cattani Francesco Costanzo Catanio, (1602 – July 3, 1665) was a painter of the Italian Baroque period, born and mainly active in Ferrara. He was variously known as Catanio, Cattani, Cattaneo, or Cattanio, sometimes without the forename Francesco. ...

. In the walls of the oratory were canvases depicting an ''Annunciation'' by Giovanni Braccioli; a ''Purification at the Temple'' by

Camillo Setti Camillo Setti (active 1675) was an Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian ...

; a ''Flight to Egypt'' by Alessandro Naselli, and others by Tommaso Capitanelli. The ceiling was painted by Francesco Ferrari.Guida pel forestiero in Ferrara
by Luigi Napoleone Cittadella, p156.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teatini, Ferrara Roman Catholic churches in Ferrara Baroque architecture in Ferrara 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1653 1653 establishments in Italy