The Church of the Gesù is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style, Roman Catholic church on via Montanari, in the town of

Mirandola Mirandola (Emilian language#Dialects, Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the Modena, provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance Defensiv ...

Province of Modena The province of Modena () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Modena. It has an area of and a total population of about 701,000 (2015). There are 48 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in th ...

, Region of

Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 million. Emilia-Romagna is one of ...

, Italy.

History

This church, originally staffed by the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

order, was commissioned by Alessandro I Pico when he was invested as Duke, and construction began in 1621 and completed in 1689. The facade remains incomplete and presents a simple brick front. The interior however has elaborate baroque decoration in its single nave. The interiors include an almost

Churrigueresque Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th c ...

wooden altar and pulpit. The main altar also has a polychrome marble altarpiece of the ''Circumcision'' by Innocenzo Monti. By the late 18th century, the expulsion of the Jesuits from the duchy was followed soon after by the Napoleonic invasions. The convent became hospital in 19th century now houses the city library and archives and other offices. The church roof partially fell in after

2012 Northern Italy earthquakes In May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, causing 27 deaths and widespread damage. The events are known in Italy as the 2012 Emilia earthquakes, because they mainly affected the Emilia-Romagna, Emilia region. The first earthquake ...

and has been undergoing restoration.Centro Internazionale di Cultura Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Mirandola Baroque architecture in Emilia-Romagna 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1689 1689 establishments in Italy {{EmiliaRomagna-RC-church-stub