The Church of the Commenda is a Romanesque-style,

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 ...

church located on Corso Europa in the Piazza Fra Sabba da Castiglione of

Faenza Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...

, 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.

History

The church was founded in the early 12th century, and part of the remaining

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

, bell-tower, and

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

date to the following two centuries. It was erected adjacent to the Hostel of the Holy Sepulchre (), used to house pilgrims traveling to and from the Holy Land. In the 13th century, the church was affiliated with the Knights of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. During the 16th century, the church and adjacent cloister were decorated, including

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

frescoes in the apse (1533) by

Girolamo da Treviso Girolamo da Treviso (1508 – September 10, 1544), also known as Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso the Younger and Girolamo Trevigi, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and painter in Henry VIII's court in England. Biography Born in Treviso, to a ...

. On the left wall is a monochrome fresco of ''An abbot being presented by St Joseph to the Virgin with John the Baptist and Mary Magdalen''. Below is the tomb of the abbot Fra Sabba, completed in 1554 by Francesco Menzocchi. Traces of 14th-century frescoes are also found on the walls.Ufficio informazioni turistiche di riferimento: I.A.T. Faenza
Tourism information office of Faenza.

References

Romanesque architecture in Faenza Roman Catholic churches in Faenza 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Italy-church-stub