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