The Oratory of Saints Cecilia and Valeriano is a religious site in central

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, found on Via Zamboni, contiguous to the portico of the church of

San Giacomo Maggiore The Basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore is an historic Roman Catholic church in Bologna, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy, serving a monastery of Augustinian friars. It was built starting in 1267 and houses, among the rest, the Bentivoglio Chapel, f ...

. The oratory was built at the site of a Romanesque church commissioned by the then ruler of Bologna

Giovanni II Bentivoglio Giovanni II Bentivoglio (12 February 144315 February 1508) was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1463 until 1506. He had no formal position, but held power as the city's "first citizen." The Bentivoglio family ruled over Bol ...

. It was frescoed starting in 1505 by series of Renaissance painters associated with the Bentivoglio court, including Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Costa and

Amico Aspertini Amico Aspertini, also called Amerigo Aspertini, was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor whose complex, eccentric, and eclectic style anticipates Mannerism. He is considered one of the leading exponents of the Bolognese School of painting ...

. The frescoes cover the walls flanking the oratory entrance. In ten panels, divided by pilaster strips in decorated grotteschi, scenes from the life of

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She b ...

and her husband Valerian are described. The individual attribution of all the panels is not entirely clear; they depict: #Marriage of Cecilia and Valerian #Valerian converted by Pope Saint Urban #Valerian baptized by the Pope Urban #Saints Cecilia and Valerian crowned by an angel #Martyrdom of Saints Valerian and Tiburtius (attributed to Aspertini) #Burial of the Martyrs (attributed to Aspertini) #Trial of Saint Cecilia #Martyrdom of Saint Cecilia #St Cecilia donates all her goods to the poor #Burial of Saint Cecilia Other artist involved in these or later works include

Francesco Cavazzoni Francesco Cavazzone (1559–1612) was an Italian painter of the early- Baroque period. He trained with Ludovico Carracci and Bartolomeo Passarotti Bartolomeo Passarotti or Passerotti (1529–1592) was an Italian painter of the mannerist period, ...

Tiburzio Passarotti Tiburzio Passarotti or Passerotti (1553, Bologna - 22 November 1612, Bologna) was an Italian painter; primarily of religious subjects. Biography He was the eldest son of the painter, Bartolomeo Passarotti. At the age of eighteen, he joined the ...

(Son of

Bartolomeo Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo is a masculine Italian given name, the Italian equivalent of Bartholomew. Its diminutive form is Baccio. Notable people with the name include: * Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (1824–1860), Italian paleobotanist and liche ...

Cesare Baglioni Cesare Baglioni (c. 1525–1590, born in Bologna) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. He trained under his father, then became renowned as a painter of quadratura. He painted in Parma and Rome , established_title = Foun ...

Cesare Tamaroccio Cesare Tamarocci or Tamarozzo or Tamaroccio was an Italian painter of the School of Bologna, active during the early 16th century, the pupil of Francesco Francia. In 1504–1506, the Chapel of Santa Cecilia in Bologna was frescoed with ten panel ...

Giovanni Maria Chiodarolo Giovanni Maria Chiodarolo was an Italian painter from Bologna who lived in the 15th century. Little further is known of him than that the fresco of ''Angel crowning St. Valerian and St. Cecilia'', executed about 1504–1509, in the oratory of St. ...

, Bartolomeo Bagnacavallo, and

Biagio Pupini Biagio Pupini was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in his native city of Bologna. He was known to be active mainly during 1530–1540. He was a disciple of Francesco Francia __NOTOC__ Francesco Francia, whose real n ...

. The main altarpiece was a ''Crucifixion'' by

Giacomo Francia Giacomo Raibolini (1484 – 3 January 1557), also called Giacomo Francia or Jacopo Francia, was an Italian painter and engraver of the Renaissance period. Francia was born in Bologna as elder son of Francesco Raibolini (Francesco Francia), an ...

, now held in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, as well as a 14th-century fresco once outside the chapel by Giovanni di Ottonello.Entry on Oratory.
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Gallery

Francesco Francia - Legend of Sts Cecilia and Valerian, Scene 1 - WGA08179.jpg, The Marriage of Cecilia and Valerian Lorenzo Costa - Legend of Sts Cecilia and Valerian, Scene 2 - WGA05425.jpg, Conversion of Valerian by pope Urban by Costa Amico Aspertini, Oratorio di Santa Cecilia, Martyrdom of Valerian and his brother Tiburtius.jpg, Martyrdom of Valerian and Tiburtius by Aspertini Amico Aspertini, Oratorio di Santa Cecilia, Burial of Valerian and Tiburtius.jpg, Burial of Valerian and Tiburtius, by Aspertini Lorenzo Costa - Legend of Sts Cecilia and Valerian, Scene 9 - WGA05426.jpg, Charity of St Cecilia by Costa File:Francesco Francia - Legend of Sts Cecilia and Valerian, Scene 10 - WGA08184.jpg, Burial of St Cecilia, by Francia

References

External links

Roman Catholic churches in Bologna {{Italy-church-stub