The Oratory of San Desiderio is a prayer hall located on Via Laudesi #53 in

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

, region of Tuscany, Italy. It houses 16th century paintings by

Sebastiano Vini Sebastiano Vini, also known as Bastiano Veronese (c. 1515 in Caprino Veronese – August 11, 1602 in Pistoia) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Tuscany. Biography He was the son of Giovanni Piero. It is unknown u ...

Domenico Cresti Domenico Passignano (1559 – 17 May 1638), born Domenico Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Counter-''Maniera'' ( Counter-Mannerism) style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century. Biography ...

(also called il Passignano),

Francesco Curradi Francesco Curradi or Currado (15 November 1570 – 1661) was an Italian painter of the style described as Counter-''Maniera'' or Counter-Mannerism, born and active in Florence. Biography Curradi was the son of a jeweller, Taddeo. He trained und ...

, and

Matteo Rosselli Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter- Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first app ...

. The oratory is diagonally across from the apse of

Santa Maria Nuova Santa Maria Nuova is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona. Santa Maria Nuova borders the following municipalities: Filottrano, Jesi, Osimo, Polverigi. Among the ch ...

. The church was attached to a hospital, later converted into a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent of nuns, putatively of the Mantellate order. In 1516, it became property of the Franciscan order until suppressed in 1786. Purchased by the Amati family, whose ancestor had patronized the decoration of the oratory. This family arranged in 1844 to have church reconsecrated. The oratory's counterfacade contains a massive fresco by Vini depicting the ''Crucifixion of St Desiderio''. The colorful scene is crowded and varied, and the superior panoramic has a gallery of tortuous crucifixions. In the oratory's coffered ceiling were eleven canvas by Cresti, Curradi, and Rosselli.Pistoia e il suo territorio: Pescia e i suoi dintorni: guida del forestiero
by Giuseppe Tigri, Tipografia Cino, Pistoia (1853): page 237.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Pistoia Renaissance architecture in Tuscany 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy {{Italy-church-stub