San Domenico is a former-

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 via G.B. Aleotti #39, in Argenta, a municipality in the province of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, 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. It now serves as the local civic museum.

History

In 1495 the flagellant Confraternity ''dei Battuti Bianchi'', ceded to monks of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

, that had just moved into the town, their oratory (prayer hall), dedicated previously to both Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. Construction of the brick church in a late-Gothic and early-Renaissance style began in 1522. The church has a single nave with twelve chapels. In the apse are 16th century frescoes by the school of

Benedetto Coda Benedetto Coda (c. 1460 - 1535) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance active in Rimini. He is mainly known for his religious subjects. Born in Treviso, Vasari claimed that Coda trained with Giovanni Bellini. He stayed for a brief period in F ...

, including a scene of the ''Decapitation of St John the Baptist'' and a ''Baptism of Christ''. Also painted around the windows of the apse are the four doctors of the church (from left to right, Gregory, Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome) and the four Evangelists. The church had some refurbishment in the second half of the 18th century, and underwent restoration in 1973, when it housed for a time local museum displays. It now displays both local paintings and archeologic findings, including a ''Madonna and Child between Saints Lazarus and Job'' by

Il Garofalo Benvenuto Tisi (or Il Garofalo) (1481September 6, 1559) was a Late-Renaissance-Mannerist Italian painter of the School of Ferrara. Garofalo's career began attached to the court of the Duke d'Este. His early works have been described as "idyllic ...

.Comune website
entry for San Domenico.

References

16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in the province of Ferrara {{Italy-RC-church-stub