San Facio, also commonly called the Chiesa del Foppone, is a late

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

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 let ...

, now deconsecrated church in Cremona, region of

Lombardy, Italy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

. The church was completed in 1781, to officiate the burials in the surrounding ossuary of those dying in the adjacent hospital (Ospedale Maggiore e Ospedale Vecchio) of Cremona. It was called ''Foppone'' because of it operational similarity to the '' Nuovi Sepolcri'' (1695) in Milan. The surrounding large cemetery crypts in the portico formed part of an 18th-century urge to provide, systematize, and formalize the burials for the indigent. Cremone Foppone

From the courtyard, the architecture seems dour except for the domes of the church. The interior of the church in

Greek Cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

layout, is decorated by Giovanni Manfredini with

Grotteschi Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

, an ornamentation then utilized in cemetery churches due to their prevalence in Roman catacombs. A guide from 1820 cites the first altar on the right of the entrance has a Caravaggesque canvas depicting ''Christ healing the blind man'', by

Pietro Martire Neri Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II C ...

or Negri. The main altarpiece is a ''Deposition from the Cross with the Virgin Mother, the Magdalen, and Joseph d' Arimathea'' (1569) by

Vincenzo Campi Vincenzo Campi (; c.1530/1535–1591) was a 16th-century Italian painter working in Cremona during the Late Renaissance. Campi is best known as one of the first northern Italian artists to work in the Flemish style of realist genre painting. ...

. The altar on the left, has a ''Virgin and Child with San Facio with a Basket of Bread dispensing food to the poor and maimed'' (1593) by Andrea Mainardi (called ''il Chiaveghino'').Nuova guida di Cremona
by Giuseppe Picenardi, Cremona, 1820, pages 196-202. The site was closed for burials in the 1970s and administration transferred to the Commune.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Facio Cremona Roman Catholic churches in Cremona 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Burial monuments and structures Baroque architecture in Lombardy Centralized-plan churches in Italy