The church of San Gaetano is an ancient church located on Via Calegari at the intersection of Via Monti in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

. By the 1600s, it became attached to priests of the order of St. Phillip Neri, under whom it was known as ''Santa Maria della Purificazione''. In 1691, it was acquired by the

Theatine The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...

order and the named was changed to San Gaetano, the founder of their order. In the late 1800s, the church was transferred to the Franciscan order, with whom it is still associated. The original building was guided by Giovanni Todeschini, while the later baroque reconstruction in by 1663 by Agostino Avanzo. While the exterior is simple and sober, the interior is highly decorated with a profusion of stucco iconography and reliefs by Andrea Colomba and fresco medallions and stories by

Grazio Cossali Grazio Cossali, sometimes called Orazio Cossali (1563 – December 4, 1629) was an Italian painter who worked in Brescia, Cremona, and Venice, active during the Mannerist or early Baroque periods. Biography Born in Orzinuovi, Province of Bres ...

. The Interior contains canvases by Cossali,

Alessandro Maganza Adorazione della Vergine con gli Angeli (1581) Alessandro Maganza (1556–1630) was an Italian painter of the Mannerist style, born and active in Vicenza, as well as in Venice. He likely trained with his father, Giovanni Battista Maganza, als ...

, and

Giovanni Battista Pittoni Giambattista Pittoni or Giovanni Battista Pittoni (6 June 1687 – 6 November 1767) was a Venetian painter of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He was among the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, of which in 1758 he became the ...

(''Coming of St Andrew of Avellino'' in first chapel on right). The church contain brilliantly painted frescoes completed in 1745-1759 by Pietro Scalvini (ceiling ''Assumption of the Virgin''),

Antonio Paglia Antonio Paglia (Brescia, 1680 – Brescia, 1747) was an Italian painter active mainly in Brescia in a late-Baroque or Rococo style.Andrea Nannini, and the Parisian painter Luigi da Vernassal. The present refurbished organ was constructed by members of the Tamburini family. The interior contained a painting of ''St Ursula and the Virgins'' (early 17th century) by Antonio Bonardi.Dizionario degli artisti bresciani
by Stefano Fenaroli, page 33-34.

References

*
Franciscan website
*
Interior frescoes
{{Authority control

Gaetano Gaetano (anglicized ''Cajetan'') is an Italian masculine given name. It is also used as a surname. It is derived from the Latin ''Caietanus'', meaning "from ''Caieta''" (the modern Gaeta). The given name has been in use in Italy since medieval pe ...

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1663 1663 establishments in Italy