The church of San Paolo is a

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 in Piacenza,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Mentioned as the site of a parish church by 887, the present structure was built at the end of the seventeenth century. Originally built in the Romanesque style, after a collapse of the church in 1681, it was again rebuilt, this time in

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 ...

style. Despite the single nave, the facade was given four wide compartments or portals that once housed highly admired frescoes by

Bartolomeo Baderna Bartolomeo Baderna (1655-1681) was an Italian painter and engraver of the Baroque period. Biography He was born in Piacenza. His manner in engraving is described to be similar to that of Odoardo Fialetti. He is described as a pupil of the painter, ...

. Inside, the nave vault contains frescoes by

Luciano Ricchetti Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of ''Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is ''Lucien'', while the Basque form is ''Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rapper) ...

depicting the ''Beatitudes''. Natali also designed the window scenes. The interior of the facade still contains the frescoes by Baderna, depicting ''Episodes of Bible'' by Baderna, who also completed the choir frescoes depicting ''Lives of saints''. At the entrance, on the right wall, there is a 14th-century ''Enthroned Madonna''. The Chapel of the Madonna della Corona is frescoed by Giambattista Natali and restored by Sidoli in the last century. The chapel on the right next to the sacristy had an altarpiece of ''Martyrdom of San Biagio'' (St Blaise) by Robert de Longe.Guida ai monumenti storici ed artistici della città di Piacenza
by Luciano Scarabelli, Tipografia C. Wilmant and Sons, Lodi (1841), Page 169.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paolo, Piacenza Roman Catholic churches in Piacenza 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque architecture in Piacenza