San Sisto is a Roman Catholic church in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

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 ...

, located in Centro-Est quartiere of Prè, near the railway station of Genova Piazza Principe.

Background

A Romanesque church was built here from 1088 to 1093 to commemorate a victory on August 6, 1087, by the navies of Genoa and

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

against a raiding Arab fleet; since Pope

Sixtus II Pope Sixtus II ( el, Πάπας Σίξτος Β΄), also written as Pope Xystus II, was bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was martyred along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome, during the persecutio ...

was honored on that date, the church was dedicated to him. The church belonged to the

Benedictine Order , 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 ...

of monks allied with

Sacra di San Michele The Sacra di San Michele, sometimes known as Saint Michael's Abbey, is a religious complex on Mount Pirchiriano, situated on the south side of the Val di Susa in the territory of the municipality of Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, in the Metropolitan Cit ...

till 1479, except 1217–1241.

Restored, Razed, Rebuilt

After a restoration in the 18th century, the church was completely razed and rebuilt in 1825, to make way for the road, now ''via

Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a ...

''. Rebuilt in

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

style in 1827 by designs of Giovanni Battista Resasco and

Pietro Pellegrini 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 ...

, the cupola was frescoed by

Michel Cesare Danielli Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

. The statue of ''San Sisto'' on the main altar was completed by Giovanni Battista Cevasco and donated to the church by the Marquis Ignazio Alessandro Pallavicini.

References

Bibliography

* Sisto Neoclassical architecture in Liguria 1088 establishments in Europe Roman Catholic churches completed in 1827 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Neoclassical church buildings in Italy {{Italy-church-stub