The church of Sant'Antonio Abate is located in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

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 ...

History

Initial construction of a church at the site began in 1386 and ended in 1404, under the commission of Canons Regular of St. Anthony of Vienna. Under the commission of Cardinal

Antonio Francesco Sanvitale Antonio Francesco Sanvitale (10 February 1660 – 17 December 1714) was made a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church from 1709. Life Antonio Francesco was born in Parma. Descended from a prominent family, including Galeazzo Sanvitale, in the duc ...

and a donation by

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

, in the 1700s the church was rebuilt to designs of the architect and decorator

Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena (18 August 1657 – 3 January 1743),"Galli-Bibiena, Ferdinando" (dates, Farnese dynasty, to Barcelona for Karl VI),''Encyclopedia of Austria'', 2006, aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at webpag."Ferdinando Galli Bibiena Online" (overview ...

. The church was reconsecrated in 1766.

Art

The interior contains decorations by the Paremesan painters

Gaetano Ghidetti Gaetano Ghidetti (6 April 1723, in Parma – 22 September 1792, in Parma) was an Italian scenic designer, quadratura painter, and architect. History He trained with his father, a wood and frame artist, and began as a painter of architectural deta ...

and

Antonio Bresciani Antonio Bresciani ( Piacenza, 1720 - 31 October 1817) was an Italian painter and engraver. Biography He was born to poor parents trained under Carlo Bianchi in Piacenza. He moved in 1740 to work in Bologna with Donato Creti. In 1748, he moved ...

; the ceiling frescoes of ''Angels and the Apotheosis of St. Anthony'' and the main altarpiece are by

Giuseppe Peroni Giuseppe Peroni (6 May 1700 – 22 September 1776) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. ''Extasis of Phillip Neri'' (1764), Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan Biography He was born and died in Parma, where he is said to have studied ...

. The chapels contain paintings by

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

(''John the Baptist Preaching''), by

Giovanni Gottardi Giovanni Gottardi (Faenza, 27 December 1733 - Rome, 1812) was an Italian painter, mainly of religious subjects. He was active mainly in Rome, where he was a member of the Congregazione dei Virtuosi of the Pantheon. Some of his paintings were compl ...

, (''St Peter Escapes''), and by Giambettino Cignaroli (''Flight to Egypt''). The painting by Correggio, '' Madonna of St Jerome'', was painted for this church. It had been removed to the Ducal palace by the 18th century, then looted and taken to Paris in 1796, but returned in 1814 and now is in Galleria nazionale di Parma. The stucco sculptures in the niches around the altar are by

Gaetano Callani Gaetano Callani (16 January 1736 – 6 November 1809) was an Italian painter and sculptor, active mainly in his native Parma in a Neoclassical style. Biography Born at Parma, he was a pupil of Giambettino Cignaroli .Turismo Parma
entry on church. This beautiful church has an unusual "two-layer" ceiling. "Holes" in the usual inner shell allow you to see through to a second, higher ceiling, with further paintings of heavenly bodies. (Only the five holes above the nave in the accompanying photograph are examples of this. The bright openings in the apse are merely normal windows.) Church-Sant'Antonio Abate-Parma-Italy-Lp1010701

Church-Sant'Antonio Abate-Parma-Italy-Lp1010701

References

{{Coord, 44, 48, 1.98, N, 10, 20, 1.39, E, type:landmark, display=title Antonio abate

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

Baroque architecture in Parma