The church of Santa Maria della Pomposa in

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

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 ...

, is an ancient church in the city, once located at the edge of the city walls. Its name derives from the Pomposa Abbey located near the delta of the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. Th ...

. A religious building at the site was documented by 1153. In 1716, the Duke of Modena, Rinaldo I grants the building to his librarian

Ludovico Antonio Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Bor ...

(1762 - 1750). Deconsecrated in 1774, along with the ''Aedes Muratoriana'' was granted by Duke Ercole III to the confraternity of St Sebastian. The church was reconsecrated in 1814. In 1922 Muratori was buried in the church, with a monument by Ludovico Pogliaghi. Among the works inside are a series of canvases depicting the ''Life of St Sebastian'' by Bernardino Cervi and an ''Enthroned Virgin with saints Sebastiano, Rocco, and Geminano'' by Giovanni Boulanger, copy of a Correggio painting now in Dresden. The adjacent museum celebrates the life and works of Ludovico Antonio Muratori.Comune of Modena
entry on church. File:Chiesa della Pomposa (interno).jpg, L'interno File:Interno della Chiesa di Santa Maria di Pomposa e tomba di Muratori.jpg, La tomba di Muratori File:Pomposa rear.JPG,

References

{{Reflist 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Maria della Pomposa Maria della Pomposa Maria della Pomposa