The Basilica of San Prospero is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-style,

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 with a late

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style facade, located on Piazza di San Prospero in central

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

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 and Exterior

A church known as ''San Prospero di Castello'', located inside the city walls, is known prior to 997. San Prospero, a fifth century bishop, became the patron saint of the town. In 1514, during the expansion of the city walls, the church and its adjacent monastery, the dilapidated church, nearly in ruins, was demolished. The church was moved some 600 meters and its adjacent bell tower underwent reconstructions. By 1527 a new church was completed with designs by Luca Corti and Matteo Florentino. Minor chapels were added till 1543, when the basilica was reconsecrated. Major changes to the octagonal belltower were designed by Cristoforo Ricci and

Giulio Romano Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-centu ...

in 1536-1570. The facade of the church had been left incomplete till it was completed in 1748-1753 using designs of Giovanni Battista Cattani. While the statues that festoon the facade are contemporary with Cattani's design. On the dais in front of the church are placed six lions (1501), sculpted in rose-colored marble by Gaspare Bigi, and meant to be bases for columns of a portico that had been planned for the church front. In the past, some guides had attributed the lions to Romanesque period sculptors.

Interior

The third altar on the right has an altarpiece by

Michelangelo Anselmi Michelangelo Anselmi (c. 1492 – c. 1554) was an Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter active mostly in Parma. Biography He was born, apparently in Tuscany, perhaps in Lucca, from a Parmesan family of ancient Langobard origin, known as ...

depicting the ''Baptism of Christ''. The fourth altar has a canvas depicting the ''Charity of St Omobono'' by Nicolò Patarazzi. The sixth altarpiece on the right is a ''Holy Family'' by

Alessandro Tiarini Alessandro Tiarini (20 March 1577 – 8 February 1668) was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School. Biography Alessandro Tiarini was born in Bologna. His mother died when he was a child, and he was raised by an aunt. Early on his f ...

Correggio - The Holy Night - Google Art Project

The fifth altarpiece on the right, in the chapel originally belonging to the Pratonero family, originally displayed the

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

masterpiece of ''

La Notte ''La Notte'' (; en, "The Night") is a 1961 drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti (with Umberto Eco appearing in a cameo). Filmed on location in Milan, the film is the r ...

'' (1522), also called the ''Nativity'' or ''Holy Night''. Documentation shows that by 1587, the Dukes of Modena desired the painting. Ultimately, in 1640, the painting was absconded from the chapel by the Duke Francesco I d'Este for his private collection, a sacrilege which generated a local uproar. A copy for this chapel was painted by Jean Boulanger. ''La Notte'' was sold in 1745 to the Duke of Saxony, and is now found in the

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.Correggio by Selwyn Brinton, George Bell and Sons, Publisher, London, 1900. Page 131 In the right transept, on the west wall, is a canvas depicting the ''Madonna and St Matthew'', a copy also by Jean Boulanger of the original by

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...

, which was also sold to the Dresden Gemaldegalerie. Below that painting is a ''Burial of Christ'' by Lodovico Parisetti. On the main altar of the transept is a ''Madonna and Child'' (1555) by Prospero Sogari. In the first chapel on the right of the presbytery are three statues of saints, attributed to Nicola Sampolo. The main altar in the presbytery is said to contain the relics of the patron saint. The ceiling fresco depicts a ''Glory of Saints Prosper and Venerius'' (1597-1598) by

Camillo Procaccini 300px, ''Nativity'' by Camillo Procaccini Camillo Procaccini (3 March 1561 at Parma – 21 August 1629) was an Italian painter. He has been posthumously referred to as the ''Vasari of Lombardy'', for his prolific Mannerist fresco decoration. Bor ...

. In the apse are a ''Last Judgement'' and below a ''Deposition''. The paintings depicting the ''Resurrection of the son of the Widow of Naim'' and the ''Fall of Jezebel'' (1589) were painted by

Bernardino Campi Bernadino Campi (1522–1591) was a Renaissance painter from Cremona, who worked in Reggio Emilia. He is known as one of the teachers of Sofonisba Anguissola and of Giovanni Battista Trotti (il Malosso). In Cremona, his extended family owned ...

. The cupola decoration with a second ''Glory of St Prosper'' (1885) is attributed to Giulio Ferrari. The second altar on the left has an altarpiece by

Francesco Stringa Francesco Stringa (1578–1615) was an Italian painter of the early- Baroque era, active mainly near his native city of Modena. He apprenticed initially, in 1595, in the Roman studio of Federico Zuccari, but soon came under the influence of the a ...

depicting the ''Madonna and Saints''. The ceiling of this chapel was frescoed by

Pietro Desani Pietro Desani (November 18, 1595 – 1647) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia ...

. The third altar on the left has an altarpiece by

Orazio Talami Orazio Talami (1624–September 15, 1705) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna and Reggio Emilia. Biography Talami was born and died in Reggio Emilia. He was a pupil of the painter Pietro Desani. He may ha ...

depicting the ''Cathedra of St Peter''. The fifth altar on the left has a canvas depicting the ''Madonna and Child with St Apollonia'' attributed to

Denis Calvaert Denis (or Denys or Denijs) Calvaert (; around 154016 April 1619) was an Antwerp-born Flemish painter, who lived in Italy for most of his life, where he was known as Dionisio Fiammingo () or simply Il Fiammingo ("the Fleming"). Calvaert was a profo ...

. The sixth altarpiece on the right is a ''Holy Family'' by

. A ''St Paul on the Road to Tarsus'' was painted by Bernardino Zacchetti. In the left transept is a baptismal font; and ''Crucifix'' by Prospero Sogari. In addition th3 ''Funeral Monument of Ruffino Gabbioneta'' (1527), the governer of the city under Leo X, was sculpted by Bartolomeo Spani.

Sources

''Italy: Handbook for Travellers, First Part: Northern Italy, including Leghorn, Florence, Ravenna, and routes ...'' (1906) by Karl Baedeker (Firm), New York, Charles Scribner and Sons, Page 362. *Translated in part from Italian Wikipedia entry. {{DEFAULTSORT:Prospero, Basilica of San Roman Catholic churches in Reggio Emilia Renaissance architecture in Emilia-Romagna 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1526 Basilica churches in Emilia-Romagna 1526 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Roman Catholic churches completed in 1527