San Biagio is a

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church, located on Via del Carmine #4 in central

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) 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 Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

, Italy.

History

The church, initially dedicated to the Virgin of the Carmine, was built in 1319, as an annex to a

Carmelite Order The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

monastery. However, the church we see today was rebuilt in 1649–1658 under the designs of

Cristoforo Malagola Cristoforo is a male given name, an Italian variant of Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos' ...

. When the nearby church of San Biagio, which was located at what is now the Palazzo Montecuccoli degli Erri, was demolished in 1768, the two parishes were united, and renamed ''San Biagio del'' or ''nel Carmine''. This church is mainly known now as ''San Biagio''. The choir and cupola of the church were decorated by the late Baroque master

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

with a fresco of ''God in Glory surrounded by the Saints''. In the center ceiling of the sacristy are frescoes with ''Elias and the flaming chariot'' with

quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective di sotto in sù and quadratura, is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, and other ...

Agostino Mitelli Agostino Mitelli (16 March 1609 – 2 August 1660) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period and best known as a fresco painter of quadratura or illusionistic perspectival architectural frameworks. He was born in Sasso Marconi, Battedizzo, ne ...

and figures by Angelo Colonna. In the 14th-century cloister is a chapel with a fresco of Madonna and Child by Tommaso da Modena.

Interior

To the right of the entrance is the funereal monument of Countess Anna Maria Seghizzi (died 1821), designed and sculpted by Giuseppe Pisani. On the first arch is painting by

Luigi Manzini Luigi Manzini (1805–1866) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassicism, Neoclassic and Romantic art, Romantic periods, active mainly in and around his native Modena. Biography He painted portraits, sacred subjects, and scenic designs. He studied ...

depicting ''Saints Lucia, Agatha, and Apollonia''. In the third arch is a painting attributed to either

Dosso Dossi Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542) was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early Tit ...

or Giovanni Gherardo delle Catene, depicting ''St Albert fighting a female demon'' (1530). The pulpit and its marble reliefs were completed in the 14th and 15th-centuries. The fourth altar has 17th-century Crucifix by Gregorio Rossi. The fifth arch has a canvas by Paolo Beroaldi depicting the patron saints of Modena: ''St Geminiano'' in center, flanked by '' St Omobono'' and ''St Contardo''. The organ located to the left of the altar was built by Antonio Colonna in 1625 and refurbished in 1772 by Antonio Traeri. In 1936, a modern organ was placed within the same frame. On the right tribune is a 16th-century painting attributed to Raffaele Rinaldi depicts ''Jesus and the Samaritan Woman''. The frescoes in the choir depict an Angelic concert, painted by

. A canvas depicting ''The Trinity and Annunciation'' (1596) were painted by Giovanni Battista Codebò. The canvas on the arch near the confessional depicts ''St John of the Cross'' by Francesco Vellani. The second chapel is dedicated to the ''Madonna of the Carmine''. The altarpiece is attributed by some to Preti, others claim it is from prior centuries. The third arch has a canvas depicting ''St Teresa genuflecting before St Joseph and Child Jesus'', attributed to either Cignaroli or Cignani. The canvas was moved here from the suppressed church of Santa Teresa delle Carmelitane Scalze. The fifth arch has a painting by Beroaldi depicting ''Saints Michael and Anthony Abbot below God the Father''. The last chapel next the entrance has a baptismal font with a canvas by Domenico Carnevali depicting the ''Baptism of Christ''. The walls had frescoes by Mitelli and Colonna.San Biagio Modena
official site.

References

{{Authority control Roman Catholic churches in Modena Baroque architecture in Modena 1319 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Italy 1649 establishments in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1658 1658 establishments in Italy