San Fabiano is a Romanesque-style,

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 and abbey located at Via di Gherardo and Via del Seminario street in

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, Italy.Church of San Fabiano.
Prato Turismo. Retrieved May 25, 2014. The early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

structure is one of Prato's oldest churches.John Moretti.
Frommer's Florence, Tuscany and Umbria
'. John Wiley & Sons; 5 January 2010. . p. 257.

History

The church already was documented in 1082, and construction lasted into 12th century. Originally attached to a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery, it later passed to the

Vallumbrosan Order The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of their motherhouse founded in Vallombrosa (), situated 30 km ...

. The church is noted for the 11th century mosaic pavement, depicting panthers, sirens,

griffins The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

, and floral motifs,Rete Civica di Prato
short introduction. which were found during restoration of the church. The mosaic is made of light

Alberese Alberese () is a rural town in southern Tuscany, a '' frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Grosseto. It is situated 20 km south-east of the capital, in the heart of the Maremma Regional Park. This area includes the surrounding rural territorie ...

tiles and black marble. The mosaic images, like the siren, are believed to depict

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

symbols, which suggests that the church was built on a former pagan site.David Bershad; Caroline Mangone.
The Christian Travelers Guide to Italy
'. Zondervan; 27 December 2011. . p. 247. In the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, the brick polygonal bell-tower was added to the church. In 1522,

Niccolò Soggi Niccolò Soggi (c. 1480 - 12 July 1552) was an Italian painter, born in Monte San Savino in the Province of Arezzo, Italy. He was a pupil of Pietro Perugino, and was in Rome during the pontificate of Pope Leo X. Soggi then moved to Prato, wher ...

painted the altarpiece ''Baldo Magini with a model of the Church of San Fabiano''; this painting is now located in the

Prato Cathedral Prato Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Stephen, () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, Central Italy, from 1954 the seat of the Bishop of Prato, having been previously, from 1653, a cathedral in the Diocese of Pistoia and Prato. It ...

.1520s.
Portrait timeline. Retrieved 25 May 2014. The polychrome wooden Crucifix located behind the altar is also from the 16th century. Within the courtyard is a facade that has a white and green Prato marble

archivolt An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental Molding (decorative), moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, ...

portal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabiano, Prato 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Fabiano Romanesque architecture in Tuscany