Sant'Adriano III Papa is a

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 San Carlo in Spilamberto,

province of Modena The province of Modena () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Modena. It has an area of and a total population of about 701,000 (2015). There are 48 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in th ...

, region of

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, Italy.

History

A church was founded in 1210, as a subsidiary church to the

Pieve In Italy in the Middle Ages, a ''pieve'' (, ; ; : ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. ''Pieve'' is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/a ...

of San Vito. Only in 1628 was it elevated to arcipretura. The original church was smaller and oriented with an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

to the east of the façade; in 1736-1757, it was rebuilt in the present state with a façade and bell tower completed in 1892. The interior has a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

decoration. In 1863, the sculptor Prudenzio Piccioli and the wood-engraver Giuseppe Tacconi worked together in the ''Chapel of the Rosary''. Piccioli sculpted the statue of Saints

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

and Dominic, as well as reliefs with the Mysteries of the Rosary. Tacconi completed wood decoration. Giuseppe Obici completed a stucco ''St John the Baptist'', submitted in 1852 as a model for a marble statue completed for

Santa Maria sopra Minerva Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major Church (building), churches of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominicans) in Rome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was b ...

. From 1890 to 1915, the painter

Augusto Valli Augusto Valli (22 May 1867 – 1945) was an Italian painter, in a Realism (arts), Realist style. His journeys to Africa influenced his choice of subject matter and he painted African themes with vibrant colours. Life and career Augusto Valli w ...

frescoes a number of works in the church including a ''

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

'' for the Chapel of the Rosary; a ''Vision of the Apocalypse'' for the cupola; a ''Communion of the Apostles'' for the half-dome of the apse; an ''Annunciation and angels'' for the nave ceiling; as well as Popes and Saints linked to Spilamberto. He also painted five altarpieces including a ''Glory of St Josephy'', ''Ecce Agnus Dei'', ''St Anne and the Virgin Mary as a Girl'', ''Sacred Heart of Jesus'', and ''St Anthony of Padua''.Comune of Spilamberto
historic and artistic itinerary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giovanni Battista Spilamberto 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1713 Churches in the province of Modena Baroque architecture in Emilia-Romagna