Entrance to the monastery. San Paolo is a former

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in central

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

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 ...

, northern Italy. It is best known for housing the ''

Camera di San Paolo file:Correggio_013.jpg, 250px, Overview of the vault (architecture), vault frescoes. file:Stemma_badessa_Giovanna_da_Piacenza.jpg, 250px, Coat of arms of abbess Giovanna. file:Correggio_025.jpg, 250px, The fresco of Diana in the fireplace. The ''Ca ...

'' (Chamber of St Paul), decorated by a masterpiece of fresco work (1519) by

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

History

Tradition holds that the monastery was erected on the spot where Godescalco, the son-in-law of the Lombard king

Agilulf Agilulf ( 555 – April 616), called ''the Thuringian'' and nicknamed ''Ago'', was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death. A relative of his predecessor Authari, Agilulf was of Thuringian origin and belonged to t ...

, converted to Christianity and took the name Paolo. Supposedly he endowed the convent after his young wife had died during childbirth between 599 and 602. However, documents speak of 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 ...

convent, one of nearly a handful in Parma, present around the year 1000, and it was adjacent to the former and contemporary church of San Ludovico, now also deconsecrated. The convent mainly admitted women from aristocratic or wealthy lineage. It was to this monastery that

Margherita Farnese Margherita Farnese (7 November 1567 – 13 April 1643), was an Italian noblewoman member of the House of Farnese and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Mantua between 1581–1583. Her marriage to Vincenzo Gonzaga, Hereditary Prince of Mantua was ...

(1567–1643), daughter of the Duke of Parma and great-granddaughter of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

, was admitted after the failure and annulment (1583) of her marriage (1581) with

Vincenzo II Gonzaga Vincenzo II Gonzaga (8 February 1594 – 25 December 1627) was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1626 until his death. Vincenzo was the son of Duke Vincent I and Eleonora de' Medici and inherited the duchy upon the death of his elder ...

, the heir to the Duchy of

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

. By 1767, the monastery only held about eighty nuns or candidates, after the arrival of Napoleonic rule in 1810, the monastery was suppressed. The convent came into the management of the comune.

Camera di San Paolo (Chamber of St Paul)

In February to September 1519,

was commissioned by the Abbess Giovanna Piacenza to decorate the domed ceiling of her private room, now called the ''Camera di San Paolo'' or ''Camera della Badessa''. He painted between the ribs to simulate a

pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...

, pierced by ovals (small windows) with smiling puttoes and hunting representations. Below the oculi are lunettes with monochromic scenes painted to simulate marble. The fireplace is frescoed with a depiction of the goddess Diana. Apart from its mastery of style and "delightful vivacity", the Correggio frescoes have spurred a debate as to the underlying significance of the iconography, in part debating the significance of pagan and hunting scenes for a nunnery. The convent was known for the laxity of its rules, and had been embroiled, along with the abbess in various local land disputes.C. Ricci page 154-158. Critics including Roberto Longhi and Erwin Panofsky have dedicated monographs to the subject. The private room of the abbess was frescoed (1514) by Alessandro Araldi with grotteschi. The monastery contains a chapel of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria frescoed with scenes of her life also by Araldi. The rooms are open to the public as a museum.

Pinacoteca Stuard

In 2002, a wing of the monastery was converted into the ''Pinacoteca Stuard''. This eclectic collection was left to the Congregation of Charity by Giuseppe Stuard (Parma, 1790–1834), administrator of the Congregation of San Filippo Neri and wealthy collector. Since 2016, the collection includes works formerly in the Palazzo del Comune, including the ''Christ and the Canaanite Woman'' by

Agostino Carracci Agostino Carracci ( , , ; also Caracci; 16 August 1557 – 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the fo ...

, a Landscape with knights by

Ilario Spolverini Ilario Spolverini (1657–1734), known as Spolverini, was an Italian painter. Biography Spolverini was born in Parma. The influence of Mercanti’s master Francesco Monti (il Brescianino), Francesco Monti, known as Brescianino, is evident in ...

, ''St John the evangelist'' painted by Giovanni Riccò, and paintings by Amedeo Bocchi. The first hall of the second floor has a number of 18th century works by artists who trained in Parma such as Enrico Bandini, Giovan Battista Borghesi, Guido e Giulio Carmignani, Alberto Pasini, Claudio Alessandri,

Luigi Marchesi Luigi Marchesi (; 8 August 1754 – 14 December 1829) was an Italian castrato singer, one of the most prominent and charismatic to appear in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. His singing was praised by the likes of Mozart a ...

, Enrico Sartori, Deogratias Lasagna, Carlo Rimondi, Daniele De Strobel, Giorgio Scherer, Enrico Barbieri,

Cecrope Barilli Cecrope Barilli (; April 2, 1839 – June 23, 1911) was an Italian painter. Biography Born in Parma, as a young man he joined the forces fighting for Risorgimento, Italian independence at the Battle of Palestro. Afterwards he moved to Florence, ...

; and Amedeo Bocchi (including his paintings of ''Exodus'' and ''Lotus Flower''). Over three hundred paintings from the 14th-century to the 18th century is displayed in various rooms. It includes works by

Bernardo Daddi Bernardo Daddi ( 1280 – 1348) was an early Italian Renaissance painter and the leading painter of Florence of his generation. He was one of the artists who contributed to the revolutionary art of the Renaissance, which broke away from the conven ...

; Paolo di Giovanni Fei; Maestro della Misericordia;

Bicci di Lorenzo Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452) was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence. He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in th ...

;

Niccolò di Tommaso Niccolò di Tommaso (active 1346–1376) was an Italian painter active in Florence, Naples and Pistoia. He is documented as joining the Arte dei Medici e Speziali around 1346. He shows the influence of Maso di Banco, but worked with Nardo di Cion ...

; and schools of Pietro di Giovanni di Ambrogio,

Paolo Uccello Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italian Renaissance painter and mathematician from Florence who was notable for his pioneering work on visual Perspective (graphical), perspective in art. In his book ''Liv ...

Filippino Lippi Filippino Lippi (probably 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian Renaissance painter mostly working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance. He also worked in Rome for a ...

, and

Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, ...

. Later works were by

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian Baroque painter of the late Baroque period in Venetian painting. About the same age as Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Tie ...

, Bartolomeo Schedoni,

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

Giovanni Lanfranco Giovanni Lanfranco (26 January 1582 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian Baroque painter. Biography Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the household of Coun ...

Bernardo Bellotto Bernardo Bellotto (c. 1721/2 or 30 January 172117 November 1780), was an Italians, Italian urban Landscape art, landscape Painting, painter or ''vedutista'', and printmaker in etching famous for his Veduta, ''vedute'' of European cities – Dr ...

, Lodewijk Toeput called Pozzoserrato, Anthony Mor,

Felice Boselli Felice Boselli (Piacenza, 20 April 1650 – Parma, 23 August 1732) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Piacenza. He was not the pupil of Giuseppe Nuvolone, the son of Panfilo, as some have stated, but instead of Gi ...

, and Giovanni Gaibazzi. The city has included archeologic items in the museum.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control

Paolo Paolo is a masculine given name, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Paul (name), Paul. It may refer to: People Art * Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American sculptor * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter * Paolo Anton ...

Art museums and galleries established in 2002 Art museums and galleries in Emilia-Romagna Monasteries in Emilia-Romagna 2002 establishments in Italy