The Sant'Antonino Martire 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 in the town center of

Quattro Castella Quattro Castella ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio Emilia. Quattro Castella borders the following munic ...

province of Reggio Emilia The province of Reggio Emilia (; Emilian: ''pruvînsa ed Rèz'') is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The capital city, which is the most densely populated ''comune'' (municipality) in the province, is Reggio Emilia. It has an ...

, region of

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

, Italy.

History

The church is located on the site of a church founded by

Matilda of Canossa Matilda of Tuscany (; or ; – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa ( ), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was one ...

, and restored in 1112. Some epigraphs cite an even more ancient church, from the late 4th-century, at the site. Reconstruction of the medieval church began in mid 1500s, starting with the

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 ' ...

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

, and presbytery, and in 1615 with expansion of the nave and addition of side altars. In 1664, the church still had a greek-cross layout. The local prior Alfonso Canossa completed the church, except for leaving the facade in stone, during 1701 to 1716. In the 1935-1937, the painter G. Baroni depicted the ''Ascension of Christ'', ''Triumph of the Eucharist'' and other

chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

decorations, leading to a formal reconsecration in 1937. The facade includes

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...

including crosses and tombstones from the ancient cemetery. Further restorations were completed in 1992.Quattro Castella Tourism page
entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonino Quattro Castella Churches in the province of Reggio Emilia 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy