The Chiesa del Santo Rosario or Church of the Rosary is 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 ...

-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 located in Piazza del Popolo in the city of

Comacchio Comacchio (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, from the provincial capital Ferrara. It was founded about two thousand years ago; across its history it was first governed by the Exarchate of Ravenna, ...

, in the

province of Ferrara The province of Ferrara (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Italy, Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Its capital is the city of Ferrara. As of May 2023, it has a population of 338,143 inhabitants over an area of . The province contains ...

, 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

The church was built in 1618 by the ''Confraternity of the Santo Rosario''. The facade is in red brick, the portal in white Istrian stone. Four niches on the facade are empty. The interior houses a main altarpiece depicting a ''Madonna of the Rosary with Sts Dominic & Giustina'' (1640-1650) by Cesare Mezzogori. In the lower background of the painting is a depiction of the

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 ...

. The painting is a reworking of the design of

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 ...

's ''Pallione del Voto o della Peste'' (1630). Reni in his painting has seven saints pleading to a Virgin and child with angels. Mezzogori has only two saints who receive a rosary from the Virgin and Child (in same posture as the Reni painting); an angel in the lower corner, points to battle, and has a banner that states "Non armis sed rosis" or "not with arms but with roses (Rosary)", implying the prayer granted victory. The wooden crucifix (1641) at the main altar was carved by Filippo de Porris. Two other altarpieces in the church are an ''Annunciation'' attributed to

Jacopo Bambini Jacopo Bambini (1582–1629, also known as Giacomo Bambini) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Ferrara. He trained with Domenico Mona. Along with Giulio Croma (Giulio Cromer), he set up a painter's academy in Ferrar ...

and a ''Beheading of St John the Baptist'' by

Carlo Bononi Carlo Bononi (1569? - 1632) was an Italian painter. An 1876 book lists him among "the last artists of any eminence in Ferrara". Page 175 Biography Bononi was active mainly in his home territories of Emilia and Ferrara, and is considered to be a ...

. Much of the interior decoration was lost during the Second World War. The belltower had been reconstructed in 1752, after collapse of the prior one.

References

17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque church buildings in Emilia-Romagna Churches in the province of Ferrara Roman Catholic churches in Emilia-Romagna Roman Catholic churches completed in 1618 1618 establishments in Italy Comacchio {{EmiliaRomagna-RC-church-stub