Church of San Vitale

San Vitale is a Baroque style, Roman Catholic church located in central Parma, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy.

History

A religious building at the site existed in the 9th century, dedicated to San Vitale, tradition holds it was founded by King Pepin of Italy. The present layout dates to a reconstruction in 1651 by the architect Cristoforo Rangoni called Ficarelli. Domenico Valmagini reinforced the dome in 1676. In 1913, the property was appropriated by the town.

The façade was decorated by the sculptor Felice Pascetti and has six statues attributed to Pietro Sbravati depicting Saints Vital and Valeria above, with Valeria's bride and children under the external sides, as well as Saints Gervasius and Protasius, and in the niches Saints Gregory Magnus and Ambrose.

Interior decoration

The first chapel on the right has a painting of the Charity of San Carlo Borromeo by Mauro Oddi.

The first chapel on the right has a Madonna di Caravaggio by Carlo Francesco Nuvolone.

The 3rd chapel on the right has a Saints Anthony, Francis Xavier, and Virgin with Child. Over a door is a large canvas depicting St Gregory praying for Souls in Purgatory by Giovanni Tebaldi.

In the 1st chapel on the left is a St Tiburzio Martyr forced to burn before an idol by Clemente Ruta and a marble Ecce Homo by Giocondo Viglioli.

In the 3rd chapel on the left is a Meeting of St Francis of Paola with King Louis XI of France at Ambois by Gaetano Callani.

The main altarpiece was by Michele Plancher. The frescoes in the Sanctuary and the ceiling (1763) were painted by the Abbot Giuseppe Peroni; the ornamentation (1760) was completed by Gaspare Bazzani and Antonio Betti. The chapel dedicated to the Holy Virgin of Constantinople or the Virgin of Deliverance (Madonna del Riscatto); the stucco decoration was completed in 1669 by Luca and Domenico Reti.

Another altarpiece is a St Phillip Neri meets St Felice Cappuccino by Giovanni Battista Caccioli. The church had a copy, painted by Rondani, made of ist former masterpiece, Adoration of the Child by Correggio. There was also a Santa Cecilia attributed to Girolamo Mazzola.

The Assumption of the Virgin over the entrance was completed by Giovanni Gaibazzi, and donated to the church by Archduke Leopold of Austria.

An urn under the main altar putatively holds the relics of St Vital’s body, brought in 1648 from Rome by Gherardo III of Sissa.

There is a Martyrdom of St John Nepomunk by Pietro Rubini and a Sacrifice of Isaac by a follower of Lionello Spada. Moreover, the church houses canvases by Matteo Rusca, Latino Barilli and Donnino Pozzi.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "San Vitale, Parma" and modified on 23 July 2019 under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.