The Cathedral is the symbol of the devotion and worship of the Modena Christian community, built as "the house of San Geminianus", the patron saint of Modena (312-397).
Modena
Dating back to the 1300s, the church of Sant'Agostino was chosen for the magnificent funeral service held for Francis I in 1659 and in subsequent years the Dukes transformed it into the Pantheon of the Estensi.
The abbatial church as it stands today was consecrated in 1518 and the wonderful Cloister of the Columns was added in subsequent years. The wealth of art works from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries inside the church include six large terracotta sculptures depicting the Virgin Mary of Conception and various saints by Antonio Begarelli, together with his last work, the Apogeo Begarelliano in the ninth chapel, and the Pietà. The sixteenth- century organ by Giovanni Battista Facchetti is worthy of note, as is the particularly fine sacristy with frescos by Girolamo da Vignola. Adjacent to the church is the Monastic Dispensary and a small "acetaia" where Balsamic vinegar si produced.
It is one of the oldest churches in the city, with records dating back to 1153.
The church was constructed over a very long period of time - started in 1244 it had not yet been completed in 1445.
One of the most impressive churches in Modena, San Bartolomeo was begun in 1607 for the Jesuits of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, based on a design by Giorgio Soldati, a Jesuit priest, and completed in 1629.
The Church of San Vincenzo is among the most important place of worship to be built in Modena in the 1600s. Commissioned by the House of Este, San Vincenzo was later restored in the early 1800s, and decorated with frescoes. On May 13, 1944, a bomb destroyed the sanctuary, the choir and a large portion of these frescoes, which were again restored. Recent work in cleaning the frescoed ceiling and walls has given new lustre to this magnificent edifice. Este dukes and other nobles are buried here.
Rebuilt in 1660, it is home to important paintings, Baroque furnishings and decorations in marble and scagliola.
The church, also called Madonna del Paradiso or Paradisino, was based on the design of the architect Giovanni Guerra.
The ancient church of San Biagio stood in Via Emilia and was demolished in 1768. As a result, the parish was moved to Via del Carmine.
Located on the site where the Preaching Friars had built their ancient church dedicated to St.Matthew in 1243, this place of worship became the court church when the Este family came to Modena and made the city the capital of its duchy. In 1620 the church was linked to the castle by an overpass. The old building was demolished in 1707-1708 for the current structure you see today.
The church, designed by Cristoforo Malagola, “il Galaverna”, was built in 1650 and is what remains today of the medieval monastery of S. Eufemia.
The church forms part of the San Paolo Complex, which dates back to 1192 and was made up of two churches and a nuns’ convent run by the Augustinian Order.
The building was designed by Ludovico Maglietta in 1873 and has a double façade in Via Coltellini and Piazza Mazzini.
The church was erected to fulfil a vow made by the people of Modena to the Madonna della Ghiara to end the terrible plague of 1630.
Located on the western side of Piazza Matteotti, San Giovanni Battista Church was originally dedicated to San Michele. It was reconstructed in the 16th century, when it was restored to its current appearance. The church took its later name from Confraternita di San Giovanni della Buona Morte, officiating here since August 1, 1774. A 1479 terracotta grouping by Modenese artist Guido Mazzoni, called “Lamentation over the dead Christ” stands in the interior. At the moment it is not open to the public.
Designed by architect and court designer Gaspare Vigarani in the mid-1600s, the Church of San Giorgio houses a number of Baroque paintings. Its high altar, dating back to 1666 and attributed to Antonio Loraghi, was embellished with an image of the Virgin, added some 30 years later. Vigarani also taught his sons the art of architecture and design – Modena-born Carlo later worked in the court of Louis XIV at Versailles.
The church, started in 1664 on a design by Bartolomeo Avanzini, architect to the Duke's court, is currently used as an auditorium.
