Sant'Agostino, Modena, Renaissance church in Modena, Italy.
Sant'Agostino is a church on Largo Sant'Agostino in western Modena, with a plain brick facade and a single nave without a transept, covered by a coffered ceiling painted with the Apotheosis of Saints. The interior stuccoes and frescoes are by Sigismondo Caula and Francesco Stringa; the first chapel on the right holds Antonio Begarelli's terracotta Deposition from the Cross.
The Augustinian Hermits built the church from 1292 as a single-hall convent structure with a trussed roof. In 1660 Duke Alfonso IV d'Este turned it into the family pantheon; after his death in 1662 Duchess Laura Martinozzi completed the work, and the church was consecrated on 12 October 1670. Damaged by the 2012 earthquake, it was restored and reopened in 2018.
The decoration programme was devised by the Jesuit Domenico Gamberti, who had also organised the funeral of Duke Francesco I d'Este in 1659. What began as temporary funeral apparatus for Alfonso IV became permanent, an unusual case in European funerary art. The stuccoes and paintings show Este-linked monarchs, empresses, bishops and popes, with frescoes by Sigismondo Caula and Francesco Stringa.
The church is located at Via Sant'Agostino 6 and forms part of a larger complex in central Modena. Visitors should note that opening times vary by season and it is advisable to check before visiting the location.
The organ, built in 1518-1519 by Brescian craftsman Gian Battista Facchetti and rebuilt in 1771 by Agostino Traeri, keeps its carved wooden case by Pellegrino Trevisi. Scholars consider it rare in Europe for its age and number of pipes; restored in 1999 by Pierpaolo Bigi, it has 62 keys and 18 pedals.
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