12 Churches to Explore in Emilia-Romagna

Checkout places to visit in Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna is a top European tourism destination, welcoming more than 11.5 million visitors annually and generating 50 million overnight stays. Its unique attractions – historical, cultural, artistic, social, industrial and economic – provide visitors with an authentic, all-round experience of the Italian lifestyle.

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Churches to Explore in Emilia-Romagna

Baptistery of Parma

The baptistery of Parma is a Catholic place of worship for the baptismal rite, located in Piazza Duomo, next to the cathedral, in Parma, in the province and diocese of Parma; it is considered as the junction point between Romanesque and Gothic architecture. It was commissioned to Benedetto Antelami, who began its decoration in 1196. was commissioned to Benedetto Antelami, who began its decoration in 1196.

Basilica di San Petronio

The Basilica di San Petronio is one of the largest churches in the world and Bologna’s Gothic masterpiece. Although construction began in the late 14th century, the building, which was to be larger than St. Peter's Basilica, is largely unfinished since the 17th century. It has been the seat of the relics of Bologna's patron saint only since 2000; until then they were preserved in the Santo Stefano church of Bologna.

Basilica di San Vitale

San Vitale is a minor basilica, as well as a parish and titular church, located at Via Nazionale 194/B in the Rione Monti. It is one of eight structures in Ravenna inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Roman Catholic Church has designated the building a "basilica", an honorific title bestowed on exceptional church buildings of historic and ecclesial importance.

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

The basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is a basilica of Ravenna. Born as an Arian place of worship, in the 6th century, it was consecrated to San Martino di Tours. The current name of the basilica dates back to the 9th century, a period in which the relics of the proto-bishop Apollinare, due to frequent pirate raids on the Ravenna coast, for safety reasons, were transferred from the basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe to the intramural basilica of San Martino which was renamed, in fact, Sant'Ap

Basilica of San Domenico

The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the richest churches in Bologna in art history and was erected by the Dominican Friars as a place to store the remains of San Domenico di Guzman, founder of the order and who arrived in Bologna around 1200. Inside there are priceless works of art by authors such as Guercino, Filippino Lippi, and Ludovico Carracci. The church's small museum houses many important works of art and a wide collection of precious reliquaries, chalices, and monstrances.

Basilica Santo Stefano

Santo Stefano is the most unique complex in Bologna, as it is a true city sanctuary and the cradle of our ancestor’s faith. This extraordinary religious site consists of four medieval churches, originally there were seven churches, and therefore it is known by the name of Sette Chiese. Besides churches, this peaceful complex contains of cloisters, tombs, and courtyards, a great place to browse religious art and artifacts too.

Battistero degli Ariani

The Arian baptistery is located in Ravenna and was built at the time of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric, starting from the end of the fifth century, finished shortly after, in the first half of the sixth century. It was the baptistery of the ancient Arian cathedral, today called the Church of the Holy Spirit. The baptistery has been included, since 1996, in the list of Italian World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, within the serial site " Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna ". Since December 2014.

Cathedral of Ferrara

The cathedral of San Giorgio Martire is the main place of Catholic worship in Ferrara , the mother church of the archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio. The cathedral is no longer a parish church but is the seat of all the most important celebrations of the diocese: ordinations, pontificals, solemn funerals. In spring there is also the Blessing of the Palios, or of the four painted fabrics that constitute the prize of the four races of the Palio of Ferrara.

Cattedrale di Parma

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, consecrated in 1106, is the most important Catholic place of worship in Parma, the mother church of the diocese of the same name. It stands in Piazza Duomo, next to the Baptistery and the Bishop's Palace. Externally it is in Romanesque style, with a gabled façade, also typical of the churches of other cities in the north of Italy. Internally the Romanesque structure has remained, even if most of the interiors are due to subsequent Renaissance interventions.

Duomo di Modena

The metropolitan cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo and San Geminiano is the main place of worship in the city of Modena, mother church of the archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola. A masterpiece of the Romanesque style, the cathedral was built by the architect Lanfranco on the site of the sepulcher of San Geminiano, patron saint of Modena, where two churches had already been erected since the 5th century.

Malatestiano Temple

The Malatesta Temple, usually referred to by citizens as the Duomo and since 1809 became a cathedral with the title of Santa Colomba, is the main place of Catholic worship in Rimini. Completely renovated under the dominion of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, with the contribution of artists such as Leon Battista Alberti, Matteo de 'Pasti, Agostino di Duccio and Piero Della Francesca, it is, although incomplete, the key work of the Rimini Renaissance and one of the most significant architectures.

Pomposa Abbey

The Pomposa Abbey located in the municipality of Codigoro in the province of Ferrara is an abbey dating back to the IX century and one of the most important in all of Northern Italy . Since December 2014, the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities has managed it through the Emilia-Romagna Museum Complex , which in December 2019 became the Regional Directorate for Museums.

Map of Churches to explore in Emilia-Romagna