San Barnaba, Mantua Explained

Building Name:	Church of San Barnaba
Location:	Mantua, Italy
Religious Affiliation:	Roman Catholic
Architecture:	yes
Architecture Type:	Church
Architecture Style:	Baroque
Year Completed:	18th century

San Barnaba is a Roman Catholic church located at the intersection of Via Giovanni Chiassi and Via Carlo Poma in Mantua, Lombardy, Italy.

History

The first church at the site was dedicated to St Barnabas, the first bishop of Milan, and was noted at the site by 1263. The church was provided by Francesco I Gonzaga in 1397 to a convent of nuns of the Servite Order. In 1724, the church was rebuilt with a new façade designed by the architect Antonio Galli Bibiena.^[1] The adjacent cloister was destroyed in 1900.

The interior contains the following works:

• Via Crucis by Giuseppe Bazzani
• Salvator Mundi, presbytery fresco by Teodoro Ghisi
• Madonna with Child and St Filippo Benizzi by Bernardino Malpizzi
• Miracle of the Fish and Loaves of Bread (1582-1583) by Lorenzo Costa the younger
• Effigy of St Filippo Benizzi (1730) by Giuseppe Orioli (third altar on left)^[2]
• Marriage at Cana (late 16th century) by Alessandro Maganza^[3]
  • Madonna and Child by Girolamo Bonsignori Beata Elisabetta of Mantua (15th-century fresco) by Bartolomea Picenardi

Bibliography

Roberto Brunelli, "Arte Fede e Storia-le chiese di Mantova e provincia", Tre lune, Mantova 2004

Notes and References

1. Web site: San Barnaba apostolo . Italian . November 14, 2020.
2. Book: Cadioli, Giovanni. 1763. Descrizione delle pitture, sculture, ed architetture: che si osservano nella citta de Mantova, e né suoi Contorni, data in luce, a comodo singolarmente de forastieri... 84 . Alberto Pazzoni, Regio Ducale Stampatore, Mantova .
3. Cadioli, page 84