Addolorata Church, Acqui Terme, Italy

The Church of the Addolorata is a Romanesque-style basilica church in Acqui Terme. The church is dedicated to the Marian devotion of Our Lady of Sorrows, however, the church is also called San Pietro, since it was once attached to what was once the adjacent Benedictine monastery of San Pietro.

The layout we see today was built in the 11th-century at the site of a late 6th-century paleochristian church located just outside the city walls. It had three naves with an octagonal bell-tower at the southern apse. The simple brick facade has protruding pilasters and shows a trend towards verticality. After 1720, with the closing of the monastery, part of the church was rededicated to the Addolorata. It underwent major restoration after the First World War, that stripped much of the decoration, giving the interior a white-washed simplicity. The apse and the base of the bell-tower retain medieval traces.

The interior conserves a 15th-century Deposition fresco and two 16th-century canvases depicting Christ Crowned with Spines and Christ before Pilate. The wooden statue of the Madonna Addolorata dates to 1720.

References:

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Religious sites in Italy

User Reviews

Dario Milanese (2 years ago)
Church inserted in the city context and among the numerous Roman remains in the area. During the early Christian age, the church of the time was a basilica with a cemetery function, also for numerous bishops. From the 11th century it was a Benedictine monastery and was subsequently divided to house the Confraternity of Santa Caterina. The brick facade reflects the three-nave plan and the essential style of the interior. The bell tower has an octagonal base and is in Romanesque style. In the naves the predominant color is white. There are frescoes from the 15th and 17th centuries, as well as some wooden structures, such as the dedicated Statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. The church is also dedicated to St. Peter as the adjacent Benedictine monastery was dedicated to him.

Werner Senft (3 years ago)
interesting

Ron Kiesling (3 years ago)
Not very big, but nice building. There was a market on the square.

Victor (3 years ago)
The Basilica is really magnificent from the outside, its stone construction gives it all its beauty. A little disappointed with the interior, smaller than expected and there was nothing special to see. Monument to visit if you go to Acqui Terme.

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