Church of Saints Girolamo e Vitale (Chiesa dei Santi Girolamo e Vitale)

The extraordinary Saint Girolamo building, designed by the ducal architect Girolamo Vigarani, is defined by an unexpected sequence of interior spaces. The refined façade conceals the oratory of the confraternity that still maintains the sacred place, as well as the replica of the Scala Santa in Rome, a copy of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and a monumental rotunda, adorned with delicate stuccoes, that houses the relics of eight martyrs brought especially from Rome. The play of cross-references with the main sites of Christian devotion and Vigarani’s skilful scenographic mastery make this building one of the masterpieces of Emilian Baroque architecture.