Church of Saint Vincent (Chiesa di San Vincenzo)

The church of San Vincenzo, one of the greatest examples of Counter-Reformation sacred architecture in Modena, was built at the beginning of the 17th century with the patronage of the House of Este and houses the tombs of almost all the dukes of Modena.

The history of the church is linked to the order of the Theatines, who came to Modena on the initiative of Cardinal Alessandro d’Este. The first stone was laid in 1617 by the cardinal himself and the patronage of the ducal family was also manifested by the wish of Isabella of Savoy, wife of Alfonso III, to be buried in the presbytery of the church (1626). In 1838, the mortuary chapel of the Dukes of Este was built here, gathering the remains of several members of the family from various churches in Modena.

The façade of the church, of measured classicism, was only built from 1760 onwards. The interior of the church features a single nave plan with side chapels and transept, modelled on that of the Church of the Gesù in Rome. Among the works housed here, special mention must be made of the Madonna enthroned with St John the Evangelist and St Gregory the Wonderworker, by Guercino (1630) and the precious tabernacle (begun in 1649) in coloured marble made by Tommaso Loraghi to a design by Bartolomeo Advini.