Oratorio di San Spiridione

The Oratorio di San Spiridione is a small eighteenth-century religious interior in Reggio Emilia associated with institutions for the city's poor and orphaned children. Its restrained exterior contrasts with an elaborate painted interior.

Why it matters

The oratory links charitable history with the theatrical visual language of the Baroque. Its decoration gave an institutional chapel a richly imagined setting, rather than creating a monument for a parish congregation or princely court.

What to notice

Francesco Vellani's figures and the illusionistic architecture of the De Benedetti painters transform the hall through painted colonnades and balustrades. The vault depicts the Assumption of the Virgin with Apostles and personifications of virtues. A painted curtain frames the Alms of Saint Spiridion at the principal altar; side-altarpiece subjects include Saint Andrew Avellino and the Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist.

Context and history

An earlier oratory probably served the women's section of the Pio Luogo dei Mendicanti. Rebuilding took place in 1736 at Andrea Carabusi's initiative, and the facade bears an inscription dated 1759. The chapel became associated with the orphanage; the Sisters of Saint Vincent took responsibility for the girls' institution in 1840.