Chiesa e campanile di Santa Maria ad Nives

Santa Maria ad Nives, also called Santa Maria Foris Portam, is one of Faenza's oldest churches and preserves an early medieval bell tower and a chapel associated with Saint Peter Damian.

Why it matters

The church stood outside Faenza's walls until the Manfredi enclosure of the mid-fifteenth century, giving rise to its name Foris Portam. It preserves early medieval architectural features and was an important centre of Benedictine worship before later changes to the city and church.

What to notice

The octagonal bell tower has an outer shell around a cylindrical core, with a spiral stair between them; its damaged summit was rebuilt after shelling in 1944. African breccia columns with sixth-century capitals mark the entrance. Blind arcades and broad upper windows reflect Ravennate basilica forms. The chapel associated with Saint Peter Damian and paintings by Gaspare Sacchi and Niccolò Paganelli preserve later devotional layers.

Context and history

The church's origins reach back to the sixth or seventh century. Benedictine monks served the site, where Peter Damian died on 22 February 1072 while travelling to the hermitage of Gamogna. The Manfredi walls incorporated the church into the city during the fifteenth century. Bartolomeo Sauli led a renovation begun in 1655, reversing the orientation and transforming the interior from a single nave into three. The name Santa Maria Vecchia distinguishes it from Santa Maria dell'Angelo, known as Santa Maria Nuova.