Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate in Villa Pasquali

In the hamlet of Villa Pasquali stands Sant’Antonio Abate, a Baroque church designed, built and decorated from 1765 by Antonio Luigi Galli Bibiena. Its unusual masonry vaults are perforated, allowing hidden daylight into the church.

Why it matters

Don Giovanni Battista Pedrazzi took possession of the Prepositura of Villa Pasquali in 1751. Supported by the confraternities of the Beata Vergine della Consolazione and the Blessed Sacrament, and with the consent of the Bishop of Cremona, he commissioned Antonio Luigi Galli da Bibiena in 1765 to design, build and decorate a basilical church.

The parish account identifies only two churches entirely designed and realised by Galli Bibiena: the Jesuitenkirche at Mannheim and Sant’Antonio Abate. At Mannheim the perforated vaults are painted; at Villa Pasquali the openings pass through the masonry.

What to notice

The broad, shallow nave acts as a vestibule to the taller space beneath the dome, flanked by transepts and a presbytery ending in a semicircular apse. The dome has an outer and an inner shell, with openings and concealed skylights that admit natural light.

Galli Bibiena worked on the pictorial decoration, later joined by Pietro Groppi and Giuseppe Cremaschi. The altarpiece is by Agostino Amadini of Cremona, and the Via Crucis by Francesco Chiozzi. An organ built by Raimondo Cavalletti was installed in 1841.

Context and history

The dome collapsed at 7 p.m. on 19 November 1766, thirteen months after construction began. Work continued, and the church was completed in 1784. A collapse during construction of the two planned bell towers led to one being omitted when funds proved insufficient.

The church has a Latin-cross plan, perforated arabesque-ornamented domes and rich decoration. Galli Bibiena’s theatrical design background is reflected in its use of perspective, light and spatial surprise.