Pinacoteca di San Domenico

Fano's San Domenico Picture Gallery occupies the former Dominican church near the Arch of Augustus. Its collection spans the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries and brings together paintings by Guercino, Simone Cantarini and other central Italian artists within the restored Gothic church.

Why it matters

The gallery pairs a historic religious interior with sacred art made for churches in Fano and the surrounding region. The former church retains late-Gothic masonry, Baroque altars and medieval frescoes. The Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Fano manages the gallery.

What to notice

The restored walls preserve a fresco cycle depicting the Life of Saint John the Baptist, attributed to the school or followers of Ottaviano Nelli. Guercino's Marriage of the Virgin, commissioned by the Mariotti family and painted in 1649, is a major work in the collection. Other paintings include works by Simone Cantarini, Sebastiano Ceccarini, Simone De Magistris, Giovan Francesco Guerrieri, Federico Barocci, Palma il Giovane and Federico Zuccari.

Context and history

Dominicans arrived in Fano in 1216, and a church and convent developed on this site. A larger Gothic church was built toward the end of the fourteenth century. In 1701–1703, Francesco Gasparoli directed the installation of late-Baroque altars. The bell tower was destroyed during the Second World War, and the church later fell into disuse. A restoration funded by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Fano was completed in 2006, revealing the medieval frescoes and adapting the interior for use as a gallery.