Chiesa di San Domenico

Founded by Marquis Guglielmo VIII in 1472, the Church of San Domenico became one of Casale Monferrato's principal religious buildings. Its late-Gothic brick façade incorporates a Renaissance portal, and its interior preserves paintings by Pier Francesco Guala and other regional artists.

Why it matters

San Domenico reflects the growth of Casale Monferrato as the seat of the marquisate and the long presence of the Dominican community. Its architecture combines Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements, while the paintings document the artistic life of the region.

What to notice

The buttressed brick façade is interrupted by a Renaissance portal, dated to the early sixteenth century, beneath a rose window decorated with zodiac signs. Inside, the three-aisled plan includes a fifteenth-century Flemish-school Madonna and Child, works attributed to Nicolò Musso, Giovan Battista Caire and Guglielmo Caccia, and narrative canvases by Pier Francesco Guala. The Renaissance cloister and stuccoed Cappella del Rosario preserve elements of the former convent.

Context and history

Guglielmo VIII founded the church in 1472, and it was completed in 1506 and entrusted to the Dominican friars. A Renaissance portal was inserted into the late-Gothic façade during the early sixteenth century. In 1675 the Dominicans suppressed one aisle to regularize the interior. The convent remained associated with the church until 1822, when, after the Napoleonic suppressions, part of it was divided into private property. Later restoration and decoration produced the building's present mixture of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque forms.