Abbazia di San Giovanni Evangelista

The abbey church of San Giovanni Evangelista preserves a dome painted by Correggio and early works by Parmigianino. The monastic complex includes three cloisters and a frescoed sixteenth-century library.

Why it matters

The Benedictine monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista was founded in 980 and became a major centre of religious and artistic life in Parma. During the Renaissance, the abbey commissioned painters who shaped Emilian art. Correggio painted the church's dome with the Transit of Saint John, the Fathers of the Church and the Evangelists on the pendentives; Parmigianino contributed early works along the left nave.

What to notice

Correggio's dome paintings create an illusionistic extension of the church's architecture. His work also appears on half-pillars, including scenes such as Saint Paul thrown from his horse. The left aisle contains early work by Parmigianino. The wooden choir of 1556, carved by Michele Zucchi with Gianfranco and Pasquale Testa, is a notable example of church furniture. In the cloisters, frescoes by Correggio and a cycle from around 1510 in the third cloister document the abbey's artistic history.

Context and history

The Benedictine community joined the Congregation of Santa Giustina in 1477 after a period of decline. The revival produced the library hall, painted between 1574 and 1575 by Giovanni Antonio Paganino and Ercole Pio. Roughly twenty-one metres long, thirteen wide and six high, it is divided into three naves, with Ionic columns carrying eighteen barrel-vault bays. Abbot Stefano Cattaneo da Novara and monk Vitale da Verona devised a programme treating aspects of human wisdom. The abbey also housed a pharmacy first recorded in 1201, now preserved separately as the Antica Spezieria.