San Gaudenzio is a

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located on Via San Gaudenzio in the town of

Ivrea Ivrea (; ; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it straddles the Dora Baltea and is ...

Province of Turin The province of Turin (; ; ) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Turin. Geography It ...

, region of

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, Italy.

History

Tradition holds that the church is located on a site where St Gaudentius in the year 348 had lain down on a rock overnight, and his body miraculously left an imprint on the rock. The church was constructed between 1716 and 1724 at the site of a former castle. The bell tower was built in 1742. The architect remains unknown, although the

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

design of the facade with a convex front and an oval tympanum appears influenced by

Bernardo Antonio Vittone Parish Church of Grignasco Bernardo Antonio Vittone (19 August 1704 – 19 October 1770) was an Italian architect and writer. He was one of the three most important Baroque architects active in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy; the other tw ...

. Some attribute the design to Luigi Andrea Guibert, active in Ivrea between 1714 and 1719. The interior contains frescoes (1738–1739) by

Luca Rossetti Luca Rossetti may refer to: * Luca Rossetti (painter), Italian painter and architect of the 18th century * Luca Rossetti (racing driver), Italian rally driver See also * Luca Rossettini {{hndis, Rossetti, Luca ...

. The church has a number of paintings depicting the scenes in the ''Life of St Gaudentius'', including a ''Glory of the Saint'' in the apse, behind the main altar. One is a procession leaving the chiesa di San Gaudenzio with the city in the background.Comune of Ivrea
official website, section on churches and monuments.

Gallery

File:Chiesa San Gaudenzio Ivrea 3.jpg, Bell-tower File:Luca Rossetti Trinità Chiesa San Gaudenzio Ivrea.jpg, ''Holy Trinity'' by Luca Rossetti File:Chiesa San Gaudenzio Ivrea 6.JPG, Frescoes

References

External links

Roman Catholic churches in Ivrea Baroque church buildings in Piedmont 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1724 1724 establishments in Italy Bernardo Antonio Vittone buildings {{Piedmont-RC-church-stub