Santa Croce is a Romanesque-style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

church, located on the piazza of the same name, along via Emilia in the quartiere of Oltretorrente of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

, Region of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, Italy.

History

First consecrated in 1222, the structure has undergone many modifications that obscure much of the original Romanesque structure. The main changes from 1635-1666 were commissioned by confraternity of St Joseph, and elevated the nave, and constructed a presbytery, dome, and chapel dedicated to the named saint. The nave ceiling is frescoed with episodes of the ''Infancy of Jesus'' and the ''Life of St. Joseph'', painted by Giovanni Maria Conti, called della Camera, and his assistants Francesco Reti and Antonio Lombardi. The altar has wooden polychrome statues of the Holy Family carved by Angelo Fontana and of the saints Apollonia and Lucia, by

Giovanni Battista Merano Giovanni Battista Merano (1632-1698) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Genoa. Biography He was born in Genoa. He was one of the pupils of the Genoese Valerio Castello. He spent some years in Parma, returning after t ...

. In the 1900s, architect Edoardo Collamarini worked to revert the facade of the church to its original Romanesque style.Turismo Parma
, entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croce Parma Roman Catholic churches in Parma Churches completed in 1222 Romanesque architecture in Parma 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy