San Giorgio Church

Address and contacts

Via Farini, 10 - 42121 Reggio nell'Emilia
Phone: 0039.320.8575990

Opening times

During the celebrations (Divine Liturgy) of the Greek-Catholic-Orthodox community of Ukraine or on the occasion of events.

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: liturgy at 2.30 p.m.
Wednesday: liturgy at 3.00 p.m. (for the deceased)
Saturday: liturgy at 8.00 a.m.
Sunday: liturgy at 10.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m.

How to get there

Reggio nell'Emilia - town centre

Historical notes

On the marble-made façade is a relief depicting St. George killing the dragon. The interior, with a Latin cross plan, is richly decorated. The beautiful altars Scaiola worked and Centora carved wood, are worthy of note.
The recent restoration has brought back to its outdoor splendor Baroque portal with high relief depicting the saint on horseback slaying the dragon with a spear.

The church of St. George is mentioned in a document dated 1146. In 1456 the building renovations take place, of modest size, by the Ruggeri family. In 1610 the building was assigned as a permanent seat, to the Jesuit Fathers, who had established a community with temporary headquarters in San Giacomo. Jesuits soon became a vital, not only for the religious life of the city; and the small church of St. George was no longer sufficient to contain the faithful who gathered for Mass, for retreats and spiritual exercises. From this moment for nearly a century, St. George will undergo continuous works, incessantly changing. It so mirrored the creativity of the Jesuit Order and the historical changes and social aspects of the city that surrounded the city. Between 1675 and 1678, the splendid bell tower, dome and the entrance portal were built , and are the most striking and characteristic elements of San Giorgio church. The facade of major proportions compared to the not-wide Farini street, is distinguished by rich portal with spirals, angels holding a scroll, and a relief of St. George slaying the dragon in the so-called road-table.

In the inside it has several works of art in a context of sobriety, typical of the Jesuit architectural style during the Counter-Reform time. The church, with a single nave, looks like a single large space, like a classroom where to listen and meditate on the word of God, listen to the sermons of popular Jesuit preachers and participate in the Eucharist. The architecturei is structured to focus faithfuls' attention on the high altar. On either side two rows of chapels, decorated with stucco and polychrome plaster frontals of rare beauty of the XVII-XVIII centuries.

All paintings, except the ones of the apse, were removed and kept in storage at the Museums' Palace. The presbytery hosts the silver-plated wooden altar, which once was in the San Prospero Church. In the apse are paintings with scenes from the life of San Giorgio, and at the entrance door are the choir and the organ case in carved wood.

In May 2009 the end of the restoration of the Pernicelli Chapel finished and brought the altar with a black background back to its original splendour. It is decorated with fine inlaid marble reproducing animals and plant patterns attributed to the school of Corbelli, born in Florence and active in the second half of the XVII century. The Pernicelli Chapel is embellished by an altarpiece depicting S. Ignazio and S. Francesco Saverio adoring the Blessed Virgin of Ghiara, painted by Alessandro Tiarini in 1640.