Pieve di Santa Maria

Address and contacts

Piazza Matteo Maria Boiardo - 42019 Scandiano
Phone 0039 0522 857511

Opening times

Visitable upon previous arrangement only

How to get there

See the indication to reach Scandiano

Historical notes

The interior has three naves and eight bays. The church was designed by an architect from Ferrara commissioned by Feltrino Boiardo, the first Count of Scandiano, in the first half of the 15th century.
The façade, differently from the other sides of the church and the apse area, has monochromatic plasterwork and is divided vertically, reflecting the interior division into central nave and two aisles (with eight bays).
The bare brick walls of the chapels of the two aisles are recessed with respect to the façade.
The church holds a number of interesting works of art, including a painting of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, patron saint of the town, a work by Bartolomeo Passerotti dated 1588; the Madonna delle Grazie on the altar of San Pietro, painted by Reggio Emilia artist Orazio Talami (1624-1708), and the painting of the Nativity by the French artist Jean Baptiste Le Bell (1740). The church also conserves fine wooden sculptures from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, including the statuary group of the Madonna del Rosario (1654), the altar of the Holy Sacrament, and the Dead Christ. Also worthy of mention is the cenotaph by Reggio Emilia artist Francesco Tondelli (1808), which conserves the heart of Lazzaro Spallanzani. The vault of the church, in front of the high altar on the side of the Vangelo, probably conserves the remains of the poet Matteo Maria Boiardo and other members of his family.