Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano

Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano
Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano
Year consecrated	1516
Location
Location	Bologna, Emilia-Romagna
Architecture
Architect(s)	Andrea Marchesi, Giovanni Battista Natali, and Agostino Barelli
Type	Church
Style	Renaissance

Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano is a

Roman Catholic church in central Bologna; it is located near the Two Towers

History

A church at the site dedicated to St Bartholemew had existed since the 5th century; it was likely built atop an even older church and housed

Benedictine monks till the 16th century. The church was designed by Giovanni Battista Falcetti with elaboration by Agostino Barelli, and owes the awkward facade due to its construction in 1517 at the site of a palace begun by Andrea da Formigine

In 1599, the church came under the leadership of the Theatines, and in 1627, they ordained a complete restructuring of the complex by Giovanni Battista Natali, called il Falzetta, and by Agostino Barelli. In 1671 when Cajetan (Gaetano), the founder of the Theatine order, was canonized, the church gained the added dedication. The bell-tower and final chapels were completed by 1694.

The ceiling of the central nave has a Vision of San Gaetano (1667) by

Paolo Buralli (1772) by Ubaldo Gandolfi

The lunettes of the portico were decorated with scenes from the life of St Cajetan, including one by Lucio Massari. The Baroque interior also has paintings by Alessandro Tiarini, Ercole de Maria, and Carlo Baldi.

^ Emilia Romagna, by the Touring Club Italiano, Touring editore srl, 1991, page 185.