San Benedetto (Parma)

San Benedetto is a Renaissance-style Roman Catholic church in Parma, Emilia-Romagna. It stands on Piazzale San Benedetto Da Norcia beside a Salesian high school. The complex includes a former monastery that dates from 947. The church itself was rebuilt between 1491 and 1506 under designs by Pellegrino da Pontremoli, Bernardino Zaccagni and master-mason Angelo. Its sober façade gives little hint of the art inside. The interior holds notable frescoes from 1759 by Antonio Bresciani and Gaetano Ghidetti on side altars. A single nave runs the length of the building. In the late 16th century the Duke Ottavio Farnese transferred the monastery to the Gesuati order. After the order was suppressed in 1668, the church became a parish and the monastery offered shelter to women in difficult circumstances. Visitors find a plain exterior and a quiet interior with restrained decoration. The single nave focuses attention on the altar area. Side chapels display the 18th-century frescoes by Bresciani and Ghidetti. The building’s history is visible in its changing uses and successive architectural styles. The surrounding Piazzale offers a small public space with views of the complex.