The Paris Church

The exact construction date of the church is uncertain. Some historians date it to the 8th century, but, according to recent studies, it is more likely to have been built towards the end of the 12th century, most probably on the foundations of an earlier abbey church.

This latter theory is confirmed by an inscription engraved on the capital of the third column, which reads, ‘1206, in conversione Sancti Pauli’. It is quite likely that this is in reference to the date of the consecration of the church on 25th January 1206, the feast day of the Conversion of St Paul. Like all churches built in the Romanesque style, the parish church of Fanano was built with the high altar facing east, in the opposite direction to today. The altar now stands where the entrance once was, and the present-day entrance steps are situated where there were once three apses, corresponding to the three naves of the interior, divided by two series of cylindrical columns, with the crypt below. In the 16th and 17th centuries side chapels were added, protruding through the outer walls. The architecture of these chapels is strongly influenced by the elegant Tuscan Renaissance style, and the lily flower, symbol of Florence, is noticeable throughout. 

A huge fire caused severe damage to the Romanesque parish church at the beginning of the 17th century, leading to renovation work between 1612 and 1616, which completely changed the original structure of the church. As already mentioned, the orientation was reversed, the high altar removed, and the crypt covered over. The church was enlarged, the dome and transept added, and a carved wooden ceiling was built under the trussed roof. At the end of the 19th century, due to years of wear and tear and a lack of maintenance, radical restoration was necessary, overseen by parish priest Don Eugenio Battistini. During restoration work, part of the ancient crypt which had remained buried for over three centuries was rediscovered. The restoration programme brought about major changes to the structure of the church, including the rebuilding of the ceiling, the demolition of two side chapels and the construction of a new façade; once complete, the church was newly consecrated in 1905.

pieve di san silvestro di fanano

Of all the capitals and columns within the church, the third capital on the right is particularly beautiful, decorated with animals such as a lion, bull, ram and wolf, and the inscription ‘1206 in conversione Sancti Pauli’ (where the baptismal font originally stood). The fourth capital on the right is also of particular note, with its Madonna and Child attributed either to Barnaba of Modena or Thomas of Modena. The bases of the columns, all featuring zoomorphic decorations, were modified in part by the 17th and 20th century restorations. Looking up at the ceiling, painted in the early 20th century by the Carpi painter Fermo Forti, with the help of Silvestro Bergamini from Modena, we can see frescoes above the nave dedicated to (in order) Christ the Redeemer, the Last Supper, the Sacred Heart of Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Family and Trinity. The transept on the left houses a Crucifixion, and that on the right a Resurrection. The four Doctors of the Latin Church, namely St Gregory, St Ambrose, St Augustine and St Jerome, can be seen in the dome, and, between the arches, the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Cherubs are depicted on the cross-vault of the presbytery, representing the four cardinal virtues, namely prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, and St. Sylvester, patron saint of the parish and after whom the church is named, is portrayed in an altarpiece in the apse. In the side naves are paintings of the two co-patron saints of the parish, St. Possidonia to the left, and St. Anselm to the right. Other panels depict the protectors of the parishes of nearby hamlets and villages: to the right upon entering can be seen St. Laurence Martyr (Trentino), Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Serrazzone), St James the Greater (Ospitale) and St Nicholas (Sestola), and, to the left, St Michael Archangel (Canevare), St Margaret of Antioch (Lotta), St Peter the Apostle with St Paul (Fellicarolo and Trignano) and St John the Baptist (Rocchetta).

The Chapels

First chapel: baptismal font. Sandstone arch, early 16th century, the work of Giovan Battista da Firenze, who came from a family of Tuscan artists that had already settled in Fanano at the end of the 15th century, giving rise to a flourishing school of stonemasons and sculptors which has continued to the present day. The baptismal font by the same artist is a hexagonal basin with symbolic carvings (the baptism of Jesus, deer at the font, deer at the tree of life, deer with cherub). The small wooden temple dates to the 17th-century and was made in Modena. The presence of this baptismal font is a reminder that the Parish Church of Saint Sylvester was one of the very few churches over a wide area where sacraments could be administered.

Second chapel: the Cameroni chapel with its carved sandstone arch, dedicated to St Joseph, the Bridegroom of Mary. On the left is a painting, a Madonna and Child with two saints. In the centre is an important painting by Francesco Curradi (Florence 1570- 1661) depicting Mary and Joseph leading a young Jesus by the hand after the dispute with the doctors in the temple. To the side are two paintings; one of which portrays St Peter Nolasco, founder of the Order of the Mercedarians for the Ransom of Captives, depicted with a Moor; and the other St Francis of Paola, founder of the Order of Minims.

Side-entrance arch in carved sandstone (1500-1510): it is similar in style to the large, elegant external portal which bears the date 1502. In the lunette above it are the remains of a fresco by the Magnanini workshop (Ascanio and Pellegrino, father and son), Fanano artists who worked in churches throughout the area of Frignano for almost a century, from the first half of the 16th century to the first half of the 17th century. According to the historian Niccolò Pedrocchi, this fresco depicted the Madonna and Child venerated by Saints Sylvester and Peter the Apostle; today, however, only the part depicting St Sylvester is still visible, along with the Madonna’s halo, which can just be made out. On the portal is a bust in memory of Don Eugenio Battistini, who did so much for the historical and artistic heritage of Fanano.

The third chapel, belonging to the Marciadrini-Jacoli family, dedicated to Saint Andrew: inside the chapel there is a beautiful painting dating back to the first half of the 18th century which depicts Saint Anselm, alongside the Latin inscription which translates as ‘he (Saint Anselm) was credited with doing good in Fanano and Nonantola’. On one side of the chapel there is a contemporary art sculpture by local sculptor Fabio Ricchetti of a crucifix in cold-decorated terracotta standing on an antique wooden support.

The fourth chapel, belonging to the Muzzarelli family, with its arch dating back to the first half of the 16th century, houses several ancient reliquaries including one of particular note in the form of a carved and gilded cross, which dates to the 17th-century.

The fifth chapel, built by Archpriest Giovanni Parigi in 1650, houses a canvas depicting St Philip Neri from the workshop of Modenese artist Antonio Consetti (1686-1766).

TRANSEPT

In the left transept, the Ottonelli-Rospigliosi chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, and houses a wooden statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, as well as a canvas dating back to the mid-18th century which depicts St. Anne, the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child and the Infant St. John.

In the right transept, the Rinaldi chapel is dedicated to St. Possidonia, and indeed houses the remains of the martyred saint in an 18th-century reliquary; above it is a canvas dating to the same period depicting the Madonna and Child with St. Sylvester and St. Helena. On one side of the chapel is a painting by the Nonantola painter Venceslao Bigoni (1846-1929), a pupil of Adeodato Malatesta, depicting Saint Possidonia with the symbols of martyrdom as she points towards Fanano. From the work ‘La Storia di Fanano’ (The History of Fanano) by local historian Niccolò Pedrocchi, we learn that the Saint’s body was brought to Fanano in July 1649 from Rome thanks to Abbot Antonio Pellegrini, brother of Pellegrino Pellegrini or Pellegrino da Fanano, and secretary to Cardinal Jacopo Panziroli. Inside, there is a plaque commemorating the translation of the saint’s remains to the Church of St Sylvester on 12th September of the same year. 

PRESBYTERY

The presbytery houses a modern pipe organ manufactured by the organ builders Ruffatti of Padova in the 1950s. Although of excellent workmanship, it was built to replace an even finer example, a Traeri organ which Pedrocchi said was ‘the best he had heard out of all of those in the surrounding area and villages”. To the right of the altar, opposite the organ, is a canvas from the second half of the 17th century depicting the Protector Saints of Fanano, St. Sylvester and St. Possidonia.

Eighth chapel: the Bellettini Chapel: the centrepiece here is a 16th-century painting by Pellegrino Pellegrini, which depicts the Madonna and Child with Saints Charles Borromeo and Anthony the Abbot. Between the altarpiece and the altar there is a grille which opens onto the Inner Church of the Capuchin Sisters; it was through this grille that the sisters would follow mass, at a time when the convent was cloistered. A plaque on the left recalls the benevolence of Duke Francis IV of Habsburg-Este shown towards the convent. 

Ninth chapel: the Livaldi Chapel, erected in 1649 and dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. At its centre there stands a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, set in a recently rediscovered 17th-century stone altarpiece. On either side there are two canvases salvaged from the side chapels destroyed at the beginning of the last century: a dazzling Annunciation by Ascanio and Pellegrino Magnanini, and an important Holy Family and Saints by the Tuscan artist Domenico Cresti, also known as Il Passignano (1559-1638). A canvas with the same theme had previously been commissioned to the Modenese master Bartolomeo Schedoni, but this was seized by the Duke of Parma and is now housed in the Capodimonte Gallery in Naples.

Tenth chapel: the Foli chapel. This chapel was built by another important Fanano family, the Foli family, who came into conflict with the Ottonelli family; for this reason, two of their members, brothers Giambattista and Ercole Foli, were forced into exile, taking refuge in Venice. Today, one of the main streets in Fanano, which is just a short distance from the church, is named after Ercole’s son, Cecilio Foli. Inside the chapel there is a bust of Giambattista Foli, who went on to become Chief Physician of the Republic of Venice and under whom Cecilio Foli also trained in medicine. In the mid-17th century Cecilio Foli carried out significant research into blood and blood flow to the heart, which was of great importance at the time; amongst his many other works, he founded the anatomical theatre in Venice. It was from Venice that Giambattista Foli sent the painting which was to be placed above the altar in his family’s chapel: a remarkable Martyrdom of St Cecilia attributed to the Venetian Matteo Ponzone (1586-1663). The chapel also houses the St Columba Altarpiece, which is attributed to Pellegrino da Fanano, and was originally located in a smaller church of the same name, later to be transported to the Church of St. Sylvester for safer keeping. 

Eleventh chapel: Chapel of the Holy Rosary: worthy of mention is a late 16th-century painting by Ascanio and Pellegrino Magnanini, which depicts the Madonna of the Rosary with Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Dominic; the painting is surrounded by fifteen panels representing the Mysteries of the Rosary.

Twelfth chapel: the Fogliani or Virgin of Carmel chapel: on the altar is one of Pellegrino Pellegrini’s masterpieces: the altarpiece depicting Pope Saint Sylvester, patron saint of Fanano, while he baptises the Emperor Constantine. Within the altarpiece there is also a small movable painting of the Virgin of Carmel. 

Thirteenth chapel: arch from the first half of the 16th century. Standing on the altar is a canvas from the first half of the 18th century portraying Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Philip Neri, St. John the Evangelist, St. Louis Gonzaga and St. Teresa of Avila; the painting can be attributed either to Pietro Pisa or Francesco Vellani.