Cappella del Battistero (Baptistery Chapel)
San Giovanni in Canale
Via Croce
Piacenza, May 2024
“On the upper front wall, an oval painting depicting the Circumcision stands out, by the renowned painter Gervasio Gatti, also known as ‘Il Soiaro,’ who was active primarily in Cremona in the 16th century. This exquisite work, dated 1585, rich in detail and chromatic appeal, was transferred to the Baptistery chapel after a long journey that saw it stolen and subsequently rediscovered in 1920. The painting exudes a powerful emotional charge, with intensely rendered faces that convey the emotions of the depicted figures to the viewer, with particular emphasis on the tender bond between Jesus and his Mother Mary. The lunette below features a fresco of The Baptism of Jesus, by the Piacenza painter Luciano Ricchetti, commissioned in 1959 following the chapel's transformation into a baptistery. Two marble columns at the corners support the statues of Faith and Charity, attributed to the sculptor Giuliano Mozzani and created between 1730 and 1734, adding further decorative elements of great refinement to the chapel. On the left wall of the chapel is a large marble epigraph from 1742 dedicated to Count Ranuccio Douglas Scotti of Agazzano, the work of Piacenza sculptor Gian Antonio Seri, which testifies to the noble Scotti family's connection to the church of San Giovanni in Canale. At the center of the chapel is the 1960 baptismal font, crafted from pink Verona marble by Piacenza sculptor Pietro Daveri, while an elegant 18th-century gate gracefully encloses this sacred space.” (>La Cappella del Battistero nella chiesa di San Giovanni in Canale, Il Nuovo Giornale)
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