Santa Maria Assunta Parish Church

In the heart of Fabbrico stands the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, a repository of over twelve centuries of history and devotion.
Its origins date back as far as 772, when King Desiderius mentioned it amongst the properties bequeathed to his sister Anselperga.
At that time, the church, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and referred to as Santa Maria di Favrega, stood within the ancient castle, with its façade facing west in accordance with medieval custom.

All that remains of the ancient Gothic building of 1465 is a memory: the present-day church, in the Baroque style, was built between 1682 and 1687 to a design by the architect Girolamo Beltrami, a pupil of Vigarini.
The foundation stone was laid in June 1682, and the consecration was celebrated on 25 August 1687, the feast day of Saint Genesius.

The interior, comprising a single nave with three chapels on each side, is richly decorated: composite pilasters and columns support an elegant entablature that leads into the barrel vaults and the luminous apse.
The walnut choir screen, carved in 1725 by Malaguzzi of Correggio, and the tabernacle by Serafino Tencalla bear witness to the craftsmanship of the period.
The holy water fonts and marble furnishings are the work of Giovanni Maria Folcatelli, whilst the altar frontals in polychrome scagliola, of extraordinary finesse, are the work of Giovanni Massa, Giovanni Pozzuoli and the Carpi school.
Among the paintings, the large canvas depicting the Assumption (1688) by Antonio Missoli of Ferrara, inspired by a masterpiece by Carracci, stands out, as does the cycle of 17th- and 18th-century paintings by masters from Modena and Correggio:

• Saint Bartholomew the Apostle (Modena school, 17th century)
• Mary Magdalene Praying at the Foot of the Cross, by Sigismondo Caula
• The Infant Jesus with Saint Joseph and Saint Francis of Paola, by Girolamo Donnini (1735)
• Saints Jerome and Anthony the Abbot, by Francesco Stringa.

The 18th-century wooden statue of the Madonna, restored in the 20th century and placed in the niche of the ancient ‘Altar of the Madonna del Castello’, is particularly moving, serving as a reminder of Fabbrico’s oldest Marian devotion.