Church of San Zenone

Address and contacts

Corso Repubblica, 73 - 42047 Rolo
Phone 0039 0522 666188
Parish church of Rolo

How to get there

See the indication to reach Rolo

Historical notes

In 1124, Pope Callisto confirmed from Rome the list of properties belonging to the Monastery of San Benedetto del Po, which included the “... in castro Ariole eccl. S. Petri”. In 1132, the Bishop of Ravenna granted various properties to the Monastery of San Benedetto, among which the church of “S Petri De Ariole” appeared again. In 1144, the Parish Church of Rolo was listed among those that came under the diocese of Reggio Emilia.
Although the first mention of the parish church dedicated to St. Zeno thus dates back to 1144, nothing remains of the original construction.
The dedication of the church to St. Zeno appears to be justified by the fact that Rolo was located in a marshy area subject to floods, and that St. Zeno was considered to be the patron saint against this kind of disaster.
The church was reconstructed in 1400 and subsequently further remodelled. The bell tower and sacristy date back to the 18th century. Toward the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, the church underwent major restructuring works which resulted in its present appearance.
According to one description dating back to the end of the 16th century, “the church lies at the end of the square, with the cemetery around it surrounded by a new wall; it has three doors and above the main door a niche with the image of the Patron Saint...”
At the end of the century, the church underwent a number of radical restructuring works, as reported by some letters dated 1701.
The last radical transformation of the church dates back to 1912, when the apsidal section was extended and transformed from semicircular to polygonal.
On the sides of the main altar dedicated to St. Zeno, are the two restored chapels, one dedicated to St. Anthony and the other to Our Lady of the Rosary. Inside the church are also the paintings of St. Zeno and St. Anthony.
The canvas of Our Lady of Peace, donated by the Sessi feudal lords to the church of Manfredino, was retrieved when the oratory of that church was demolished and subsequently transferred to San Zenone. This valuable painting depicts the Madonna with Infant Jesus and is attributable to the late 16th-century Tuscan mannerist school, specifically that of the circle of Michele del Ghirlandaio.
The canvas of the Madonna with Infant Jesus in glory, a fragment of a larger composition of which part of the landscape can be seen low down on the painting, is the work of a painter from the school of Ferrara in the late 16th century.
The altarpiece in the large chapel is a canvas painting of Bishop St. Zeno in an 18th-century stucco frame. This high quality painting can be attributed to an 18th-century painter from Modena.
The canvas of the Pieta is a late 17th-century copy of an original painting by Annibale Caracci.
The canvas of the Madonna with Infant Jesus in glory, St. Joseph, St. Ursula and her companions has stylistic characteristics typical of the 17th-century school of Bologna.
The canvas of St. Eulalia is typical of the local late 16th-century style, with the main figure standing out prominently against the sweeping landscape and the crest of the Sessi family, the feudal lords of Rolo at the foot of the painting.
In the canvas of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, the marked distortion and lengthening of forms of the subject are characteristic of the school of Parma in the late 16th century.
The canvas of the Pieta is a small 18th-century painting intended for private worship.
The painting of the apparition of the Madonna to Sant’Andrea Avellino is similar in size and style to the Pieta.

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