Video Guide for San Rocco del Pratello - Bologna

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This church came about from a painting by Francesco Ghisilieri early 15th century. The present one thought dates 1661. It has been used as a mortuary by the local council and now as a charity stop-off point for the poor. Art work and ancient altars can be seen but the inside needs serious restoration due to bomb damage from WWII.

Travel Video Tags for San Rocco del Pratello:

Francesco Ghisilieri , San Rocco , Fiorini , Santa Maria della Pieta , Tommasini , via Pratello ,

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• San Domenico Church Library
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• Cassarini Gardens
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San Rocco del Pratello - Photos

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San Rocco del Pratello Travel Video - Audio Transcript

San Rocco del Pratello

At the foot of this bell tower of San Rocco church is the old city walls of Bologna. On the other side is the main ring road and also one of the city gates that was closed in 1445 which incidentally was used as an escape route by the assassins of Annibale Bentigvoglio I.

The portico was made by Pietro Fiorini in 1598.

Originally this church was founded as a small chapel called Santa Maria della Pieta e San Rocco translating as St Mary of Mercy and St Rocco and this was due to a painting by Francesco Ghisilieri on the actual city wall. This existing church which was built in two parts was constructed in 1661 by Martino Tommasini.

The ceilings are finely decorated with frescoes mostly in flowery or regular shaped details whereas the walls are quite bare.

The church is not used as a religious place of worship any longer although there are a few occasions when it is. In fact after 1798 this part of the building was used as a mortuary by the local council. The bodies were stored here before they were then transported off to Certosa cemetery not far from the city.

This painting of St Rocco with a dog at his feet above the main altar would be quite valuable were it not a copy of the original which lies in the Pinoteca Musuem in Bologna.

At present the church is being used as a temporary charity for the poor but the reason why the walls and general appearance of it is so untidy is because it suffered bomb damaged during the 2nd world war and has yet to be restored properly.

The altars are decorated with beautiful designs which are unfortunately hard to see since they are hidden behind everything but they are quite ancient nevertheless.

This terracotta statue of the Madonna with a dying Christ and an angel goes back to the 17th or 18th century. Its state of destruction is obvious and is quite unfortunate.

Above this church is one of Bologna’s little known artistic jewels. The story of San Rocco is told in a series of exclusive paintings by masters of the Bolognese school from the mid 1600s.

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