Sant’Antonio da Padova Church

The church of S. Antonio da Padova in Predappio dominates with its grandeur the main square of the same name, which is one of the most interesting places in the town due to its unusual width and the viewpoints it offers. The Church of St Anthony of Padua was constructed according to a design by architect Cesare Bazzani and inaugurated on 27 October 1934.

The foundation stone of this building, which was originally intended to be dedicated to S. Rosa da Lima, was laid on 30 August 1925 under the patronage of a committee headed by Rachele and Arnaldo Mussolini. However, the political difficulties between State and Church at the time effectively blocked the regime’s building enthusiasm, and it was only in October 1931 that work began on the church, no longer dedicated to St. Rose but to St. Anthony, the Franciscan evangeliser of the Romagna lands.

The main façade of the church, covered with slabs of marble from Cagli and Trani, is divided into three parts corresponding to the interior naves, with the central part higher and surmounted by a triangular tympanum.

On the order that crosses the entire façade rests the great arch enclosing the bronze lunette by the Roman sculptor P. Morbiducci, depicting St. Anthony of Padua in a full circle against a background of phytomorphic decorative motifs. In the splay of the great arch of the façade there are nine bronze reliefs with angel faces, while on the sides of the entrance there are ten panels made with the technique of stiacciato, to give the sensation of great depth, with miracles of the Saint.

The vast interior is in the shape of a Latin cross with a large central nave and two smaller side aisles, divided by wide pillars echoing the Bramante style; at the junction of the transept with the main nave, an octagonal tiburium rises, bearing a dome in the Bramante style covered in copper.

Some interesting works can be seen inside:

• the valuable series of the Stations of the Cross in terracotta relief (height of each 65 cm) that Publio Morbiducci created in 1934
• the baptismal font crowned in the central part with a statuette of St John the Baptist, no longer present, which was created by the Florentine foundry of Ordinando Marinelli.