A Baroque wonder, just a stone's throw from Sabbioneta
Just outside Sabbioneta, in the locality of Villa Pasquali, you can admire an authentic Baroque masterpiece. It is the monumental Church of Saint Anthony the Abbot, known for its “celestial perspectives”, double overlapping terracotta vaults that cover the dome and apses: the upper one is painted blue to simulate a sky and the lower one is perforated like masonry lace.
A masterpiece of Antonio Luigi Galli Bibiena
The architect of the architectural prodigy is Antonio Luigi Galli Bibiena (already the designer of the Bibiena Theatre in Mantua), who was commissioned to design, build and decorate the church, which was completed in 1784, just nineteen years after the first stone was laid.
The architectural and decorative refinement of the double perforated vault is significantly accentuated by the strictly natural lighting provided by windows appropriately concealed from view, which, thanks to the light filtering in from outside, create highly evocative scenographic and lighting effects.
