The Sant’Agostino Church is also called Beato Antonio Church and is located in the central square Piazza del Risorgimento in Amandola. It is the most important and famous church in the municipality. Parts of the original construction from the very beginning of the 14th century are still visible.
Church of Sant’Agostino Amandola
Useful information
Address: Via Cappuccini, 1 – Amandola. Telephone: +39 0736 847530 or 333 1398699.
History and description
The Agostinian Monastic Order has been present in this site since 1301. The primitive hermitage developed, thanks to private donations and municipal funds, into a monastery with a cloister and a monumental church.
The first major expansion took place at the turn of the 14th and 15th century. Between 1606 and 1612, the Baroque decorations were added. Malpiedi painted the frescoes themed “Miracles of Beato Antonio”.
Between1758 and 1782, the facade on the side of the square was brought forward by the architect Pietro Maggi. Also at that time, the interior was renovated, in a neo-classical style.
After the redevelopment of the square in the 19th century it was necessary to build the wide staircase to the entrance of the church.
What to see
The interior consists of a single nave. The transept was decorated with paintings by Francesco Ferranti in the early 20th century.
The exterior is characterized by a high wall, above which protrudes the tower completed in 1464 by Pietro Lombardi. The spire is octagonal. The apse, the oldest part of the church, is incorporated into the first floor of the tower.
The portal also remains from the original version of the church and, as written on the arch, dates from 1468. This arch rests on intertwined pillars and is decorated with trumpet-playing cupids. The sculpted cobbler’s tools indicate that it was the guild of this profession that had paid for the construction.