The Chiesa del Sacro Cuore di Gesù in Bologna is located near the railway station, just north of the historical centre. It is the main church of the Bolognina neighborhood. Some of the ornaments gracing the interior are much older than the church itself.

A brief history of the Church of the Sacro Cuore di Gesù in Bologna

The church was built in the very beginning of the 20th century. Construction, after a design by the architect Edoardo Collamarini, started in 1901 and finished in 1912.

In 1929, the cupola collapsed. The initial plan was to build a completely new church. In the end, however, it was decided to reconstruct the cupola in a manner faithful to the original. Having reopened in 1935, eight years later the cupola was damaged again, this time as a result of bombings by Allied forces.

What to see in the Sacro Cuore di Gesù

Exterior

The most striking aspect of the church is the 60 meter tall cupola. The facade is graced by a mosaic depicting “Jesus pointing to His Sacred Heart” and an inscription DIVINO CORDI IESU REDEMPTORIS.

Interior

The interior consists of a single large nave, with four chapels near the entrance. The chapels on the left are dedicated to the “Holy Family” and to “San Giovanni Bosco”. The ones on the right are dedicated to the “Dormition of San Giuseppe” and to the “Virgin and Child with Saints”, respectively. (Don Giovanni Bosco was the founder of the Salesian Order running the church.)

Presbytery

The wooden “Virgin and Child” bas-relief and the Crucifix gracing the presbytery were made around the 16th or 17th century. The apse frescoes were painted by Domenico Ferri and Antonio Mosca. The triptych on the right was the work of Leopoldo Perucchi (1915). Edoardo Collamarini was responsible for the ciborium and Arturo Orsini scuplted the tryptych decorating the main altar.

Stained-glass windows

The church is illuminated by 134 stained-glass windows. The majority of these were the work of Antonio Maria Nardi. Nardi (1897-1973) started his career as an illustrator, but later dedicated himself to (mostly religious) paintings, mosaics and stained-glass windows.

Music

The large organ above the entrance was built by the Ruffatti brothers of Padua. The church lacks a bell tower. A set of six bells is housed in the arches of one of the buttresses at the base of the large dome, however. The bells were cast in 1938, by the local bell founder Cesare Brighenti.

What to know before your visit

Address: Via Giacomo Matteotti, 25 – Bologna. Phone: (+39) 051 4151760. Opening hours: From 06:30 till 12:00 and from 16:00 till 19:00 (Saturdaus and Sundays till 19:30). Admission: Free.

Via Giacomo Matteotti, 25 – Bologna

Sources