Sant'Agostino, Modena

Founded in the 14th century by the Order of Augustinian Hermits, the church was rapidly refurbished between 1662 and 1663 by the Duchess Regent Laura Martinozzi for the funeral of her husband, Alfonso IV.

The rich series of decorations was designed by the Jesuit Domenico Gamberti who in 1659 had also overseen the funeral of Francesco I Este, the first duke to be commemorated in the Church.

The rich plasterwork and paintings depict an impressive series of monarchs, empresses, kings and queens, saints and holy men, bishops and popes linked to the House of Este.

The most important artists at court were commissioned, including Olivier Dauphin, Sigismondo Caula, Francesco Stringa, Lattanzio Maschio and Giovanni Lazzoni.

Reopened to the public in 2018 after the 2012 earthquake, the church houses numerous masterpieces including the 16th-century terracotta Lamentation by Antonio Begarelli and a fragment of a 14h-century fresco of a Madonna and Child attributed to Tomaso da Modena.