Cesena and the Oratorians. Pier Mattia Angeloni, Carlo Fontana, and the Presumed Legacy of Francesco Borromini

The Congregation of the Oratory settled in Cesena – Romagna – in 1646, thanks to the help of the influent nobleman Scipione Chiaramonti (1565-1652). The city hall entrusted to the congregation the care of the church of St. Severo, but the nave needed to be restored. In 1682, the Oratorians delegated the re-construction of this part of the church and the near monastery to the master mason Pier Mattia Angeloni (1627-1701): an oblate brother, who proposed a new design inspired by Borromini’s inventions in Rome. The construction was concluded during the first half of the 18th century but due to financial issues the building was sold in 1810 and demolished the following year. Fortunately, old descriptions, new archival documents and drawings of the church allow us to understand today its characteristics. Actually, the church cannot be strictly related to Roman Baroque architecture. In fact, it seems to propose an upgrade of the traditional counter-reformist model through some Baroque devices. Therefore, seems it was really baroque only the side chapel that the rich clergyman Sante Pilastri (1619-1688) transformed in his own family pantheon. He committed the project to the papal architect Carlo Fontana (1638-1714), inviting him to follow the example of his famous chapel Cybo in St. Maria del Popolo in Rome. Instead, the painter Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634-1721) would have painted the central canvas of the altarpiece with the image of St. Mattia. This altar was saved from the destruction of the church and it was transported in the community of Civitella di Romagna, where we can still see it in the local sanctuary of Our Virgin of Suasia. In light of these findings, the case of Cesena could be considered one of the most interesting examples of how Oratorians contributed to the spreading of Baroque language in the Papal States.

Uno dei più interessanti casi di architettura oratoriana fra Seicento e Settecento si può certamente riconoscere nella chiesa cesenate di San Filippo – meglio nota come San Severo – opera dell’oblato Pier Mattia Angeloni (1627-1701) . I filippini furono introdotti a Cesena da Scipione Chiaramonti (1565-1652) nel 1646 e presero possesso di un oratorio dedicato a San Severo (uno dei protettori della città) ampliandolo e riqualificandolo. In breve tempo, però, la crescita dei confratelli determinò una generale insofferenza verso la costruzio-ne, le cui dimensioni con difficoltà riuscivano a soddisfare i bisogni comunitari del cenobio. A ritmo sincopato e sempre sotto la sorveglianza di Angeloni – il quale divenne nel 1692 «Prefetto della Fabrica» – i lavori procedettero fino al loro completo espletamento attorno alla fine del secolo. Malauguratamente, l’improvvida politica edilizia speculativa cittadina portò alla demolizione di questo edificio nel corso del XIX secolo. Tuttavia, non tutto è andato perso: l'altare della cappella di San Mattia, voluta dal nobile cesenate monsignor Sante Pilastri (1619-1688) e disegnata da Carlo Fontana (1638-1714), fu salvato.