www.visitapavia.it | Pavia and Pavese

Built around the end of the 12th century located on the site of the pre-existing medieval church of Sant’Agnese, together with San Michele, this is one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Pavia. After undergoing heavy transformation during the 16th century, it was restored in the 20th century, which gave the church its typically Romanesque gabled façade with the blind arcading. There are several frescoes inside where it is possible to admire 16th-century Pavia in works that are thought to be by Bernardino Lanzani, which depict a bird eye’s view of the city besieged by the French in 1522. Main characteristics include the main altar frontal, the triptych in the smaller apse on the right, and the striking vestry with the large cabinets dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries and the paintings of the Crocefisso della Vergine (Crucifix) and the Natività di Cristo (Nativity). The Romanesque pavement mosaics to the right of the main entrance are also a point of interest. Opposite the church stands an attractive mansion which in actual fact used to be a brothel up until the early 20th century.