Inside the Duomo di Santa Tecla, a side staircase leads to the Oratorio di San Valentino, one of the most intimate and evocative spaces of Atestina spirituality. A second access from the square, near the bell tower, allows you to discover this environment hidden between art and devotion.
The oratory was commissioned in 1627 by the Venerable Confraternity of Death and Prayer and was built as a small nave above the sacristy of the Duomo. In 1687 it was enlarged with the construction of the elegant choir hall. In 1674, in the presence of Saint Gregorio Barbarigo, a body attributed to a martyr named Valentino, from the Roman catacombs, was received, from which the dedication of the oratory derives.
The interior is characterized by great brightness and a rich pictorial cycle of 23 canvases: the oldest, attributed to Girolamo Zurlo, depict the Passion of Christ, while the subsequent ones testify to popular devotion between the 17th and 18th centuries. The wooden stalls from 1689, finely carved by Antonio Cattani and Giovanni Di Rossi, are also of particular value.
Today, the Oratorio di San Valentino is open to visitation during religious and cultural events, and it retains its intimate atmosphere, where art, history, and faith intertwine in the heart of the Duomo.
Open on the occasion of the annual celebration of San Valentino and at the initiative of the Parish of the Duomo.
