HISTORY
The church of Sant’Eufemia is located right in the center of Piacenza, along the street of the same name. A plaque located on the interior of the sacristy, dated 1091, tells us that its foundation occurred following the discovery in a nearby church of the relics of Sant’Eufemia. The basilica was then founded around 1000, though it was consecrated in 1108. Piacenza was one of the most important Romanesque centers of northern Italy. In the eleventh century, the building underwent a first set of changes: to the primitive basilical form, a porch was added in front of the central façade. The next major interventions did not take place until the 17th and 18th centuries, when the church was expanded and adapted to Baroque styles. In 1836, the campanile revealed structural issues, which led to its demolition, although it was later reconstructed in its original style. In 1898 the restoration work began by Camillo Guidotti until 1904, who attempted to restore its Romanesque style. Thus all of the later additions were eliminated , including the demolition of almost all the lateral chapels, and the partial redesign of the façade. It was then that the campanile was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style.

ART-HISTORICAL NOTES
The church’s façade today is authentically Romanesque in the lower half. The porch is divided in three bays, the arches topped by pilasters sculpted with leaves and imaginary zoomorphic figures, an optimal example of the stylistic evolution of regional sculpture of the 12th century, characterized by attention to sculptural effect and naturalistic detail. The upper part of the façade, however, is not authentic, and is the product of Guidotti’s questionable 1898 neo-Gothic restorations, including the pinnacles and the decorative interlaced arches under the eaves. Inside, the curch conforms to the basilica plan of a Latin cross, with three aisles, and subdivided into bays by alternating brick piers: four bays in the nave and eight in the aisles. The church is covered by ribbed vaults, with alternating brick and stone on the transverse arches.