Built next to the old hospital of Sant’Evasio (Saint Evasius)

Seat of the “battuti rossi” confraternity, the only one still active in Asti

Two Phases, Two Styles

In the church you can identify two different styles: A medieval one, dating back to 1500-1600, and a Baroque one, based on a project by Giovanni Antonio Guggia, who renewed the facade in the mid-1700s. Then, aproximately one century later, Architect Colla applied further modifications and in general it was retouched and enriched several times over time. From the drawings by Incisa, we can see how the tympanum, once curved, has been changed into a triangular one. The niches on the sides of the door instead housed two putti holding torches.

Architectural and Artistic Elements

The building has a single nave with a barrel ceiling and two side chapels. The vault and the walls were frescoed by the Milocco brothers in the mid-1700s, and among the various images we can find the Christening of Christ, the transfiguration, Moses making waters spring from the rock, Abraham and the three Angels, the sacrifice of Isaac and the bronze snake.

The Confraternity of Battuti Rossi

The church is the seat of the confraternity of battuti rossi, the only brotherhood still active in Asti.
It was born before 1570, and once it was responsible for the management of the adjacent hospital of Sant’Evasio and Chiesetta di Santa Maria Vergine della Neve (Church of Saint Mary Vergin of the Snow), a small church located outside the city walls. The brotherhood participated in the Palio of Asti for the first time in 1648, winning eight.