Construction on the church of San Mattia was begun in 1575 on a design by Antonio Morandi. However, it is generally attributed to Pietro Fiorini, who reworked the Terribilia’s project between 1580 and 1584 to give it its current architectural layout. It is annexed to the adjacent Dominican Convent and its simple façade faces Via Sant’Isaia. It is perfectly integrated into the urban fabric thanks to the portico positioned in continuity with those of the neighbouring buildings. It was regarded as a sort of open-air picture gallery because of the paintings there by Tintoretto, Guido Reni and Innocenzo da Imola.
The religious complex on Via Sant’Isaia was a convent church for the nuns of Santa Maria del Monte. It enjoyed great prestige in the city, also due to the fact that the image of the Blessed Virgin of San Luca would stop there for two days during its annual procession.
The plan of the church features a vast nave with four chapels on each side and a shallow apse introduced by a large triumphal arch. The nave is lit by wide rectangular openings with low arches distributed along the central elevation and on the façade. The sumptuous and spectacular appearance of the interior is the result of a ‘modernisation’ of the ornamentation and paintings made in the mid-18th century by the ‘quadraturist’ Pietro Scandellari and artists Nicola Bertuzzi and Tertulliano Taroni, after the School of the Bibiena. Trompe d’oeil was employed for the sections containing architectural representations.
In 1799, following the suppression of religious orders ordered by the Napoleonic government, the church of San Mattia was separated from the convent, deconsecrated and reduced to a warehouse. The important 18th-century decorations were partly lost due to damage to the environment cause by neglect and misuse over the years.
Restoration work began in 1981 and was completed in 1994 at the total expense of the then Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. The work brought to light what remained of the stuccoes and frescoes, and a significant architectural testimonial to the late 16th century and its precious painted decorations.