Chiesa di San Torpete (The Church of Saint Torpes), Genoa

The Church of Saint Torpes is a small Baroque church, founded in the 11th–12th century by Pisan merchants and later adopted as the private chapel of the influential Della Volta family. It was rebuilt in its current form between 1730 and 1733 under the architect Giovanni Antonio Ricca the Younger. The church’s name honors Saint Torpes of Pisa, venerated by Genoa’s Pisan trading community.

From the outside, the church presents an elegant Neoclassical façade-complete with pilasters and a pediment-topped by a slate-covered dome typical of 18th-century Baroque design. Though modest in size, its central-plan layout under the dome creates a harmonious and well-lit interior. Behind the façade is an elliptical single nave crowned by the dome.

The interior is richly decorated with stucco and gilded accents. Ceiling paintings and stucco work by Giovanni Bernardo Carlone feature scenes from the life of Saint Torpes. The main altar displays a Madonna with Saint Thomas Becket, Saint Lucy, and Saint John the Baptist, attributed to the studios of Luca Cambiaso or Andrea Semini, alongside a statue of the Virgin of Providence by Giovanni Battista Drago.