Casa natale di San Paolo della Croce

Seventeenth-century house in Ovada where the founder of the Passionists was born, with a chapel in the birth room and two rooms of relics.

Opening hours unknownFree admission

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About the museum

The building, which belonged to the Buffa family, dates from the 17th century and is remembered as the house in which Saint Paul of the Cross, founder of the Congregation of the Passionists and patron saint of Ovada, was born. In 1918 it was declared a national monument, and in 1926 it was entrusted to the Passionist Fathers, who still look after its opening today.

The façade preserves a fresco of the Madonna del Carmine with the souls of Purgatory, the coat of arms of the Daneo family and a papier-mâché statue of the saint. On the top floor is a chapel set up in the room where the birth is believed to have taken place, accompanied by two exhibition rooms.

The rooms hold relics and objects connected with the saint’s life, including a wax mask, two cloth hearts, the baptismal font and his chair, as well as sacred texts from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Highlights

Chapel in the saint’s birth room
Wax mask of Saint Paul of the Cross
Baptismal font and chair of the saint
Fresco of the Madonna del Carmine on the façade
Sacred texts from the 17th and 18th centuries

Operated by: Padri Passionisti