A document from 1140 acknowledges a church-monastery dedicated to Saints Pietro and Prospero existing outside the city walls (extra muros), on the road to Modena. However, the fighting in the region had displaced the Benedictines from that monastery, and for their protection, in 1513 the bishop Albericone, under
Pope Leo X, consecrated a new church and convent at this site. The present church was built in the 17th century under designs of various architects initially led by Giulio della Torre from
Bologna, while the
cupola (1625–1629) was designed by Paolo Messori from Reggio. The church layout follows the rules given by the
Council of Trent and is a remarkable example of an architecture still true to its original design. Only the
façade was built in the 18th century. The interior has paintings by
Alessandro Tiarini,
Paolo Emilio Besenzi,
Pietro Desani and Malossi. ==Cloisters==