What to see: when visiting the village famed for its wine production you can also take a look at some of the important historical buildings. The Parish Church, dedicated to S.Maria
Maggiore stands right next to the Town hall.
It has a very grand, long flight of stairs leading up to the colonnaded
entrance. Built between 1805 and 1816
in a neoclassical style by the architect Bartholomeo Giuliari, it was completed
with the rather majestic frontage in 1868 . Inside you can admire the Girolamo
Dai Libri masterpiece “The Samaritan woman at the well". The recently restored Romanesque style Cappuccini Church (or St.Mary Fossa Dragone), takes its name from a convent which was very active from 1568 to 1796 but no longer exists. The frescoes inside, dating from 1300/1400, are very fine indeed. The little church of S.Anthony the Abbot, is an
ancient Romanesque building dating from 1200 and 1300 built on the ruins of a
castle of which very few remains can still be seen. In the 1500s the building
was improved and the actual baroque altar dates from 1600. The most important building and architectural jewel of the village is the Bishop’s Palace built between 1453 and 1471 by the then Bishop of Verona Ermolao Barbaro designed by Michele da Caravaggio. On the same site there was a gothic bulding but only the tower remained and the present chapel was created inside this tower. In the second half of the 15th Century extensive alterations were made to the building and then later in the 16th Centry Bishop Giberti had the building further improved in beauty. It is an imposing, solid building enclosing an elegant two level cloister with red marble pillars. The internal frescoes are well worth looking at as well as the beautiful cloister with a well in the centre. The cloister provides a wonderful atmosphere for Vininchiostro (an important wine festival) which is held here each year. The ancient altar piece depicting "Saint Anne with the virgin Mary and the Saints Francis, Charles Borromeo and Claire," painted in 1622 by giovanni Camuzzoni and originally in the Cappuccini church can be found in the chapel on the first floor. Recently the Bishop’s palace has become public property of the village and an Art history commission, headed by professor Pierpaolo Brugnoli assisted by professors Ennio Poli and Massimiliano Bertolazzi, has been set up by the town council to study the building. Their research has been published in teh book "Il Palazzo Vescovile di Monteforte d'Alpone" edited and published in the Studi e Documenti di Storia e Liturgia series by don Franco Segala. “......The Palace is a fine example of those architectural creations of good taste of that period, when everything form the fireplaces to the stairs and to the doors has its own particular features. The Barbaro coat of arms can be found all over the building.....” L. Simeoni In the outlying village of Brognoligo: The Parish church is dedicated to St.Stephen: begun in 1838 and completed in 1841. Inside you will find a beautiful altar with baroque style cibarium and shrine. Of great
interest are the remains of the small Romanesque church that stands
above the village, part of the presbytery and apse and the beautiful fresco in
the principal aisle depicting the Annunciation (end of the XIII century) are
still visible. The XIV century bell tower has elegant twin lancet windows in the bell area with terracotta cusp and crown. The Lourdes Cave - this can be reached by climbing the road to side of the Parish church. This is a reconstruction based on the original, and is the work of Brother Claudio Granzotto. The cave was completed in 1947 as part of a vow made to the Madonna on 11th February 1944. Costalunga: One of the main features of the village are the large villas and landowners houses with large colonnades. Of those worth mentioning are the Carcereri Villa and Burri Villa, now Tessari Villa and home to the Cappuccina winery, with a private chapel which dates back to 1725. The church in Costalunga was built in 1830 and inside there are two paintings on canvas: the first "Martyrdoms of St. Eurosia" from the end of the 1600s and the Vicenza school "Last Supper" painted in the middle of the 1700s. |
