Church of Santa Maria Maggiore

The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore is a church in Trento, located about 200 meters away from Piazza del Duomo and the Cathedral of San Vigilio.

SHORT HISTORY

A first church was built on this site in the second half of the 5th century. The church remained in use until the 11th century, when the need for a new church appeared.

The new church, smaller than the previous one, was characterised by a semicircular apse. For the construction of the church, the old one was demolished and reused as bulding material.

After 1290, a third church was erected in place of the previous one, this time characterized by only two naves ending in as many symmetrical apses.

In 1520, by the will of the cardinal Bernardo Clesio, one of the most important historical figures on a political and religious level of the 16th century, the current church was finally started, on a project by the architect Antonio Medaglia. On December 12, 1545, the church hosted the first solemn procession of the Council of Trent.

Between 1899 and 1901, the church was restored, and the Renaissance facade was modified.

After extensive archaeological excavations and restorations, the church was reopened to the public in April 2012.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The church is built in white and red stone. The main facade has an arched entrance in Renaissance style, with a portal built by the prince-bishop Cristoforo Madruzzo in 1539. Above the portal, there is a lunette depicting the Annunciation.

The interior of the church has a single nave, with a series of chapels on the sides, housing marble altars in Baroque style.

The statues of Santa Marta and Santa Maddalena, placed on the sides of the main altar, were sculpted in the 1770s by Cornelis van der Beck.

The choir, work of the stonecutters Vincenzo and Gian Girolamo Grandi, occupies the northern part of the presbytery and consists of a large tribune with bas-reliefs, supported by four corbels. The project, commissioned by Giovanni Antonio Zurletta, was carried out between 1534 and 1542.

The bell tower, 53 meters high, is the highest in the city. Built in white limestone, it has two orders of Romanesque three-mullioned windows and a polygonal dome.

HOW TO GET THERE

The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore is located about 450 meters away from the Trento railway station. The closest bus stop, Rosmini Santa Maria Maggiore, is located about 100 meters away, on the bus Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5/, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14.