All Churches in Trento

The Church of San Francesco Saverio is a Baroque church in Trento, located in Via Roma, about 300 meters away from Piazza del Duomo and the Cathedral of San Vigilio.   SHORT HISTORY The church was built by the Society of Jesus (Compagnia di Gesù) between 1708 and 1711. The structure incorporated previous buildings, such as Palazzo delle Costede, of which the remains are still visible on the left side of the main facade, and a medieval tower. After the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, the church was left in a state of neglect, until the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte transformed it into a powder magazine. The church underwent a first restoration in 1895, long after the rehabilitation of the order. The work was commissioned to Hans Rabensteiner.   ART AND ARCHITECTURE The facade is characterised by a large arched window, on the sides of which, separated by two orders of pilasters in red marble, are the statues of the Jesuit Saints Francis Borgia (bottom left), Francis Regis (top left), Aloysius Gonzaga (top right), Ignatius of Loyola (bottom right) and Saint Francis Xavier (on the main portal’s tympanum). The church has a rectangular plan with a Read more [...]

The Cathedral of San Vigilio is the Cathedral of Trento, located in Piazza del Duomo, adjacent to Palazzo Pretorio. The church is dedicated to Saint Vigilius, the first bishop of Trento and the patron saint of the town.   SHORT HISTORY The Cathedral was built over the remains of a 4th-century Christian Basilica dedicated to San Vigilio, where the Saint was buried at the beginning of the 5th century. In the 11th century, the prince-bishop Uldaric II began the rebuilding of the Cathedral, completed at the beginning of the 12th century by the bishop Altemanno. At the beginning of the 13th century, the bishop Federico Vanga decided to completely rebuild the Cathedral in Romanesque style, and commissioned the master builder Adamo d’Arogno with the construction of the church. The construction began in 1212, but the works were stopped in 1218, on Vanga’s death. In 1236, Adamo d’Arogno died, and the works were continued by his son, Enrico di Fono d’Arogno. Between 1305 and 1307, Egidio da Campione directed the works by creating the southern side of the Cathedral and the lower part of the bell towers. In 1321, Egidio’s son, Bonino da Campione, built the rose window on the main Read more [...]

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 Read more [...]