Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Taumaturgo

At the head of Trieste’s Grand Canal, the neoclassical Church of Sant’Antonio Taumaturgo—often called Sant’Antonio Nuovo—faces the water with a pronaos of six Ionic columns. It is the principal religious building of the Borgo Teresiano, the district developed on reclaimed salt pans.

Why it matters

An earlier church dedicated to Sant’Antonio Taumaturgo was built in 1767, opened for worship in 1771 and restored in 1784. It was demolished in 1828 after proving too small for the growing parish. The present church was built between 1828 and 1849 to a design by Pietro Nobile, completed in 1808. Bishop Bartolomeo Legat consecrated it on 14 October 1849. The municipal portal describes it as the largest church in Trieste by area.

What to notice

The façade’s six Ionic columns support a broad pediment. Six statues by Francesco Bosa, made in 1842, represent the patron saints of Trieste: Giusto, Sergio, Servolo, Mauro, Eufemia and Tecla. The church has a plan about 80 by 28 metres, with twelve Ionic columns inside and a central dome. An apse fresco by Sebastiano Santi, painted in 1836, depicts Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Two bell towers rise at the rear. Before the final stretch of the canal was filled in 1934, the façade reflected in the water.

Context and history

The parish of Sant’Antonio was established in 1774 after the suppression of the city’s older San Giusto parish; its registers date from that year. Pietro Nobile’s design was developed in 1808, with construction following later under his supervision by correspondence from Venice. Cost limited the planned use of Istrian stone to the church’s principal architectural elements. In 1988, Bishop Lorenzo Bellomi consecrated a new main altar oriented toward the congregation.