Chiesa e Convento della SS. Annunciata

The Church and Convent of the Santissima Annunciata stand on Monte Orfano above Rovato. Cloisters, a deep presbytery and a double-tiered loggia preserve the character of a fifteenth-century religious complex overlooking Franciacorta.

Why it matters

The convent links the Servants of Mary's history with significant Renaissance art. Romanino's Annunciation and prophets belong to the decoration of the friars' choir, painted between 1535 and 1540.

What to notice

The presbytery retains its umbrella vault. Outside, hanging brick arches mark late-Gothic elements of the building. The Renaissance cloister has carved capitals and a well with wrought-iron decoration. A fifteenth-century wooden crucifix is associated with Donatello's school; a Saint Sebastian has also attracted a debated attribution to Mantegna.

Context and history

Rovato granted land to the Servites in 1449, and a community occupied the convent by 1452. Later alterations changed the interiors while preserving much of the earlier architectural character. An Annunciation altarpiece by Antonio and Bartolomeo Vivarini, once associated with the convent, passed to the Villa Cagnola collection at Gazzada.