Chiesa di San Severo

The Church of San Severo stands at the northern edge of Bardolino’s historic centre. Its present Romanesque form dates to the late eleventh or early twelfth century and contains a semicircular crypt and frescoes depicting scenes from the Apocalypse and the legend of the True Cross.

Why it matters

A diploma of Berengar of Friuli in 893 names a church of San Severo at Garda. San Severo later served as Bardolino’s principal church while the town depended on the pieve of Garda. Its parish role passed to the lakeside church of San Nicolò in the fifteenth century, after which the building fell into decline. Twentieth-century restoration brought the crypt to light and consolidated the frescoes.

What to notice

The church has three naves beneath wooden roofs, divided by brick-and-tufa columns. The facade has stepped profiles, and the Romanesque bell tower retains its original body beneath a later conical cusp. The semianular crypt sits beneath the main apse. The eleventh- and twelfth-century fresco cycle includes Apocalypse scenes, the finding of the True Cross, and episodes from the lives of the Virgin and Christ.

Context and history

The church was built over an older sacred structure. After San Nicolò became Bardolino’s parish church, San Severo declined. The brotherhood of the Santissimo Sacramento is credited with helping to save the building, and restoration work continued from 1927 to 1943. The church stands outside the line of the medieval walls, alongside the Romanesque church of San Zeno.