Chiesa arcipretale di Santa Maria Assunta

The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta is Marostica's principal church and one of the oldest witnesses to the town's Christian history. The present Baroque building was rebuilt in the late seventeenth century and consecrated in 1701.

Why it matters

The church began as a pieve, or mother church, serving the early settlement and its surrounding communities. By the thirteenth century it had become an archpresbyterial church, a role that placed it at the centre of religious life across the district.

What to notice

The three-nave interior contains eight altars and works by Venetian-area artists. These include Andrea Celesti's Sacrifice of Melchisedec, ceiling frescoes by Bartolomeo Dusi, and a marble Madonna and Child from the school of Sansovino. The three bronze doors, made by Gigi Carron between 1979 and 1985, show biblical scenes.

Context and history

The church's early medieval origins are associated with the first settlement of Marostica. Archpriest don Gaspare Ghirardelli enabled its radical reconstruction and enlargement at the end of the seventeenth century. The bell tower followed in 1711 and carries a clock dated 1727, attributed to mechanic Bartolomeo Ferracina. A relief of the Madonna and Child, associated with traveller Prospero Alpini, was moved from the exterior into the church.