Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie

The Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Este was founded by the Dominicans through a bequest from Taddeo d’Este. Rebuilt in the eighteenth century, it is a minor basilica and Marian shrine known for its Byzantine icon of the Madonna, placed on the high altar in 1479.

Why it matters

Taddeo d’Este’s testament of 1434 provided for a Dominican church and convent near his hometown. After his death in 1448, a papal bull issued by Paul II in 1468 allowed the friars to build within the town walls. The church was consecrated on 2 February 1479. It became a parish church in 1771 and received the title of minor basilica from Pius XI in 1924.

What to notice

The sanctuary preserves the Madonna of the Odighitria type, an icon of probable Cretan origin enthroned in 1479 and solemnly crowned in 1925. The eighteenth-century rebuilding gave the church its Venetian Baroque interior, with marble altars and frescoed vaults. The exterior retains an unfinished façade and a bell tower set slightly off-axis; the tower was rebuilt between 1827 and 1832, and the dome was completed in 1889.

Context and history

The decision to rebuild was made in 1716, and the first stone of the new church was laid on 5 August 1717. The building was blessed in 1729; demolition of the old church began in 1736, and the masonry was complete by 1745. The Dominicans left Este in 1770, and the church became the parish seat the following year. Later milestones include the 1925 coronation of the icon, the inauguration of a new main altar in 1950, and restoration of the frescoes from 1991 to 2006. A fire in 1965 destroyed the sacristy and many artworks but spared the church itself.