Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Domenicani

Santa Maria dei Domenicani is a former Dominican church on the hillside below Soave Castle. Its single nave and medieval frescoes occupy the chamber of a former tower-gate in the town's walls.

Why it matters

The church shows how Soave's fortifications changed purpose over time. After the town passed to Venice at the end of the fourteenth century, the former Porta della Castagnera became a religious space. The building later served the community as an oratory and, following restoration, as a setting for cultural events.

What to notice

The quadrangular hall follows the footprint of the medieval gate chamber. A fresco of the nursing Virgin, the Madonna del latte, is attributed to Giovanni Antonio da Meschio and dates to shortly after the mid-fifteenth century. Francesco Beccaruzzi added angels in the sixteenth century. The church's present appearance is largely eighteenth-century, while the bell tower retains a terracotta cupola with civic and family coats of arms.

Context and history

Dominican friars established the church in 1443 with papal approval. The site was first dedicated to the Madonna del Torresino; its name changed to Santa Maria della Neve in the seventeenth century, recalling the tradition associated with Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore. The convent was suppressed, and its buildings were sold and demolished in 1871. A restoration begun in 1985 preserved the church and its paintings.