Oratorio di San Vigilio

The Oratory of San Vigilio stands above Col San Martino amid the wooded slopes and vineyards of Farra di Soligo. Its site dates to the eleventh century, and its walls preserve a cycle of dated fifteenth-century frescoes.

Why it matters

The hilltop oratory is a long-standing religious landmark in the Soligo hills. Enlarged over the centuries, it brings together an early sacred site, a medieval cycle of paintings and later architectural changes.

What to notice

Frescoes dated 1458 include the Madonna enthroned with Child and Saint Nicholas of Bari, Saints James and Bernardino, and Saint George and the dragon. A Saint Bovo on horseback, dated 1459, appears on the counter-façade. The high altar carries a carved wooden bas-relief by Stuflesser of Val Gardena. The bell tower's clock is a prominent feature of the oratory's profile.

Context and history

Local history places the origins of the site in the eleventh century and describes the building's style as Romanesque-Carolingian. It was enlarged and remodelled repeatedly. The fifteenth-century frescoes and the carved altar relief record later phases in the oratory's artistic history.