The Archpriestal Church of Santa Maria Assunta, a pieve (parish church) since time immemorial, dominates the town of Civezzano with its structure entirely clad in red stone. Archaeological excavations conducted in 1990 uncovered the foundations of two earlier sacred buildings dating back to the 5th and 8th-10th centuries respectively, attesting to an ancient devotional tradition far predating the first mention of the building (1202).
Gaining fame in the early 16th century for housing a miraculous Marian image that attracted pilgrims from across the prince-bishopric, the Civezzano sanctuary was completely rebuilt at the initiative of Prince-Bishop Bernardo Cles between 1522/1533 (the exact start date is uncertain) and 1537, maintaining the eastward orientation of the medieval pieve. In the absence of documents, the design of the new archpriestal church has been attributed first to Antonio Medaglia and later to Alessio Longhi.
The façade is flanked by pilasters crowned with capitals featuring lion heads and pairs of facing dolphins, supporting a molded cornice above which rises a triangular pediment centered with an oculus. The exposed stone base is interrupted by an architraved portal attributed to Longhi, featuring the coat of arms of the cardinal who promoted the reconstruction in its pediment; the entrance is flanked by two rectangular windows and topped by a six-lobed rose window.
The side walls are articulated by a sequence of white limestone pilasters rising from a continuous base, prominent at their locations. The right side features large pointed-arch windows, opened at the first, second, and fourth bays; a secondary portal, with an architrave and pediment, is positioned at the third bay. Additional pointed-arch windows open on the south side of the presbytery and the oblique walls of the apse. The left side, blind, is characterized by the presence of the protruding sacristy and the bell tower, believed to be contemporary with the sacred building.
The soaring square-based bell tower shares the same stone cladding as the church, including the stringcourse; the belfry, illuminated by narrow arched biforas, is topped by an overhanging balcony supported by corbels. The octagonal spire features four triangular pediments centered by pointed-arch windows.
The interior consists of a single nave divided into four bays by pairs of exposed stone clustered half-pillars, connecting to the ribs of the unusual groin and reticulated barrel vault. The presbytery, raised on a step, is introduced by a pointed-arch triumphal arch and concludes in a polygonal apse. Clustered half-pillars of exposed stone are arranged at the corners, connecting to the ribs of the reticulated vault. Late Gothic, first half of the 16th century.
Description: Wooden statue of the Madonna and Child (16th century?), though it’s likely that another, now lost, was previously venerated. Image: Statue
Original location of the Sanctuary: in the church (?) Type of ex-votos: Painted tablets Current preservation: Dispersed
Even before the construction of the Renaissance church, the Madonna of Civezzano was widely renowned in the region, a destination for numerous pilgrims and an object of great devotion: “I dare to assert,” writes Vaja, “that the devotion dates back to the 100th century or shortly after and was caused by some extraordinary grace and the piety of the people, especially the community, as well as the Bishops of Trent who had and nurtured a special fondness for these hills where they also held feudal lords.”
An important early confirmation of this fame comes from two letters by Cardinal Bernardo Cles published in 1762 by Father Bonelli. If we add the importance of the Pieve of Civezzano to the particular devotion of the Prince-Bishop to the Madonna (especially evident in the second document), we might explain why such an important building was constructed in Civezzano, a building that in subsequent decades further enhanced the renown of the town and this Miraculous Madonna. Many ancient historians mention it, providing useful descriptions of the monument: Massarello in 1545, Pincio in 1546, Lorenzo Beyerlinck in 1665, Vigilio Vescovi in 1669, the Jesuit Father Gumppenberg in 1672, Michelangelo Mariani in 1673. The sanctuary also received two papal briefs from Pope Gregory XII (1575 and 1583) and one from Pius VI (1784), and the town, as Bezzi recalls: “even took the name of the Madonna, so that in the hall of geographical maps, connecting the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, in the painting of the Venetian region, the place is marked with the name Sancta Maria de Cisuezan.”
V (pre-existing elements of the entire property)
The founding date of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta is unknown, remembered in sources as a pieve ab immemorabili. The 1990 archaeological excavations revealed the foundations of an apsidal sacred building dating back to the 5th century. It remained the pieve church, but as a sanctuary, it was abandoned (in favor of the Madonna di Pin). Some attempts at restoration have been made in recent years.
In 1808, the image of the Madonna di Caravaggio was transferred here from Pin; the following year, due to popular demand, it was returned to the plateau (see Madonna di Pin).
Via Telvana, 9, 38045 Civezzano TN, Italy
