Cordovado

Discover

On September 7, 1592, near a small shrine with the image of the Virgin nursing, with St. Roch and St. Valentine, there was the apparition of the Madonna to a peasant woman who was asked to ensure that a church would be built and dedicated at that place.The sanctuary was inaugurated on May 1, 1603, an example of extraordinary beauty of Venetian Baroque with an octagonal plan, which, in addition to being the oldest Marian sanctuary of the diocese, gained notable fame with crowded pilgrimages of faithful coming from very distant places.In service of the sanctuary, the houses of the five officiating chaplains were built (current Cecchini palace), a shelter for nobles or a pious place (current town hall), another shelter for the poor (ospedal, current Ater houses), but also stables for horses and an inn.From 1714 to 1806, the temple was officiated by the Dominican fathers of the adjacent convent.The temple is adorned with stuccoes, bas-reliefs, statues, canvases, frescoes, with a play of lights and colors that reflect the splendor and richness in worship.The ceiling was carved by the workshop of Girolamo Venturini of Motta (1640), gilded and painted by Cataldo Ferrara of Portogruaro (1656-58), on the ovals there are eight canvases of Sibyls and prophets by Antonio Carneo; below are the stucco statues of Evangelists, doctors of the church, separated by putti-caryatids by Andrea dell’Aquila. In the drum, there are sixteen stories of the life of the Virgin created by Baldassar d’Anna, Giuseppe Moretto, and partly by another anonymous Venetian painter.


In the center of the presbytery, since 1688, the main altar in white Carrara marble stands, with angels and a scene of the apparition, by Giovanni Grassi with the collaboration of Giovanni Comin. The icon of the Madonna and Child is attributed to Bellunello or the Bellunellian circle (1480?); in 1992, the canvas of the Wedding at Cana by Glauco Benito Tiozzo was added. The compartments of the vault are by Filippo Zaniberti (Virgin nursing a sick person, Apparition of the Virgin to a monk icon painter, Miraculous foundation of the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, Miraculous intervention of the Virgin during the battle).

The large lunettes on the walls with Birth of the Virgin and Assumption of Mary are by Baldassar d’Anna; while on the two overdoors there are the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi attributable to Giacomo Apollonio (?).

The side chapels, initially dedicated to S. Valentino and S. Rocco, were rededicated by the Dominican fathers in 1722 to the Holy Rosary and to S. Domenico. The previous altarpieces are now preserved in the choir (S. Valentino) and in the old parish church (S. Rocco), both works by Baldassar d’Anna.

The choir stalls in two orders, attributable to Friulian craftsmanship, are on the walls with canvases of Dominican saints, coming from Venice.

The choir loft is interesting, rebuilt and repositioned in 1746-47 at the main door from the left door, with a new organ attributed to Pietro Nacchini. In the choir loft, the five works by Baldassar d’Anna have been relocated, representing the Capitello della Madonna, Translation of the fresco of the Virgin from the capitello to the Sanctuary, Martyrdom of S. Catherine of Alexandria (circa 1612) and four ex-votos.

In the sacristy, the canvas “Ex-voto dei bresciani” (1630), a canvas of S. Vincenzo Ferreri (attribution to Nicolò Bambini) and three canvases of Dominican saints attributable to Giuseppe Buzzi are preserved.

In 1923, the bells of the bell tower were recast, taken by the Austro-Hungarians during the 1917 invasion.

Other points of interest of:
Churches and votive chapels