Abbazia di San Pietro - Villanova

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The Abbey of Villanova with its bell tower, monastic buildings, and rural court constitutes a vast complex that has controlled and administered the extensive territory surrounding it for centuries. The construction of the church likely took place in the second half of the 11th century, although what we see today is the result of reconstruction that occurred after the earthquake of 1117, combined with various restorations carried out in the 14th-15th and 17th-18th centuries.

The facade of the Abbey of Villanova features the stylistic characteristics typical of Veronese Romanesque architecture, with the imprint of the projecting porch above the portal still visible, typical of all Romanesque churches in Verona. The Romanesque apse area shows different workmanship that testifies to the subsequent reconstructions.

The interior of the church maintains its original three-nave structure with alternating pillars and columns. The frescoes were created between the first half of the 14th century and the 15th century; the sculptures are also from the 15th century, while the altars made of polychrome marbles, the staircase leading to the presbytery, and the angels resting against the pillars are from the Baroque period. The roof of the naves with ribbed vaults is Baroque too.

In contrast, the suggestive crypt is entirely Romanesque, supported by slender columns and ribbed vaults.

From the presbytery, one can access the robust bell tower, which is open for visits up to the late Gothic bell chamber raised above the Romanesque tower. Additionally, there is access to the 15th-century cloister that encloses the Herb Garden, the Herbalist's Workshop, and other rooms of the ancient monastery. On the upper floor of the cloister are the Historical Museum of the two World Wars, the Dormitory, and the Guesthouse, which currently hosts a small Museum of Peasant Civilization and the Scriptorium (Exhibition of writing from scribes to the invention of printing). Returning to the ground floor, the visit continues with the historical-archeological and sacred art museum featuring artifacts and furnishings owned by the Abbey, as well as the Civic Geopaleontological Museum and the fossils “Abbot Don Giuseppe dalla Tomba.”

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