Chiesa di Santa Maria della Bassanella

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta Madonna della Bassanella is located in Borgo Bassano, the oldest area of Soave, in a prominent position, and has very ancient origins: it dates back to the year 1098. According to a legend, the Sanctuary was built following the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a young shepherd in the nearby Valle Ponsara, and the statue of the Virgin found at the place of the apparition was later transported to its current location.

Despite the passage of centuries, the small church remained well preserved, first by the Benedictines of the Monastery of Saints Nazarius and Celso in Verona, and then by the Olivetans of Santa Giustina in Padua. After the fall of the Venetian Republic (1797), the jurisdiction of the church passed to the Bishop of Verona.

In 1836, after the cholera epidemic that claimed the lives of 135 residents of Soave in less than two months, as a thank you for the intercession made, it was decided to rebuild the old church: in 1837 the remains of the ancient church were demolished, thereby erasing the legacy of eight hundred years of history.

The current Doric style, commissioned by engineer Zanella, is quite distant from the original architecture. The façade faces a square with a view of the lower Val Tramigna, and inside there are remarkable decorative structures and paintings; on the ceiling, there is a fresco of the Assumption by the Soave painter Adolfo Mattielli.

 

The Sanctuary of Madonna della Bassanella is still today a beloved place, carefully cared for by the people of Soave. This sacred place was also designated as a Holy Door of Mercy in the Jubilee year of 2016 and in the Holy Year of Jubilee 2025.