Santuario di Santa Maria dell'Alzana

According to an ancient legend, the church was founded following a miraculous event during which several shipwrecked people were saved from the waters of the Alpone, thanks to the appearance of a rope. The fact is that on this site, located along the Alpone, popular devotion led to the erection of a Romanesque-style church in the 12th century, dedicated to the Madonna and named Santa Maria dell'Alzana.
The site is a rise that elevated from the surrounding swamp, so the toponym Alzana may derive from the Latin "altus," which means elevated place, height. Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered a Roman settlement from the 1st century AD, which maintained historical continuity until the early Middle Ages.
The existence of a church in this place is documented for the first time by a document from 1199. The church, reaching us unchanged, except for the inevitable wrinkles of time, is of modest dimensions.
The facade is significant; the characteristic bell tower, shaped like a tower, was built in the early 20th century. The building attached to the church, existing since 1582, was used as the residence of the chaplain. From the 17th century, it was inhabited by hermits. After recent restoration work, the building now houses the museum of peasant civilization.

The stretch of wall between the northern wall and the current balustrade preserves a very faded ancient painting of the Madonna, but it is visible enough to provide elements for attempting a dating. The design of the hands, the shape, and the color of the image suggest a work from the 14th century, comparable to paintings from that time found in other churches in the Verona area, such as in Santa Giustina in Palazzolo di Sona. The technique of the painting also points to that era. The painting shows the Madonna with the "Child standing." This painting thus informs us that the little church was dedicated, from its origin, to the Madonna Mother of Christ. It is one of the earliest images venerated in the chapel.
In the center of the wall, between two saints (Saint George on the right and a saint on the left), there was the Sorrowful Mother with Christ on her knees.
Towards the window, a beautiful Madonna with the Child on her knees is still visible. On either side of her were two saints of which only the name remains, a fragment of the halo of the first (on the left) and a hand of the second. The names are readable on a band above the painting, and they are: [JOAN] NES APOST. EVANGELIST - S. MARIA ORA PRO NOBIS - S. BARTOMEUS. The paintings are of considerable importance for establishing the period of the building.
In the presbytery of the church, illuminated by a half-moon window opened on the south side, we find a beautiful altar that may date back to the 18th century.