The archpriest's church of San Marco is the main church of Rovereto. It was ordered by the Venetian governor Giovanni Soranzo, when the town was under Venice: work began in 1458, the building was finished in 1461 and in 1462 it was consecrated and dedicated to the patron saint of the Serenissima. After the town passed to the Habsburgs, in 1582 San Marco separated from the parish of Lizzana. In 1587 the church was pulled down and rebuilt much larger, and reconsecrated in 1603; in 1650 the vault was raised by about two metres, and in 1658 the present bell tower was built.
What to see
The exterior is plain Neoclassical, with three entrances topped by pediments. Above the main one is a high relief of the lion of Saint Mark, by the Rovereto sculptor Livio Fausto Sossass: it recalls Venetian rule, but was added only in 1950, when the façade was altered to a design by Mario Kiniger. The interior is Baroque, with twisted columns, many altars and a ceiling entirely frescoed. The altars of Mary Help of Christians, by Teodoro Benedetti with sculptures by Domëne Moling, and of the Rosary, by Domenico Sartori, are considered masterpieces of Trentino Baroque; the altarpiece of the altar of Saint Jerome is by Felice Brusasorzi of Verona, of 1599.
An image of Mary Help of Christians, patron of the town, is venerated here, a copy of the painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder in Innsbruck cathedral. Near the entrance a plaque commemorates Girolamo Tartarotti, buried here, and a bust Antonio Rosmini, who was archpriest of San Marco between 1834 and 1835.
Visiting
Opening and Mass times should be checked with the parish. Every year, on 5 August, the mayor takes part in the procession with the statue of the Madonna and offers a candle to the patron.
Our editors' tip
On 26 December 1769 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, on his first journey to Italy, came to try the organ of San Marco, and the event drew a great many people of Rovereto. Today's organ dates from 1975, by Bartolomeo Formentelli of Verona.
