The church of Santa Maria del Carmine, or of Mount Carmel, is a parish church in Rovereto, on via Benacense, in the Santa Maria district. A first small church dedicated to the Annunciation arose in 1290, where the sacristy is today, and was consecrated in 1333; it is also mentioned in the will of Guglielmo da Castelbarco, of 1319. The present building was rebuilt over the old one, and work ended around 1759 with the bell tower. The site was directed by the architect Pietro Somalvico of Brienno, while the design is more probably to be attributed to Jacopo Antonio Pozzo, brother of Andrea Pozzo. Until 1787 it was run by the Carmelites.
What to see
The façade has two orders of pilasters and a triangular pediment, with a large rectangular window in the centre of the second order and a round opening in the pediment.
The cloister, which belonged to the Carmelite convent demolished after the order was suppressed, is the oldest part of the complex: under its portico it keeps many tomb slabs and sixteenth-century frescoes.
Visiting
The parish of Santa Maria also includes the church of Santa Croce. Opening and Mass times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
The church was consecrated in 1820 by the bishop of Chioggia, Giuseppe Manfrin Provedi, who had come to Rovereto to consecrate the church of the nearby convent of Santa Croce. The young Antonio Rosmini took part in the ceremony as cross-bearer, and in those days received the diaconate from the bishop.
