The Church of Santa Sofia () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in the city of

Lendinara Lendinara is a ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo, Veneto, northern Italy. It is part of the historical and geographical region of Polesine. It is the birthplace of Domenico Montagnana (1680–1750), one of the world's finest violin and cel ...

, in the

Province of Rovigo The province of Rovigo () is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rovigo. It borders on the north with the provinces of Verona, Padua and Venice, on the south with the province of Ferrara, on the west with the provi ...

, region of

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, Italy.

History

The church was built in 1070 atop the ruins of a pagan temple as an oratory of the Cattaneo family. Around 1550, it became property of the Molin family, and by 1674 was in a dilapidated state. In 1760 the Molin-Minio family commissioned the architect Angelo Santini to restore the church. Refurbishment took years. The facade and bell-tower were designed by Francesco Antonio Baccari and construction also took decades (1797-1857). Originally two bell-towers were planned. The frescoes in the apse (1796) and cupola, depicting a ''Transfiguration'' in the former and a ''Triumph of the Church and the Four Doctors'' in the latter, were painted by Giorgio Anselmi. In 1938 Poloni and Casanova restored the murals. The first altar on left has a canvas of ''St Antony of Padua'' (1942) by the painter Casanova. The second altar on the left houses a ''Virgin of the Rosary and Saints'' by Giovanni Battista Albrizzi. This painting was originally the main altarpiece of the church of San Giuseppe. In the third altar on left is a canvas depicting the ''Sacred Heart of Jesus'' painted in 20th century by B. Biagetti. The fourth altar on left has a canvas depicting an ''Enthroned Virgin with Shield and Angelic Musicians'' (1511) by Domenico Mancini. Another work is an ''Enthroned Madonna and child with St Lawrences and Anthony of Padua'' (16th-century) by Francesco Bissolo; an ''Ecce Homo'' (1615) by

Domenico Fetti Domenico Fetti (also spelled Feti) ( – 16 April 1623) was an Italian Baroque painter who was active mainly in Rome, Mantua and Venice. Biography Born in Rome to a little-known painter, Pietro Fetti, Domenico is said to have apprenticed ini ...

. In the first altar on the right is a ''Madonna and Child with souls of Purgatory'' (circa 1700) by

Antonio Zanchi Antonio Zanchi (; 6 December 1631 – 12 April 1722) was an Italian painter of the Baroque, active mainly in Venice, but his prolific works can also be seen in Padova, Treviso, Rovigo, Verona, Vicenza, Loreto, Brescia, Milano, and Bergamo, a ...

, commissioned by the Confraternity della Morte, the sponsors of the chapel. On the second altar on right is a canvas depicting the ''Descent of the Holy Spirit (circa 1765) by

Domenico Maggiotto Domenico Maggiotto or Domenico Fedeli (1713–1794) was an Italian painter and engraver who lived and worked mainly in Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, reg ...

. On the 3rd altar of right is a canvas depicting ''Saints Apostles Peter and James'' (allegory of the Papacy of 1700) also by Zanchi. The main altarpiece depicts the ''Martyrdom of Santa Sofia and her daughters Faith, Hope and Charity'' (1793) by Carlo Alvise Fabris. On the walls of the presbytery , next to the busts of the Scipioni and the Cappellini, are two paintings depicting the ''Saints Augustine, Benedict, Scolastica, Clare, and Placido'' (1783) and a ''Madonna and Child in Glory with Saints Andrea Avellino, Cajetan, and Valentine'' (1787) by

Agostino Ugolini Agostino Ugolini (1758– January 8, 1824) was an Italian painter, active in a late-Baroque and early-neoclassic style. He was born in Verona, and studied under Giovanni Battista Burato. In 1775, he was elected academic of the Academy of Fine Art ...

. In the sacristy is a wooden scale model of the bell-tower. Also there is a canvas depicting the ''Life of St Costanzo'' (1730 ca.) by Bartolomeo Litterini, two 17th-century canvases by Pietro Vecchia, some portraits, a copy of

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

and a poorly conserved altarpiece by Matteo dei Pitocchi.Comune of Lendinara
cathedral entry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Sofia, Lendinara 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1857 Neoclassical architecture in Veneto Roman Catholic churches in Lendinara Neoclassical church buildings in Italy