The Madonna Addolorata al Torresino, also called the ''Santa Maria del Pianto'' or ''Santa Maria del Torresino'' 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 ...

parish church located in the city of

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, 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

An oratory was present at the site adjacent to a ''torresino'' (turret) of fortifications. By the 1450s, an icon of the Virgin, painted on a wall by an Antonio dal Santo, was said to fulfill miracles. The present church was built in 1718-1726 using designs by

Girolamo Frigimelica Roberti Girolamo Frigimelica Roberti (10 January 1653 - 15 November 1732) was an Italian people, Italian architect, librettist, and poet. Biography Born in Padua to a father who had married into the noble Robert family, thus gaining a title of Count for hi ...

, and completed by

Sante Bonato Sante is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Sante Bentivoglio (1426–1462), Italian nobleman *Sante Geronimo Caserio (1873–1894), Italian anarchist and assassin * Sante Cattaneo ...

. The church is presently still called “Torresino” due to the tower that crowns the dome, designed by Frigimelica. The statues and bas-relief of the Pieta on the façade were completed by

Francesco Bonazza Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is one of the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation) ...

. In the atrium are statues depicting Faith and Religion by Tommaso Bonazza.

Antonio Bonazza Antonio Bonazza (23 December 1698 – 12 January 1763) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo. He is considered one the greatest and most original Venetian sculptors of the 18th century; his activity was widespread, and his art distinguished by its ...

also sculpted (1741) the eight statues depicting Patience, Prudence, Virginity, Purity, Humility, Charity, Chastity, and Innocence. The first altar on the right has a canvas depicting ''Birth of Jesus'' by

Giulio Cirello Giulio Cirello (1633 in Padua – 1709) was an Italian painter. He trained under Luca Ferrari in Padua. He mainly painted sacred subjects in a late-Baroque style, though he was also valued as portraitist during his time. He painted an altarpi ...

. The next altar on the right has a ''Padua thanks the Virgin for the end of the Plague in 1500'' attributed to either Francesco Zanella or Francesco Onorati. Two other 18th-century altarpieces, depicting the births of ''Christ'' and the ''Virgin'' respectively, are by

Guido-Ludovico de Vernansal Guy-Louis Vernansal (1648-1729) was a French painter. He studied under Charles Le Brun and produced tapestry designs for the Gobelins and Beauvais manufactories. He was admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académi ...

. The main altar has statues of St John the Evangelist and the Magdalen by Giovanni Bonazza. The main altarpiece is a wooden bas relief depicting the Pieta (1940) by

Amleto Sartori Amleto Sartori (3 November 1915 – 18 February 1962) was an Italian sculptor and poet from Padua most famous for his theater masks. First a sculptor, after the Second World War, Sartori began to fervently study the masks of Commedia dell'Arte w ...

. A painting depicting the ''Crucifixion'' lateral to the main altar is by

Giulio Cromer Giulio Cromer or Croma or Cremer (1572, Ferrara Page 621–1632) was a German-Italian painter of the Mannerist period, active for many years in Ferrara, Italy. From an 1876 book: ''Giulio Cromer, Carlo Bononi a pupil of Bastaruolo, and Alfonso ...

. The church has French 18th-century Via Crucis canvases.Parish site of Madonna Addolorata al Torresino
history of church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madonna Addolorata al Torresino, Padua Roman Catholic churches in Padua Baroque architecture in Veneto Roman Catholic churches completed in 1728 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy