Santa Sofia Church

Padua, Italy

anta Sofia in Padua is the oldest church structure in the city. It was built in the 10th century on the site of a presumed Roman Mithraeum. The first document dates from 1123.

The apse was the first phase of the construction, sometime in the ninth century. Primary construction was between 1070 and 1080. This phase ended in 1106. The second phase opened in 1117 and ended in about 1170. The structure underwent embellishment near the end of the fourteenth century to meet the liturgical reforms approved by the Council of Trent. The seventeen-year-old Andrea Mantegna performs his first independent work, an altarpiece depicting the Madonna with Child in conversation with saints.

Initially operated by Augustinians monks, Benedictine nuns replace them by 1517. In the sixteenth century Santa Sofia was a parish church. It became a provostry, which depended the church of San Gaetano, the church of Paolotti, Matthias Church and the church of San Biagio. As a result of the Napoleonic laws the nuns were removed (1806-1810), the convent became state ownership.

Between 1951 and 1958, the structure has undergone major restoration work with intent to restore primitive appearance of the church. With these works is lost most of the heritage Mannerist and Baroque kept in the factory.

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Address

Via Altinate 153, Padua, Italy
See all sites in Padua

Details

Founded: 10th century
Category: Religious sites in Italy

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Sabrina Spiga (2 years ago)
Wonderful Romanesque or even older church, some of its parts perhaps Byzantine. The brick and stone construction makes it unique. It is able to convey spirituality through the silence of the architectural elements that perfectly outline the Romanesque, the cross vaults highlighted by evocative geometric elements are authentic and original.
DM (3 years ago)
There is no doubt that it is a very old church and it maintains the charm of having traveled through centuries and centuries of history. It has some perhaps unique characteristics: the almost total absence of frescoes, the apse with blind arches, very Byzantine, the imposing cross vaults and the whole structure made up of exposed brick. It is noteworthy that columns are placed on probably Roman bases that emerge from the floor and perhaps the columns themselves are too. An interesting detail is the baptistery where Galileo Galilei's son was baptized.
Tommaso Ciarella (5 years ago)
Good
Alberto Scarpis (5 years ago)
La piĆ¹ bella chiesa di Padova, ideale per una sosta rinfrancante
Ezio Pillan (5 years ago)
Chiesa molto bella di interesse storico, dispone di una buona acustica che permette di ascoltare corali o concerti percependo in maniera ottimale le sfumature di esecuzione. Da visitare!
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