Discover Oppeano

Oppeano combines links to the culture of the ancient Veneti with churches, an early medieval fortified camp and a tradition of rural farmsteads. Its heritage spans different periods and types of buildings: alongside religious buildings are archaeological traces, a former church now used as an auditorium, and historic forms of housing. Visitors choosing a stay for its cultural history can explore Oppeano’s buildings and the different purposes they have served.

Churches and religious architecture

Today’s Chiesa di Oppeano was built in 1841 over an earlier church dating from the 11th century. It thus brings together two clearly distinct periods of construction: its early origins and the construction of the present religious building. The Chiesa di Mazzantica dates from the 14th century and is documented as a parish by 1526 at the latest. Its interior features a striking exposed-beam roof structure, several valuable frescoes and Brusasorzi’s altarpiece of the Nativity of Mary. Comparing the two takes visitors from the sequence of construction in Oppeano to Mazzantica’s specific features, furnishings and parish history.

The Ex Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli is first mentioned in 1526. Its renovation aimed to preserve the original building structures and make the rooms available for public use. The former church now houses the municipal auditorium named after Don Remo Castegini. Following its most recent restoration, the Chiesa di Vallese brings together older and modern elements in a unified architectural design.

Archaeological traces and early history

In the lower Veronese plain, Oppeano is one of the centres associated with the culture of the ancient Veneti between the 7th and 5th centuries BC. The Le Franchine burial ground is located in Oppeano and dates from the 9th to the 4th century BC. The town’s archaeological heritage therefore reaches further back in time than the churches mentioned above. Castrum Euppedanum was established as a fortified camp in the early Middle Ages. The tower west of Oppeano’s present-day square is damaged and barely recognisable; it is considered a surviving remnant of Castrum Euppedanum.

The municipality of Oppeano encompasses a large Site of Community Importance (SCI). It stretches across the “valley” of Ca’ degli Oppi, on the edge of the “Sguazzo” of Vallese. Archaeological finds and springs shape the landscape there.

Historic farmsteads and cultural venues

Today, only the 17th-century manor house and the chapel with its richly decorated Baroque façade remain of the Corte Domenicale Turco in piazza; the chapel is considered a rare example of this style in the lower plain. Oppeano is also associated with a tradition of rural farmsteads that developed in the 15th and 16th centuries around self-sufficient residential units with dovecotes and massive perimeter walls. This brings together a specific, partly preserved complex and a more widespread form of housing.

The Teatro Salus in Ca’ degli Oppi is a parish theatre with an auditorium that can seat up to 200 spectators. Comedies and works in dialect were performed there.

Discover more destinations: Veronella, Marchesino, Nogara, Colà, Braga, Arbizzano-Santa Maria, Palù Dei Mori, Cavalo

For the full travel overview: Verona.