Trevenzuolo Among Churches, Villas and Rice Culture

Trevenzuolo brings together sacred art, historic farmsteads and regional rice culture. If you are considering a stay with a focus on cultural history, several themes come together: churches reflect the area’s older ecclesiastical history and art, while villas and farmsteads showcase different architectural styles and former agricultural uses. The Strada del Riso Vialone Nano Veronese adds rice dishes and a landscape of resurgences to this picture.

Churches and Sacred Art

The Chiesa Parrocchiale di Trevenzuolo Santa Maria Maddalena was first mentioned as a parish church in 1145 and was under the authority of the Abbey of San Zeno. During work in the early 1940s, it was given a monumental neoclassical façade. The church’s history thus combines an early ecclesiastical connection with a much later building phase.

The church houses a painting showing the resurrected Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene; it was made as a copy by Battista Amigazzi. In Fagnano, the Chiesa Parrocchiale di Fagnano Santo Nome di Maria Vergine preserves an octagonal baptismal font dating from 1432 and a late Gothic fresco of the Madonna and Child enthroned. The two works offer a glimpse of different forms of sacred art.

Villas and Farmsteads

Villa Allegri detta Corte Granda comprises barchesse, houses for farm labourers, an oratory dedicated to Saint Anthony and large courtyards. These courtyards were used to dry grain, especially rice. A frescoed room dating from the second half of the 18th century is dedicated to local rice cultivation. The complex thus brings together the history of agricultural use and an artistic depiction of rice cultivation.

Villa Curtoni Tretti detta Cortalta is located in Roncolevà, within the municipality of Trevenzuolo, near the border with the Province of Mantua. Its 140-metre-long south façade is divided into a central manor house, two side barchesse and two towers at the ends. Corte Spolverini, also known as Corte Sant’Eurosia, is a stately building dating from the 17th century. Corte Azzini dates from the 15th century and is located at the crossing over the Demorta before Trevenzuolo, when coming from Verona.

The Villa Pellegrini detta Corte Chiara complex is divided into two parts by the Tione River. The estate includes an oratory dedicated to Saint Simon, whose architecture dates to the mid-18th century. Villa Giona Treves de' Bonfigli detta Corte San Bernardino also has an oratory, built by Bartolomeo Antonio Formenti in 1474. The villa also houses a painting attributed to Francesco Benaglio or an artist working in his circle.

Rice, Water and Rural History

The Strada del Riso Vialone Nano Veronese passes through Trevenzuolo and showcases Riso Vialone Nano Veronese and traditional preparations. These include Risotto con il Tastasal and Risotto all’isolana. The route crosses a typical rural landscape of resurgences, with abundant water and several wetlands. Rice culture and the landscape emerge here as distinct but interconnected themes of the region.

The historic use of water is also part of the town’s recorded history: at Gamandone, it once powered a mill and a rice hulling mill. The rice hulling mill was built by the Curtoni brothers in 1649. Another cultural attraction is the Arena Verde, a theatre in Trevenzuolo set in a historic private park.

Discover more destinations: Beccacivetta-Azzano, Brognoligo-Costalunga, Soave, Zevio, Legnago, Affi, Pontepossero, Marchesino

For the overview of the wider area: Verona.