Church of Santa Maria di Venezzano

The church was built from 1894 onwards, designed by the Bolognese engineer Francesco Gualandi in collaboration with his son Giuseppe, and completed in 1933. The florid Gothic style, certainly not common for the area and the time of construction, is definitely a source of architectural interest. The building, in the shape of a Latin cross with three naves and a polygonal apse, is surmounted by a mighty dome supported by eight polylobate pillars with a twelve-sided tholobate and represents one of the first examples of the application of reinforced concrete in art. Noteworthy features of the interior are the high altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the two side altars dedicated to St Joseph and the Sacred Heart in white marbled concrete with numerous shrines of saints and sacred images.

Other interesting elements include the small chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes and, most importantly, the Stations of the Cross, moulded in terracotta between 1927 and 1928, along with many other altar images by Monsignor Giuseppe Branchini, the parish priest who commissioned the construction of the church. The large stained glass windows in the nave and apse and the rose windows depicting biblical scenes are partly the work of the architect Gallignani. Behind the altar is a fine organ, one of the last works (1850) by Giuseppe Guermandi. The bell tower, erected between 1863 and 1873, was designed by Giuseppe Brighenti.