Santa Maria dei Servi, or simply known as the ''Chiesa dei Servi'', or more fully as the Church of the Nativity of the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a 14th-century,
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 ...
church that faces the Via Roma in Padua, region of the
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 ...
Servite Order
The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nu ...
(order of the Servants of Mary). The church contains outstanding works of art including a wooden crucifix by
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
.
History
Construction of the church between 1372 and 1390 was financed by Fina Buzzaccarini, wife of the Prince of Padua,
Francesco I da Carrara
Francesco I da Carrara (29 September 1325, in Padua – 6 October 1393, in Monza), called il Vecchio, was Lord of Padua from 1350 to 1388.
The son of the assassinated Giacomo II da Carrara, he succeeded him as lord of Padua by popular acclamation ...
. The building was built on the site of the razed palace of Nicholas Carrara, who in 1327 betrayed Francesco by conspiring with
Cangrande I della Scala
Cangrande (christened Can Francesco) della Scala (9 March 1291 – 22 July 1329) was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family that ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. He was indeed one of the most important characters at the time ...
. After the death of Fina in 1378, the task of completing the construction of the church was left to her sister Anna, abbess of the monastery of St Benedict. In 1393
Francesco Novello da Carrara
Francesco II da Carrara (19 May 1359 – 16 January 1406), known as Francesco il Novello ('Francesco the Younger'), was Lord of Padua after his father, Francesco I il Vecchio, renounced the lordship on 29 June 1388; he was a member of the family ...
, son of Fina and lord of Padua gave the church to the Servites."Chiesa dei Servi", Unità Pastorale della Cattedrale, Diocesi di Padova /ref>
The church was part of a convent complex which included the convent of the Servants of Mary, and the Oratory of Sant'Omobono. The convent was home to Fra
Paolo Sarpi
Paolo Sarpi, O.S.M. (14 August 1552 – 15 January 1623) was an Italian Servite friar and Catholic priest who was a notable historian, scientist, canon lawyer, polymath and statesman active on behalf of the Venetian Republic during the period ...
. The convent was demolished in the 1950s.
In 1807 the Servite Fathers were expelled by Napoleon and the church was confiscated and forfeited as state assets. It was established as a parish church, run by secular clergy. In 1927 the interior of the church was restored to the austere 14th-century appearance. The building was reconsecrated in 1963.
In June 2014, the Bishop of Padua accepted the request of the Superior of the Order of Servants of Mary to be able to return to their historic church after 207 years of administration by the secular clergy. The delivery was on 6 September of the same year. The churches of San Canciano and San Luca are now subsidiaries to this church. For a period the churches of San Zilio and Santa Giuliana were also subsidiaries, until they were closed.
The following are entombed inside the church: Count Emilio Campolongo, and Doimo Olzignani.
Architecture
The Gothic style building is oriented north - south, parallel to the street. The façade supported by pilasters and arches, juts out on a short square; it opens an elegant portal Gothic-Lombard style in Vicenza stone with an oculus window atop. The arcade covers a 1510 porch by Bartolomeo Campolongo. The 10 octagonal columns were re-utilized from a 14th-century chapel in the nearby Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua."Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi", Turismo Padova /ref> On the porch there is a large Gothic portal (last decades of the 14th century), made from blocks of white and red marble. The 15th-century wooden doors are carved in the Lombard Romanesque style. Along the wall between pilasters and arches opening single-light trefoil. The apse is hidden by the surrounding buildings.
Above the door of the sacristy is a bronze monument by
Andrea Riccio
Andrea Riccio (1532) was an Italian sculptor and occasional architect, whose real name was Andrea Briosco, but is usually known by his sobriquet meaning "curly"; he is also known as Il Riccio and Andrea Crispus ("curly" in Latin). He is mainly k ...
dedicated to Paolo and Angelo De castro, jurists.
The 14th century
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
rises above the chapel on the right side, supported on
pilasters
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
and
arches
An arch is a curved vertical structure span (engineering), spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th mill ...
. The belfry is illuminated by Gothic windows. During the 2004 restoration, the bell mechanism was electrified.
Interior
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - Nave and choir.jpg, View of the interior of the church.
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - Choir.jpg, 17th-century choir.
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - La Deposizione by Jacopo Parisati da Montagnana.jpg, ''Deposition'' by Jacopo Parisati da Montagnana
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - Baptismal font.jpg, Baptismal font
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - Vergine col Bambino tra i santi Rocco e Antonio, Gioacchino e Anna di Giroloamo Tessari.jpg, ''Virgin and Child, St Anne, and young John the Baptist'' by Girolamo Tessari.
On the sides of the main altar are two chapels, dedicated - on the right - to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and - on the left - to Donatello's miraculous cross. In the sacristy is an ''Addolorata'' by
Ludovico Dorigny
Ludovico Dorigny (1654 – 17 October 1742) was a French painter and engraver. Trained in his native country, he spent most of his life and career in Verona, Italy.
Life and career
Born Louis Dorigny into a family of Parisian artists, Dorigny ...
.
Altare dell'Addolorata
Opposite the entrance stands a monumental Baroque altar dedicated to
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...
. The
rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
altar decoration was designed by the sculptor Rinaldino di Francia. The flanking marble statues (1710) of Saints Philip and Juliana were sculpted by Antonio Bonazza. The central statue of the virgin is by an unknown 15th-century sculptor.
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - altare dell'Addolorata.jpg, Altar ''dell'Addolorata''.
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Altare dell'Addolorata - Angel by Rinaldino di Francia.jpg, Angel by Rinaldino di Francia
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Altare dell'Addolorata - San Filippo Benizi.jpg, Philip Benizi de Damiani
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Altare dell'Addolorata - Santa Giuliana Falconieri.jpg, Juliana Falconieri
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - The Virgin save a doomed from breaking wheel by Matteo Ghidoni.jpg, ''The Virgin save a doomed from breaking wheel''
Santa Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Interior - Ritrovamento del ritratto miracoloso dell'Annunciata by Matteo Ghidoni.jpg, ''Discovery of the miraculous painting of the Annunciation''