Santa Corona is a Gothic-style,

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 located in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, region of Veneto, Italy. The church contains the Valmarana chapel (circa 1576), whose design is attributed to the Renaissance architect

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be on ...

. Palladio himself was initially buried in this church.

History

Construction on the church was begun in 1261 by the Blessed (Beato) Bishop Bartolomeo di Breganze to house a thorn from the supposed relic of the crown (''corona'') of thorns forced on

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

during his

passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

. The thorn had been given to this bishop as a gift from

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

of France. The church belonged to the

Dominican order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

until suppression during the Napoleonic era."The church of Santa Corona", Musei Civici Vicenza, May 31, 2022
/ref> The church has an altarpiece depicting, the ''Baptism of Christ'' (1500-1502) by

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...

. The Thiene chapel has frescos by Michelino da Besozzo, and an altarpiece depicting an ''Enthroned Madonna and child venerated by Saints Peter and

Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

'' by Gianbattista Pittoni. Other works in the church include an ''Adoration of the Magi’’ by

Veronese Veronese is the Italian word denoting someone or something from Verona, Italy and may refer to: * Veronese Riddle, a popular riddle in the Middle Ages * Veronese (moth), ''Veronese'' (moth), a moth genus in the family Crambidae * Monte Veronese, ...

, a ''Madonna of the Stars'‘ by Marcello Fogolino, a ''St Mary Magdalen with Saints Jerome, Paola and Monica'', (1414-1415) by

Bartolomeo Montagna Bartolomeo (or Bartolommeo) Montagna (, , ; 1450?– 11 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter who mainly worked in Vicenza. He also produced works in Venice, Verona, and Padua. He is most famous for his many Madonnas and his works are ...

, a canvas depicting ''St Anthony and friars distributing alms to poor'' (1518) by

Leandro Bassano Leandro Bassano (10 June 1557 – 15 April 1622), also called Leandro dal Ponte, was an Italian artist from Bassano del Grappa who was awarded a knighthood by the Doge of Venice. He was the younger brother of artist Francesco Bassano the Younger ...

, and two canvases with depictions of ''St Sebastian'' and ''St Martin'' by Battista da Vicenza. In a small chapel off the sacristy are a number of statues of Dominican saints, including that of

Vincent Ferrer Vincent Ferrer, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ; ; ; ; ; 23 January 1350 – 5 April 1419) was a Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian Dominican Order, Dominican friar who gained acclaim as a preacher, missionary and logician. After supporting Antipope Benedic ...

Valmarana Chapel

After the death of one of his patrons, Antonio Valmarana,

designed the funeral chapel for Isabella Nogarola Valmarana. Santa Corona had already been the church were other members of the family had been interred. The chapel was constructed between 1576 and 1580. Earlier, Palladio had designed the

Palazzo Valmarana Palazzo Valmarana is a palace in Vicenza. It was built by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in 1565 for the noblewoman Isabella Nogarola Valmarana. Since 1994 it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palla ...

in town for the family. It highly resembles his chapels found at the

Il Redentore The Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore (), commonly known as Il Redentore, is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located on Giudecca (island) in the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro, in the city of Venice, Italy. It was designed by Italian Renaissance ...

in Venice. Palladio died in 1580 and was initially buried in Santa Corona,Wundram, Manfred. ''Andrea Palladio, 1508-1580 : the rules of harmony''. (2009) Hong Kong: Taschen. before being re-interred in a new tomb in a cemetery chapel in 1844. File:Cappella Valmarana pianta Bouleau 1999.jpg, Plan of the Valmarana Chapel File:Valmarana-2.jpg, Chapel altar File:Valmarana chapel 20081203-3.jpg, Dettaglio con lo stemma della famiglia Valmarana

References

External links

Valmarana Chapel entryYear of Palladio entry for Valmarana Chapel
{{Authority control

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

Valmarana Chapel