CHURCHES
St. Maria Assunta Church
The first church in Galzignano was S.S Trinità Church, but Riccobona Carrarese ordered it destroyed right after the new monastery of Sant'Antonio was built (1337).
In the same time period one finds Santa Maria Church already built.
At first it was only an oratory (chapel) far from the center of the town. After a few years things started to change and the center of gravity of the town was moved to the ancient road “delle Mura”. Due to this shift of the center Santa Maria Church became the main church of the town (called pieve).
The same event happened also in Valsanzibio: people started to shift their centers so that the main Church became San Lorenzo to the detriment of Sant'Eusebio Church, that became an oratory.
Santa Maria Assunta Church was built in 1674 and remodeled in the neoclassic style (1800).
The bell tower was completed in 1905.
The Church has a central and unique nave with little shrines. All these elements together create a beautiful landscape with the Euganei Hills all around. The major altar was painted by the famous artist Ridolfi, and the canvas sketch Santa Maria Assunta surrounded by angels, San Valentino and San Filippo Neri (1676).
St. Lorenzo Church (in Valsanzibio)
The first church in Valsanzibio is Sant'Eusebio Church. There are a lot of Saints named Eusebio, but the most important one was born in Sardinia, he became the bishop of Vercelli and he fought against a Longobardic population called Ariani. We don't exactly know if this church is consecrated to this Eusebio, but if it be so that would be curious: Valsanzibio was a territory held by ariani Longobards.
As we said before, San Lorenzo Church became the main church of the town and Sant'Eusebio Church became an oratory connected to Praglia's monks.
Originally the entrance of San Lorenzo Church was oriented towards the hill and the apse towards the valley. This was not comfortable for the noble Barbarigo's family because they had to go all the way around the building and it was too long. For this reason the axis of the Church was rotated 180° so the noble family could reached the Church easier . This decision was taken by the prosecutor Antonio in 1687, who also ordered to extend and redecorate the building.
This rotation was also useful for political aims: the population entering the Church was better controlled by the leading family of the town.
The Church of San Lorenzo was built in the Neoclassic style , with a central nave and a tympanum. Its bell tower is on the South side next to a little square and a sacristy.
Today the Church has been restored by “Soprintendenza del Veneto Orientale” but it is not used although it is consecrated . Church services are celebrated in another newly built church.