Mezzane di Sotto

The district of Mezzano di Sotto is 20 kilometres apart from Verona and it includes the community of Castagnè and Mezzane di Sopra. The town has ancient origins as shown by the numerous archeological finds in the area, like tombs, funerary objects, coins, mosaics, fragments of plaster and clay material. Throughout the centuries, this area hosted the summer homes of many aristocratic families, attracted by the pleasantness of the area and the lush nature.

The Romanesque tower is the symbol of Mezzane di Sotto district. It was originally the bell tower of the old church, which stood just in front of it and it dates from the XII century.

Villa Giuliari Erbice was built in several stages and at different times, starting in 1653. The porch and turret date back to the fifteenth century. The main building is of the sixteenth century and houses the fresco painting by Paolo Farinati. The Oratory of S. Anna, in neo-Gothic style, also belonged to the villa.

Villa Della Torre was built on an per-existing building and the actual construction was shaped during the sixteenth century. The building houses an extraordinary cycle of allegorical and mythological fresco paintings, works of Paul Farinati and his children, Orazio and Giambattista, commissioned by Alvise Della Torre. Moreover, the stuccoes of Bartolomeo Ridolfi have a particular value. Outside, there are gardens, a botanical garden, the remains of a lemon garden and a large fish kettle.

Villa Maffei Benini is nowadays center of municipal government. It is an elegant building of the early eighteenth century, built by Count Carlo Maffei, in 1706. Inside, the villa is decorated with beautiful landscapes painted by Andrea Porta (1719-1805). In the garden, we can find statues and a beautiful magnolia century old.

The Santa Maria Assunta Church is located in an elevated position, with gothic style facade. Designed by A. It was built between 1871 and 1889. Inside there are paintings by Antonio Girola, Claudio Ridolfi, Giovanni Caliari and a “Blessed Virgin Enthroned with Saints Paul and Catherine”, work of the famous painter from Verona, Girolamo Dai Libri.

The comunity of Mezzane di Sopra is a center certainly inhabited since prehistoric times. There are frequent finds of stone tools and abundant petrified remains of various mammals such as the cave bear, preserved in the Museum of Natural Sciences of Verona. An old image of the Blessed Virgin and Child in a capital in S. Fermo Street, was painted in 1353 and commissioned by a certain domino Alemanus.

The Santi Fermo e Rustico Chruch dates from the fifteenth century. It was enlarged in 1766, the year in which the construction of the actual bell tower started. Inside there are works of Agostino Ugolini, Orazione Farinati, Sante Prunati and a red marble octagonal baptismal font, done in 1493, work of Bartolomeo da Massa. This work was compromised by a disastrous restoration of the eighteenth century.

The San Vincenzo Ferrari Capital was built in 1891 and contains, in a recess, a statue of the patron saint.