Pieve di Sant'Antonio Abate

The church of Saint Anthony the Abbot is located on a basalt spur called “la Frata”, between the villages of Vestenanova and Vestenavecchia.  

Until the Fourteenth century, it was the most important religious center of the upper Val d’Alpone until it lost significance with the construction of the new church in Vestenavecchia at the foot of "Fratta".

It is the first church of the upper Val d’Alpone, built in Romanesque style in the 12th century. Converted into a lazaretto and plastered with quicklime in 1630, throughout its long history it also served as a shelter for animals and a refuge for partisans during the war. A careful restoration took place between 1980 and 1987, returning it to its former glory.

The façade is simple, gabled, with typical features of rural Romanesque architecture. In the center, there is an arched portal with outlines in local limestone and capitals with simple molding, topped by a small circular oculus. An overhanging cornice concludes the front, marking the line of the roof’s slopes.

Inside, the church presents a single rectangular hall covered by a wooden structure with rafters and exposed beams.

The triumphal arch, slightly pointed, hence with a hint of Gothic, is covered with frescoes from the 15th century, restored in the 1980s and especially between 2014 and 2017 along with those of the sub-arch and the presbytery.

The presbytery, narrower than the hall, is rectangular in plan, covered by a barrel vault completely frescoed, with God the Father, while the surrounding medallions feature the Four Evangelists. The frescoes on the vault of the presbytery and the Prophets have been attributed to the Veronese painter Francesco Morone. Between 1983 and 1984, a liturgical adjustment was made, with a new altar facing the faithful, obtained by dismantling the ancient major altar made of multicolored marbles.

The apse wall is flat and displays the fresco of the patron, Saint Anthony the Abbot, flanked by the saints Urban and Zenon, the patrons of the parish of Vestenavecchia.

On the left side of the church, there is a square-shaped bell tower, with a shaft made of stone blocks from Lessinia.