Preseglie

SAN ROCCO CHURCH

This sanctuary is really ancient. Already in 1566 during the visit of bishop Bollani here used to be a small residential quarter. This church used to be preserved very poorly and it never had enough financial means except the money collected in the church. The key of the collections’ box was kept by massaro and the other key copy was kept by the rector. This church collections were spent in maintanance and embellishment of the church.
The people of the village abandoned this church several times throughout the history. Therefore in 1636 the bishop had forbidden to enter and pray in here as he considered this church unworthy. Thanks to several benefactors this church was decorated and ornated in the 17th century. In the 18th century the church suffered vandalic plundering by the French troops. In 1810 here were celebrated 150 masses.

SAN CARLO CHURCH

This church is situated in the centre of the Sotto Castello division on the side of the square.
Apsis overlooks the flat, green valley of striking beauty. The church has very simple, geometric forms. It was probably built around year 1600 after public voting in occasion of the plague or as a sign of people’s spontaneous devotion.Cabin-like façade is interrupted by a big semi-lunar window. The portals are made of ash-coloured stone and on it there is written the date MDCLIII.
The interior of the church has got a vault form and it is very simple. It was decorated by Vittorio Trainino and his apprentices in 1944 -1945. Particularly beautiful is the upper part of the altar retable where is portrayed Madonna col Bambino/ Madonna with the Infant Jesus. At her feet there is a figure of very young S. Antonio da Padova/St. Anthony of Padua and the figure of S. Nicola da Tolentino, S. Carlo and his kneeling devout. This painting is framed in a simple but elegant wooden frame.
There are other two, very characteristic frescoes by Trainino depicting the following scenes: The first fresco portrays Madonna della Pace con il Bambino/Madonna in Peace with the Infant Jesus. At her feet there are several soldiers, some of them reticulated and there is a sign:
Manifestazione di fede dei soldati e del popolo durante la seconda guerra mondiale A. 1940-1945. This sign means: Manifestation of the soldiers’ and the people’s faith during the terribile II. World War between 1940-1945.
The second fresco depicts a priest in front of a small sanctuary standing among German soldiers and partisans, dated 17 th April, 1945.
The nave of the church is decorated with geometric graffiti, the vault with the symbols of Faith, Hope and Charity. The presbytery has been richly ornated with frescoes depicting Agnus. On the sides there are depicted the four Evangelists. The wooden frame is very simple but elegant and there are two small statues of S. Francesco and S. Antonio. The marble inlaid altar is particulary beautiful. On the frame, the author created a small angel holding two cartouches. Around the frame of the bell tower you can read the date 1668/ A(nonio)Z(appini)F(ece)F(are) which is partly cancelled.

SAN FILIPPO NERI CHURCH

This 17th century church is elegant in its sinuous, rich curves of particular harmony. The church is situated in the division of Quintilago in a real delightful position overlooking the gorgeous valley at its back. Behind the church spreads an awesome panorama of meadows, houses and woods. The external and internal curves boast rare beauty. Inside the church there are elegant stuccos used as a refining element. The interior of the church contains several niches, some of them are ornated by statues. On the altar there is a painting which portrays Madonna with the Infant Jesus, S. Giovanni Nepomuceno and Filippo Neri. The church dates back to 1750 when the inhabitants of the village received the permission to build it.

SAN FRANCESCO D’ASSISI AND SAN GAETANO CHURCH

This church is devoted to S. Francesco and it was constructed on the Monte in Cros le Vie hill. It was erected after Bartolomeo Tonni had obtained on 17th July, 1777 the permission from the Papal CourUna cappella da dedicare a S.Francesco d’Assisi venne costruita sul Monte in Cros le Vie per iniziativa di
Michele fu Bartolomeo Tonni, che ne chiedeva il permesso alla Curia il 17 Luglio 1777.

SANCTUARY OF MADONNA DEL VISELLO

This sanctuary is situated 3 km from the village in an isolated small valley. According to old memories published by the printer Paolo Rizzardi from Brescia in 1614, in the place where the the sanctuary was erected Madonna appeared: “ La Regina degli Angeli Maria Santissima”- Queen of Angels Most Holy Mary. She appeared to a man called Bonfadino ( also called Dossi, born in Dosso – a tiny hamlet of Gazzane parish, municipality of Preseglie) with white dress and a noble entourage by two Saint women of heaven, while Dossi was overlooking after his poor herd. She ordered him to tell the inhabitants of the above mentioned commune that they should build her a sanctuary in that very place where She was talking. And here the Church of Visello stands at the present time.” To give a proof of the real apparition, the Virgin Mary allowed Dossi to take plenty of milk from a 6-month-old heifer. The milk healed several incurable invalids. Folk tradition tells that Mr. Bonfadino was dumb, but, when ordered by the Virgin Mary to milk the heifer, he spoke for the first time, saying:”But it doesn’t produce milk”. People believed him when they heard him speaking. The legend tells as well that the milk which was milked in those six months remained good for two whole years and it healed the plague-striken and cholera suffering people.The owner of the place where Madonna appeared was a nobleman Giovanni Battista Montini. He was very touched by this event and without hesitation donated the piece of his land so a sanctuary could be built here and so it was in a course of few years. Still not satisfied Govanni Battista Montini obtained on 26th July 1527 from bishop’s notary Cipriano Savallo a notarial act which promoted the oratory Santa Maria (in the district where Virgin Mary appeared). The bishop of Brescia has granted indulgence to anyone who in the period of forty days had visited the sanctuary and made offerings for the embellishment of the church. In September, 1652 the sanctuary was consacrated by bishop Morosini. Other indulgences were granted by Cardinal Angelo Maria Quercini. Don Battista Montini was the first chaplain of this sanctuary. Later on, when there was noone to guard the sanctuary, this task was conferred to a hermit Givanni Antonio Ferlinga from Preseglie. His only income and sustain were 7,58 hectares of woods, sweet corn, hay, mullbery leaves and two thirds of fruit and grapes collected every year on that territory.
The Virgin Mary had repaid the deep devotion of this hermit by healing the serious illness which he had suffered from, she saved him from the shipwreck on Garda Lake, she also saved him from the agression of a peasant who thought him a thief and she protected him from plague in 1630.
All the chaiplancy goods were kept by the parish of Gazzane.He let to confirm this by a decree of San Carlo Bartolomeo from 1580. On 18 March 1897 this decree was proclaimed by episcopal cury as invalid and since then the chaiplaincy goods were administrated by the Municipality of Preseglie.
This sanctuary has allways remained isolated. Therefore, Don Gaetano Ognibene proposed in the middle of the 17th century to build a road between Preseglie and Visello. In return he wanted to become a rector of this sanctuary. As this condition was not fulfilled, Don Gaetano Ognibene donated his patrimony to the poors of the village. They founded an admission free school. Although the place where the sanctuary is placed is not easy to reach, the believers had allways been very devoted to it. It is a one nave church with three altars. Once sanctuary was ornated by a group of wooden sepulchre of Sleeping Vergin ( Vergine Dormiente), which is preserved today in a parish church. Very beautiful are two canvases portraying the two moments of Apparition. Very remarkable is also a silver cup from methan–producing galena which was extracted right here. Extraordinery solemnities were celebrated on 9th, 10th, 11th May 1914, culminated by an endless procession from the village to the sanctuary. The devotion of the sanctuary was promoted even more in 1942, when on the iniciative of the Parish, were consecrated the Sabbia Valley soldiers involved in the II World War. The apparition of the Virgin Mary is mentioned in on an arched copper plate from 1663 ( dimensions 130mm x116 mm). On the plate you can read the sign: Virgin Mary (M.V) appeared in Visello MDXXII, Preseglie municipality in Sabbia Valley, district of Bresica, P. Salvatori.

PARISH CHURCH SAN PIETRO AND PAOLO

There is no note regarding this church. Probably, the former church was built in the 15th century. During his pastoral visit in1566 bishop Bollani finds a consacrated church with two lateral altars dedicated to S. Ursulla and S. Catherina. The present chuch was built in the middle of the 18th century. In 1748 the parish of the church became Don Andrea Baronio. He found the church in a delipitating state, very poorly decorated and also very small for the population of the village. So he decided to build a new church. On 17th March 1750 he obtained the permission of the episcopal Cury and on 3rd April, the first stone was laid. The church was designed in 1750 and built by Gaspare Turbini ( other say Domenico Corbellino). The interior of the nave is enriched by a series of circular columns which contribute to the effect of moving and flowing lines. The construction of this church was carried out according to the documents published by Ennio Vitali, the master builder Domenico Ceresa, together with masters Onofrio Lagasachi and Gaicomo De Stefani. The construction wasn’t easy as the soil is not very consistent and it required lots of pilework.
According to Ennio Vitali, the church was finished when Don Baronio was already dead. Marble-workers from Rezzato contributed significantly to the decoration of the church. In 1762 Paolo Ghirardi supplied the columns of the chorus. In 1759 Giacomo Ghirardi and Antonio Palazzi supplied the marble pieces for the lateral chapels. In 1762 G. B. Benedetti and Domenico Tagliani carried out the works on the main altar.
In 1772 Giacomo Barbieri supplied the stones for the façade. In 1796 Antonio Tagliani created the two altars dedicated to S. Antonio and S. Ursulla. The church was consacrated on 6th August 1786 by bishop Giovanni Nani and on the main altar there were placed the relics of the Saint Sebastian, Sain Felix and Saint Eliodoro.
The interior was painted by Pietro Scalvini. On the vault he painted the Ascension and on the vault of the nave the Assumption. One of these frescoes in the nave got lost. Opposite of the main altar, above the entrance door, master Scotti depicted the martyrdom of S. Peter. The parish of church was elected Ugo Vaglia and after him Sandro Guerini. When you enter the church, on the right from the first altar, you can see a large tempera already mentioned in1953 by Ugo Vaglia who assigned this painting to the Moretto’s school. Some experts believe it was painted by Moretto himself. According to Sandro Guerini this painting was surely painted by Moretto. It portrays Sant’Antony Enthroned with the Deacons Saints Stephen and Vincent. Guerini pointed out that “this scene is complex and vigorous, strongly however equally dialectic. The strenght of St. Anthony is compressed in the architecture and in the spiritual solidity of the two deacons: these elements are typical for the manirism demonstrated by Moretto after 1540 with a counter-reformistic and strict anti-Lutheran, however authenticly christian spirit “. There is another altar with a statue. The statue replaced a painting of the San Cattaneo’s Last Supper which is now kept in sacristy. Main altar is dominated by a beautiful retable attributed to Agostino Galeazzi (1562) , the chief apprentice of Moretto. Agostino signed the altar piece by the signiture ‘AUG. GALA BRIX P MDLII’. This is one of the very few paintings actually signed by the author himself. The painting portrays the “Beata Vergine col Bambino”- the Blessed Virgin with the Infant Jesus; at her feet there is S. Peter wearing pontifical clothes, on her sides there are St. John the Baptist and St. Paul.