Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, Gothic cathedral in Montagnana, Italy

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the main church of Montagnana, in the Veneto, built between 1431 and 1502 in a late Gothic style with Renaissance additions. It has a Latin-cross plan oriented to the cardinal points, so at noon sunlight strikes the two white stone spheres on the facade. Above the main portal is a sculpted roundel of the Madonna and Child, begun by Lorenzo Bregno, who died in 1523, and finished by 1525 by Antonio Minello.

Work on the cathedral started in 1431, when Montagnana was under Venetian rule and the town was investing in its civic and religious buildings. Construction continued over several decades until the church reached its current form, which has remained largely unchanged since.

The cathedral faces Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, the main square of Montagnana, and acts as a gathering point for the town on ordinary days and during religious feasts. The wide steps at the entrance are a natural meeting place where locals stop and chat before or after mass.

The cathedral stands on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and is easy to reach on foot from the main gate of the old town. Visits are best planned outside of Mass times, as the interior is less accessible during services.

The cathedral holds a painting by Paolo Veronese, one of the leading painters of the Venetian Renaissance, still in its original location inside the church. Finding a work of this kind in a small town rather than a major museum is something most visitors do not expect.