St. Hippolyte and St. Cassian Church

The small church of SS. Ippolito and Cassiano was built in 1436 over the hill above Castello Tesino on the initiative of the notary Donato Pelloso and, in the following two years, was entirely decorated with frescoes.

In the mid-1600s, by order of the Bishop of Feltre, the church was completely plastered and whitewashed and in the following centuries the memory of the artistic representations of the church was lost.

In the summer of 1927, the frescoes of the church were accidentally brought to light by a local medical student, Ermete Sordo. This was followed by a major restoration work by the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Trento, which brought to light the ancient paintings, unfortunately partly destroyed by the action of plaster and the opening of new windows in the previous period.

In the apse stands Christ Pantocrator surrounded by the symbols of the 4 Evangelists. On the triumphal arch was frescoed a splendid annunciation, of which only the right side bearing the Archangel Gabriel remains. The register below depicts the Apostles. In front of the Apostles are destined to be witnesses of the Last Judgment represented in the register below (on the left side: the Walls of Jerusalem and on the right: the Hell).

On the left side, in addition to the many images of saints, the main sacred themes represented are the Trinity, the Last Supper, the Almsgiving of St. Martin and, in the lower part, a splendid Coronation of the Madonna with Child and Angels.

At the top, along the right wall of the hall, there are other panels with various figures of saints, as well as episodes of the Stigmata of St. Francis, the Baptism of Christ and the Madonna with Child and Saints. In the lower band there are other saints and the particular image of Christ on Sunday, surrounded by the symbols of activities prohibited on feast days.

The peculiarity of this wall is the story, there are 12 scenes on two registers of the famous "Miracle of the Hanged" operated by St. James the Greater, the holy Apostle holder of the Spanish sanctuary of Compostela. Many of the frescoes show at the bottom the depictions of the clients. Outside, now practically erased, a fresco of St. Christopher.

Visits: weekly guided tours are normally organized during the summer



INFO:
APT Valsugana - Ufficio di Castello Tesino
Tel. 0039 0461 727730
castellotesino@visitvalsugana.it