In 1577, the city council took property of the sanctuary "to care and patronage of the place." Erection of the sanctuary was completed by 1579, and in 1595 it was officially consecrated to
Our Lady of Pilastrello. The church was entrusted to
Benedictine order monks of
Abbey of Monte Oliveto, who resided here till suppression of the order in 1771. The original monastery was a simple two-story building connected to the temple through a room located above the choir, where the cloistered monks who were ill, could still follow the services. The ground floor was a dining hall, a kitchen; the 2nd floor had cells for the monks. A second building similar to the first and connected to it by a cloister. In 1905, the commune returned to the sanctuary to the Olivetani. The church underwent a radical restoration carried out between the end of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. The facade with two rows punctuated by pilasters was partially modified in 1933. The ceiling and apse frescoes were completed by
Giuseppe Chiacigh between 1939 - 1942. They highlight the history of the Sanctuary and the bond between the Madonna del Pilastrello the city. Narrated in
sotto in su: • The Sacred statue receiving miraculous power of the Virgin in glory in the ceiling of the nave; • The Protection of the City from the Flood of 1822 on the counterfacade. • The Miracle of the protection of Lendinara during the floods of the
Adige on the left nave. • The Protection of the city during the Plague of 1030 and the protection of the animals from the plague in 1748 in the right nave. Chiacigh also painted the
Coronation of Mary of Benedetto e Francesco Romana, and of the
Blessed Bernardo Tolomei; a
Birth of the Virgin and the
Four Prophets in the apse. He also painted the angels in the lateral aisles and the
Cardinal Virtues painted in monochrome in the Chapel of San Antonio. In the first altar on the left, is a canvas depicting
St Francis visited by an angel (circa 1750) by G. Angeli, a pupil of
Piazzetta. The second altar has an
Ascent of Christ before Apostles and Donor (circa 1580), by the studio of
Paolo Veronese. in the third altar on the left, the
Baptism of Christ Montemezzano, pupil of
Paolo Veronese. The main altar holds the miraculous Marian icon, surrounded by marble angels (1743-1745) sculpted by either
Giovanni Maria Morlaiter or a Bellunese sculptor Marchiori. The same artist completed allegoric statues of
Chastity and
Humility next to the main altar. On the left wall are two of the six canvases painted by
Angelo Trevisani about the story of the Pilastrello. They narrate two miracles by the Virgin of the Pillastrello: the
Resuscitation of Lucia Zante during his funeral February 11, 1592 and
Francesca Bimbarto, drowned in the Canal Bianco, is recovered alive on July 19, 1613. A staircase leads to the chapel of Abbot Celestino Colombo (died 1935). The chapel houses a canvas depicting
St Peter (early 16th century) by a follower of
Dosso Dossi. In the 2nd and 3rd altars on the right are respectively, altarpieces depicting
St Anthony of Padua receiving Jesus Child and
St Anthony Abbot visits St Paul the Hermit (1792-1795) by
Tommaso Sciacca. In the second chapel are more works of the cycle by Trevisani (1730 ca.):
La giovane Maria Rigo viene resa invisibile a giovani patrizi male intenzionati (May 10, 1591) and
Miracle of changing Water to Wine (1570). The chapel also has statues of Saints Sebastian and Lucy (1814), by the sculptor T. Bonazza. In the altar of the right hosts a canvas depicting
Saints Bartolomeo, Benedetto e il Beato Bernardo Tolomei e i committenti Bartolomeo e Battista Malmignati (1850 ca.) Commissioned from brothers named Tintoretto. The sacristy houses two large canvases,
City of Lendinara protected from the plague affecting Italy and the Polesine (1630) by the intercession of John the Baptist and the
Madonna del Pilastrello saves Lendinara from the Flood of the Adige (June 24, 1677). Another large canvas is the
Glorification of the podestà of Lendinara, Ludovico Pisani (after 1750), attributed to
Andrea Celesti or
Matteo Ghidoni. On the left is the miraculous fountain crowned by a Madonna in bronze (1910) by the sculptor
Policronio Cadetti. On the walls is the 19th-century cycle of paintings depicting the Miracles of the Virgin of the Pilastrello by
Giovanni Baccari. ==References==