Parrocchiale di Santa Maria Maggiore

Sitting in the heart of the historic town of Caprino, the present building was built in 1767 by Adriano Rossi, to replace a previous Romanesque parish church which fell into disrepair. The construction work took 19 years. This was made possible thanks to charity and the cooperation of the people of Caprino together with their animals and carts. The site of the present cathedral housed a church dedicated to St. Mary Major.

The façade dates back to 1803 and is a combination of local white and red marble from Lubiara. The lower part features six columns, a central porch portal with Mary the Immaculate placed between two angels and a massive door. On the upper part, right in the middle is a rectangular window, flanked by the statues of the evangelists Mark and Luke and placed in the niches are those of John and Matthew. At the sides, on the pinnacles are the apostles Peter and Paul.

Inside, there are several points of interest distributed throughout the church. The pavement is a combination of multicoloured and precious stone tiles. On the ceiling of the main nave, are two medallions of “Mary's Assumption and Coronation” by Bartolomeo Zeni dating back to 1783. By the entrance, are two fonts by Antonio Tinelli of Montecchio. To the right, next to entrance, a baptismal basin (which probably belonged to the old church) together with a 15th century font. Within the second altar, made of black marble from Varena and completed in 1866, is the venerated 15th century wooden crucifix. The presbitery houses the recently restored 1805 organ and the main altar, which was constructed due to a vow made after the cholera epidemic of 1836. In the apse, you can see the painting of The Assumption, which was painted and given to the church by the marquise Carlotti in 1829.

Last but not least, in the sacristy are kept excellent paintings and altarpieces of different origins. There you will find an 1838 altar made with Carrara white marble, a golden wooden statue of The Virgin sculpted in 1500 and a 1700 baroque altar with four twisted columns made to a remarkable level of artistry. Placed in the niches along the perimeter walls, are the stautes of the churches belonging to the parish of Caprino. These being the churches of; St. Isidoro (Rivoli), St. Gallo (Pesina), S. Vigilio (Brentino), St. James (Rivalta), St. Catherine (Ferrara of Baldo Mountain), St. Vito (Pazzon), St. Luke (Incanale), St. John the Baptist (Belluno and Lubiara).

The dimesions of the temple are quite remarkable: 50.70m long, 15m wide and 21m high.