The Duomo di Salò, dedicated to Santa Maria Annunziata, is described as the most imposing and significant religious monument in the entire Garda basin. Built in the second half of the 15th century on the site of an ancient medieval pieve, the church combines late-Gothic monumentality of Venetian influence with early refined sculptural elements of Lombard Renaissance. Inside, it houses a particularly complex collection of painting and wooden sculpture from eastern Lombardy.
Located in the historic centre near the ancient Palazzo della Magnifica Patria di Riviera and the lakeside promenade, the collegiata church served for centuries as both a civic and spiritual centre for the Comunità della Riviera benacense. After the community reaffirmed its dedication to Venice, the decision was taken to raise a new, larger pieve: on 30 April 1452, eight municipal deputies and two chaplains were tasked with finding funds for the building works. The architectural project was entrusted in 1453 to Filippo delle Vacche (also known as Filippo da Caravaggio), later assisted by his son Jacopo.
Archival documents state that the new church was intended to follow the plan of the famous Dominican basilica of Sant’Anastasia in Verona, with a three-aisle basilica layout divided by two rows of cylindrical pillars in Verona marble, cross-vault bays with terracotta ribs, a slightly raised transept and a deep polygonal apse choir. The façade features a typical unfinished 15th-century look, with a brick gabled front articulated by pilasters, a large central circular rose window and two side single-light openings with pointed arches. Among the key works mentioned are the marble main portal commissioned in 1506 and executed between 1507 and 1509 by Antonio della Porta (called the Tamagnino) and Gasparo Cairano, and notable wooden sculptures including the 15th-century wooden Crucifix traditionally attributed to Giovanni Teutonico and the gilded wooden altarpiece (1476-1483) by Pietro Bussolo.
Italian Version
