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When our Tyrolean relatives moved about their fields, when they lifted their eyes from tilling their fields, when they looked to the distance of their valleys, what did they see and behold? They saw church steeples and lovely churches embellished with frescoes and artifacts contributed by many over the years. When they moved about their villages or led WKHLU FDWWOH WKH\ ZRXOG PHHW ORYHO\ VKULQHVFDSLWHOOL RU D crucifix. Looking up the mountainsides, they beheld ancient castles replete with art from a variety of artists, castles where feudal lords meted out justice and exacted tithes on behalf of a higher authority. The Trentino countryside is marked by architectural works complete with sculptures and paintings Shrine of San Luigi by skillful artists. When the town dwellers moved about their Larido Bleggio cities and towns, when the people from the countryside came to these towns for services or to transact their affairs, they passed edifices and monuments that boasted of charming art and sculpture and communicated a sense of continuity and harmony. Poor as they were, they had the riches of so much art in Shrine of the Madonna & the SantiCavrasto their ordinary and everyday environments The art of the Trentino or the Tyrol was profoundly influenced by its history and geography. It lies at the extreme southern edge of the Germanic empire, the Tyrol or the Welsch Tirol so that it became a meeting place and a sponge between the Nordic and the Latin cultures. While flanked by the Lombardy and the Veneto, the Trentino or the Sud Tirol was never part of Italy until 1919. For 800 years it was an empire or lands under the control of feudal bishops many Germanic and then for the 200 years prior to its annexation to Italy, it was the part of the Austrian Hungarian Empire. This cultural and geographic combination makes its artistic expressions heterogeneous and fascinating. This very geography and cultural mixture Castel Toblino prompted St Charles Borromeo to select the Tyrol as the logical and ideal location for the Ecumenical Council of Trent which launched the Counter Reformation that fueled the assertiveness of the Baroque. These remarks are an introduction to how we will present in future editions of the multi-faceted aspects of the art RIWKH7UHQWLQRIURPLWVIUHVFRHGSDODFHVLWVFDWKHGUDOVDQGFKXUFKHVIURPGLIIHUHQWHUD s, its village churches and shrines to its castles with its sculptures and paintings. We will attempt to move around the Trentino to highlight and explain the history and the features of these expressions. We welcome your inquiries and/or suggestions regarding specific examples of the art. Just below, we present the church of San Virgilio in the shadow of the Brenta Dolomites. The church is illustrated by the famous Simone Baschenis.

Church of St Virgilio-Bascheni frescoes Pinzolo

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