Tempio della Beata Vergine del Soccorso (La Rotonda)
The locals call it La Rotonda, and the name does most of the work. Standing in Piazza XX Settembre, the octagonal body of the Tempio della Beata Vergine del Soccorso rises on a low portico of Tuscan columns, its stone cornice lined with modillions, three wide windows cut into each of its eight sides. Walk the perimeter and you'll notice something odd embedded in the portico walls: 80 stone inscriptions salvaged from demolished buildings across Rovigo, the temple quietly becoming an archive of a city that kept changing around it.
Inside, the Baroque interior rewards patience. A gilded wooden altar carved by Giovanni Caracchio in 1607, a Gaetano Callido organ from 1767, ceiling frescoes painted by Vittorio Bressanin in 1887, and canvases by Francesco Maffei and Antonio Zanchi covering the walls — centuries of work that accumulated rather than arrived all at once.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to linger at the portico longer than they planned, reading the salvaged inscriptions one by one. The sundial at the corner is easy to miss on a first pass. The Callido organ is the detail that stays with those who catch it — one of the quieter masterworks of 18th-century instrument-making, sitting in plain sight.
The story behind Tempio della Beata Vergine del Soccorso (La Rotonda)
The first stone went down on 13 October 1594, laid by Bishop Lorenzo Laureti. The designer was Francesco Zamberlan, proto of Venice's Magistrato alle Acque and a collaborator of Andrea Palladio — the octagonal plan carries that lineage clearly. A dome was installed in 1603 but removed only three years later when structural problems made themselves known; the sloped roof that replaced it is what you see today.
The 57-metre bell tower came much later, designed by Baldassarre Longhena in 1655 but not completed until 1774 — a construction arc of over a century. An 1882 Adige flood forced restoration, as did a major campaign between 1956 and 1966. The most recent conservation work was funded by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo.
Good to know
Open Tuesday through Friday afternoons (14:30–18:00) and Saturday–Sunday mornings and afternoons; closed Mondays. Admission is €3, free for Rovigo residents. From the train station it's a 15–20 minute walk. Guided visits available by reservation at info@tempiolarotonda.it.
Where is Tempio della Beata Vergine del Soccorso (La Rotonda)?
More tickets & tours for Tempio della Beata Vergine del Soccorso (La Rotonda)
Book directly at the provider
What travellers say about Tempio della Beata Vergine del Soccorso (La Rotonda)
Beautiful church to visit. Information in church is only in Italian. Leaflet gives some information in English.
This place is marvellous. There's a super cosy park with benches on which you can rest during your visit in Rovigo. The temple is definitely one of the most astonishing things I've seen in this area.
Beautiful beautiful church. The art is fantastic and the stories we have been told by the locals and the guide are intriguing. Highly recommended in this small town
This church is really interesting -- well worth a visit if you are in Rovigo. The church is in the form of a circle, with statues and frescoes all around. Really beautiful.
Amazing place. Unbelievable piece of art!
More of Rovigo
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Rovigo →More attractions in Rovigo
All of Rovigo →
Background adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ratings & place photos via Google · other photos with per-image credit. Ticket links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.