Art and Unesco
The shape, the fresco, the Madonnina and the mosaics
People can easily recognise the temple due to its uncommon structure. It’s tent-shaped and this represents refuge, security, relief and serenity. These aspects overturn the meaning of war represented by Mount Cesen, used in wartime as a military stationing. The mountain, with the Temple, thus become a place of peace and life. Many associations and individuals contributed to embellish the Temple, such as the Misericordie d’Italia and the Fratres Groups to which we owe the fresco made by the Forlì artist Carmelo Puzzolo (student of Annigoni) and placed on the apse.
The work, inaugurated in 1986, describes the “seven works of mercy” with which we express love for God and solidarity with our brothers and sisters. To feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to take care of the sick, to visit the prisoners, to give shelter to the pilgrims, to bury the dead. The fresco shows the presence of two characters representing the gift of blood and organs, gestures of love made possible by the spirit of volunteering and altruism. The same Puzzolo, who appears in the fresco, also executed the panels of the Way of the Cross on the side walls of the nave, with an artistic bronze fusion, paid for with the offers of visitors. The wood artists of Val Gardena have created and donated to the Temple the “Donor Madonnina”, located in the niche on the right, next to the presbytery. The magnificent crucifix of the seventeenth century in papier-mâché is also very admired. FIDAS Valpantena (Verona) took charge of the floor. The offerings of the pilgrims contributed to the purchase of the benches. On the external facade we find on the left a mosaic depicting the gift of blood, the work of the Treviso artist Angelico Meneghetti, and on the right the AIDO mosaic, dedicated to the donation of organs.
Reception facility Don Gomiero
With the arrival of numerous groups from all over Italy and from abroad, it became necessary to think of a facility that could accommodate a large number of people. The tenacity of the Board, the new chaplain Don Tiziano Piovan of the historic president of the Temple Committee, Vittorio Dall’Armi, were able to involve once again the various donor associations and their leaders and the dream, now almost completed, becomes a magnificent reality dedicated to Don Vittorio Gomiero, able to host hundreds of pilgrims. For decades it has been managed by AVIS, which in 2019 gave it to the municipality. It is currently waiting to reopen.
Valdobbiadene: Unesco heritage. Prosecco and the Donor’s trail
The complex of the Tempio is located at 1,070 meters above sea level on the Treviso Prealps, in Pianezze, in the municipality of Valdobbiadene, in the province of Treviso (Veneto), in a UNESCO heritage area since 2019 and known for the vines from which the homonymous prosecco is produced. In the area there are many wineries and farmhouses where you can enjoy it. Over 1000 meters, most of the territory is pastures. This territory is an essential part of the Valdobbiadenese that, with its pastures, is still economically important for both agriculture and tourism. In the vicinity of the Temple there is a nature park and several trails leading to the mountain huts and Mount Cesen, 1565 meters high. In winter it is an ideal place for snowshoeing.
On July nights, groups of visitors go looking at the stars. On 19 June 1993, the “Donor Trail” was inaugurated, “baptized” by the municipal AVIS of Vedelago and Castellana. The Bishop of Padua, Antonio Mattiazzo, who walked the eight-kilometer path from San Pietro di Barbozza to Pianezze with other groups of donors and hikers, blessed it.