San Bernardo Church

Holy Mass Summer Schedule: 6:00 pm every Monday from 1ˢᵗ June 2025.
Also open to the public for religious prayer on the occasion of the feast of the patron saint on 20ᵗʰ August.
To discover its beauty at another time, book a visit by contacting the Rectory on +39 0365 551026.

Piazza San Bernardo, a hamlet of Montinelle, Manerba del Garda (BS).

The church is dedicated to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a central figure of medieval European monasticism. Born in France in 1090, at the age of 22 he entered the Benedictine Order in the convent of Citeaux. Subsequently, he became one of the founders of the Cistercian Order and was appointed Abbot of the Clairvaux Abbey. A preacher, reformer and diplomat, Saint Bernard travelled throughout Europe, including Italy, to found new monasteries and to carry out delicate missions as mediator and messenger of the Pope.

Legend has it that Manerba was also one of his stops. It is said that Saint Bernard crossed the lake with his confrères and that along the shores were two monasteries: one in Maguzzano and one in Manerba. On a sultry summer afternoon, some fishermen from Garda spotted two boats arriving from Manerba. Bernard was travelling on one of them. Just as the Saint was speaking under a large tree, a violent thunderstorm hit the area. But where he stood, not a drop fell. On that exact point, a small church was built in his honour and a following began to spread even in Veronese from the 15ᵗʰ century.

If sources abound on the Benedictine presence in Maguzzano since the 10ᵗʰ century – with documented riches and privileges – much rarer is proof related to Manerba. Nonetheless, the area was influenced by various monasteries, such as those of San Zeno di Verona and Leno. The Benedictines, among other things, introduced innovative agricultural techniques. Their estates also extended to this area and it cannot be ruled out that a small monastery existed in Montinelle, also because dedication of a Chapel to San Bernardo does not fall within the usual cycle of saints venerated in the Veronese area. Some of the land belonging to the monasteries was then redeemed by local families, including the Bertini clan, already present in Manerba in the 15ᵗʰ century.

Saint Bernard is considered the protector of beekeepers and grain growers, also invoked against storms, harmful beasts and – above all – for liberating demoniacs. In the Middle Ages, the presence of the devil was very strongly felt and many legends related to the saint tell of the resulting battles. One such tale, not referring directly to Manerba but emblematic of his link with the evil one, states that the devil tried several times to hinder the saint on his journeys to evangelise. Once, the devil even broke the wheel of his carriage to prevent him from going on. Bernard then gathered in prayer as the tailed demon appeared. The saint grabbed him by the tail and flipped him over, back and forth so many times that he ended up taking the shape… of a wheel.

• Single nave church with gabled structure
• A rectangular room with slight irregularities due to the urban context
• Square apse
• To the right and left of the main altar are a small bell tower and sacristy topped with refined decorations

The external façade is not decorated on the sides. The main features consist in:

• Baroque portal with stone foliage frame (late-17ᵗʰ century)
• Central rose window, two large side windows, a simple frame and three plumes on the ridge
• A slim bell tower, marked by horizontal bands and finished with an elaborate frame

Inside on the left wall is a fragment of the fresco of the Madonna Lactans on the Throne (attributed to the 15ᵗʰ century due to its Gothic setting) and traces of a second fresco, not so clearly legible.

Then there are two side altars:

Left altar dedicated to San Rocco:

• Plastered brick masonry, painted stucco decorations
• Altarpiece (1712): Our Lady of Sorrows with four saints (including Saint Rocco) Presumedly Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, Saint Lucy and a cleric
• Tabernacle: carved wood, painted and gilded; two angels in stucco on top

Right altar dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel:

• Antependium and two wooden angels (17ᵗʰ century)
• Altarpiece (16ᵗʰ century): Madonna Enthroned between Saint Bernard and Saint Michael the Archangel; below is the portrait of the donor

By the high altar:

• Two steps and painted antependium
• Side niches:
  • Left: wooden statue of Saint Bernard (second half of the 19ᵗʰ century)
  • Right: wooden statue of Saint Rocco (18ᵗʰ century)
• Central altarpiece (16ᵗʰ century): Madonna in Glory with Child between Saint Rocco and Saint Sebastian; on the sides, Saint Bernard and Saint Anthony the Great. The composition is framed by an architectural structure with God the Father in glory and two angels.

Final detail – red marble tombstone from Verona (1593), located on the right wall near the side entrance.