A countryside trail between faith and archaeology.
Borgo San Marco is surrounded by fertile fields which in time have given back some of the most relevant finds of Montagnana's Roman time. The town surrounds its 18th century church with a peculiar oval plan.
Borgo San Marco lays west of the city center, at the border with the territory of Verona, on the right bank of the ancient bed of the river Adige. As its name shows, it is more than just a hamlet and rather a village. It is focused around the ancient church of San Marco and San Daniele and goes along the wide main road which crosses its territory. To get to Borgo San Marco, you pass through a fertile countryside where the most relevant Roman finds were found. They belonged to some rustic cottages which were probably scattered non in a prearranged day. Parts of pipes, mosaic tiles, millstones for cereals, and a fragment of a sundial give us a glimpse into the daily life between the 1st century b.C. and A.D. A series of excavations which stated after some fortuitous finds during the settlement of some agricultural land has brought back to light some great monuments and funerary objects which are now kept at the civic museum A. Giacomelli. Among them there are those from the Gens Vassidia necropolis, among which stands out the imposing and refined Postumulena Sabina Stele. When you are on the main road, stop and have a look at the church. The building we can see nowadays dates back to the 19th century and is by the architect Rodolfo Vantini from Brescia. It stands where there once was a parish church which was rebuilt several times over time until the current version with an oval plan which is quite unusual for churches in this territory. The folk tradition reports that the bell tower was made coi ovi, meaning with the revenue that young women would collect from the sale of the eggs from their henhouses. Going further you will get to the ancient monastery: that is the former monastery of San Salvaro. It was built in the 11th century, and run by Agustinian monks, and later by the Camaldolese. The simple church hosts an interesting 13th century fresco showing Christ Pantokrator. Now walk along the Fratta river, also called La Rabiosa for its impetuous waters. You will get to a wide and busy road. In front of you, you will see the Castle of Bevilacqua, a 14th-century fortress which was later turned into a villa.
