In Thiene, we find the majestic Cathedral, a result of a succession of constructions and extensions that have taken place over its more than millennia-long history. Its events can be traced in the pastoral reports of the bishops of Padua and through the chronicles of the archpriest's decisions.
The Cathedral of Thiene is connected to the Castle of Thiene and together they represent the heart of the city.
The history of the church in Thiene certainly begins in 917 when, as a chapel of a modest community, it enters the Diocese of Padua.
The church increases its prestige and in 1166 the new bishop of Padua, Gerardo, reassigns the fief, particularly the parish, the castle, and the village of Thiene, to Archpriest Tisone and also to the community.
In 1488, the then Bishop Pietro Barozzi, after visiting the parish, indicates the dimensions, shape, orientation, and other details of the church in his report. From these notes, one can deduce its capacity (approximately 500 people).
In 1625, the 15th-century church is demolished "by popular demand" and rebuilt by the then archpriest Carlo Rizzi and the community. The building, consecrated in 1746, features a single nave, a gabled roof completed at the facade by a tympanum adorned with statues of the Assumption of Mary and Saints Peter and Paul, and the coat of arms of Thiene.
Between 1792 and 1796, the Vicentine architect Ottone Calderari undertakes the restoration of the church; the presbytery is enlarged, six altars are erected, and the single nave is enriched with a “ducal ceiling” that houses 15 precious canvases by Venetian artists who worked between the 17th and 18th centuries, among which stand out the Assumption by Giambattista Pittoni, an Ascension by Gregorio Lazzarini, and a Presentation at the Temple by Antonio Zanchi.
In 1904, the works entrusted by Archpriest Giuseppe Flucco to the Thienese architect Claro Pasinati begin, who designs an imposing Neoclassical Cathedral incorporating the single nave of the 17th-century church with the precious ceiling. Between 1911 and 1915, the two side naves are added, but the work is interrupted due to World War I; the new Archpriest Angelo Faccin continues with the work and in 1924 adds a slightly projecting transept and a large presbytery; between 1927 and 1930, at the intersection of the central nave with the transept, the dome is raised, resting on eight Ionic columns made of marble.
The thus enlarged Cathedral was solemnly inaugurated on December 8, 1932. World War II interrupts the work, which is resumed by Archpriest Lino Pertile; between 1949 and 1954 the facade is completed, the central nave is raised by over 4 meters, the entrance arches to the dome and the presbytery are widened, and the interior is flooded with light, with the precious restored ceiling reappearing in its splendor. In 1952 and 1963, frescoes are executed on the pendentives of the dome, on the triumphal arch of the central nave, and on the back wall of the presbytery.
