St. Anthony Church

In the middle of the Saint Anthony Square in the village centre of Ortisei, there is a little church dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padova. The Portuguese preacher and Franciscan is one of the 36 Doctors of the Roman Catholic church and patron saint of the bakers, swineherds, miners, travellers and social workers.

At the same place a church was already mentioned in 1430 for the first time, the today’s church was built between 1673 and 1676 in Renaissance style and sanctified in 1680. In the 1980s the building was renovated fundamentally. The Saint Anthony Church can be seen from afar due to its 29 m high onion-dorned tower, which houses three bells.

Inside the six painted glass windows and the rose window from the 19th century are worth watching, moreover the Romanesque high altar was decorated by the Swiss painter Melchior Paul von Deschwanden. The statues beside it show Saint Ruprecht and Saint Ulrich, works of Johannes Vinatzer from 1684. The 12 oil paintings above the moulding show scenes of the life of Saint Anthony and date also back to the 17th century.