The Council of Trento
The historical event that took place between 1545 and 1563 and made the city of Trento world-famous
General congregation of the Council of Trento in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore General congregation of the Council of Trento in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (1633/1633) by Elia NaurizioMuseo Diocesano Tridentino
The Council of Trento, at which the reform of the Catholic Church and the reaction to Protestant doctrines was defined, took place in three distinct phases between 1545 and 1563, but only in the last one the need to fix its importance in an image arose.
Inaugural session of the Council of Trento in the Cathedral of Saint Vigilius (1711/1711) by Nicolò DorigatiMuseo Diocesano Tridentino
After the solemn ceremony on December 13, 1545, the work began under the leadership of the papal legates and without the participation of the Protestants, who had also been invited.
23rd session of the Council of Trento in the Cathedral of Saint Vigilius (1961/1961) by Odette PauvertMuseo Diocesano Tridentino
During the three council periods, Trento Cathedral was the site of the solemn sessions, which were meetings of a formal and especially ceremonial nature, during which the decrees drawn up in the daily working meetings were read and finally approved.
Final session of the Council of Trento in the Cathedral of Saint Vigilius (1711/1711) by Nicolò DorigatiMuseo Diocesano Tridentino
Despite its decisive role, the Cathedral did not have the iconographic fortune of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where general congregations were held in the third period.
Congregation of the Council of Trento in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (post 1658) by Ludovico SardagnaMuseo Diocesano Tridentino
The print, dedicated to Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg and dating from the mid-seventeenth century, shows one of these daily meetings.
23rd session of the Council of Trento in the Cathedral of Saint Vigilius (1961/1961) by Odette PauvertMuseo Diocesano Tridentino
The painting kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris, which is attributed to an unknown Venetian painter, is a rare and unique coeval evidence of one of the 25 council sessions. The museum displays a copy made by Odette Pauvert in 1963.
General congregation of the Council of Trento in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (1563/1563) by Anonymous engraverMuseo Diocesano Tridentino
This engraving constitutes one of the rare visual representations made with the synod still open and with an avowedly documentary intent.
