A domed octagonal church in Sacile that holds the relics of San Liberale martyr. It was rebuilt after the First World War to replace an earlier temple and to serve as an ossuary for the town’s fallen.
At a glance
The Tempio di San Liberale stands at the end of Viale Zancanaro in Sacile. It is a twentieth-century votive church designed by the engineer Riccardo Bertoja, inspired by the building in Raphael’s painting Lo sposalizio della Vergine, and it replaced an older church that had been damaged during the First World War.
Key facts
- Where: Via San Liberale 11–12, Sacile
- What: Church
- When: Built between 1927 and 1962; opened for worship in the early 1960s
- GPS: 45.9595, 12.5086 · Open in Google Maps
History
The site’s origin is linked to a local legend: a peasant was ploughing when his oxen knelt before human bones turned up by the plough. The event was considered miraculous, and a capitello dedicated to San Liberale confessor was raised there. In 1683 a temple was built in place of the small shrine, and in July 1694 the remains of a Roman soldier named Liberale, a pagan converted to Christianity and martyred for his faith, were transferred there from the catacombs of Rome. The church was desecrated and damaged during the 1917 occupation, demolished in 1926, and rebuilt from 1927. The work took decades, and the new temple was opened for worship only at the beginning of the 1960s, when the relic of San Liberale martyr was definitively placed on the high altar. The building was also intended as an ossuary for the dead of the Great War, but the works dragged on too long for that purpose.
What you see
The photographs show an octagonal, domed building with an arcaded portico approached by broad steps. The exterior is plain, with no visible inscriptions or decorative reliefs in the images. According to the published descriptions, the interior is completely circular and the main altar contains a glass case holding the remains of San Liberale, co-patron of Sacile.
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Nearby
- Parish of San Liberale — the parish district that takes its name from the same saint
- The Tempio Votivo della Pace — Venice’s Domed Shrine to Its War Dead — another domed votive temple in the Veneto built for the fallen
Gallery
Sources
- Microturismo delle Venezie, Tempio di San Liberale – Microturismo delle Venezie: construction history, architect, legend and relic transfer
- Visit Sacile, Chiesa di San Liberale | Visit Sacile: demolition, rebuilding dates, consecration as a war ossuary, Raphael inspiration, circular interior
- Il Gazzettino, San Liberale ritorna ai sacilesi: relic history, restoration works, community devotion
- Stefano Vigolo, photographs and notes to the editorial staff (2026): identification of the subject. Not a published source
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