The Parish Church of Santa Maria Annunciata (Pontenove)

Dating back to the 6th century, the Parish Church of Santa Maria Annunciata, also known as Pieve di Pontenove, is the oldest church in the area. Serving as the ‘Mother Church’ of the territory, it also had jurisdiction over Bedizzole, Calcinato, Carzago, Calvagese and Drugolo.
It was strategically located near an important communication route, the 'Via Brixiensis', which connected Brescia and Verona, and near the crossing of the Chiese River.
The building has three distinct phases of construction. The first, the early Christian phase, dates back to the 5th–6th century and had a square plan with three naves that were wider and shorter than those of the subsequent Romanesque building.
Until the 5th century, only bishops could perform baptisms, but from the 6th and 7th centuries onwards, this rite was also granted to parish churches, as evidenced by the baptismal font inside the building. The second phase of construction occurred in the early Middle Ages, during which time an enclosure wall was built around the churchyard in front of the entrance and a new baptistery was constructed in front of the church.
The third phase of construction dates back to around 1120 and the Romanesque period, when the previous early Christian building was almost completely demolished. The new building's rectangular floor plan is three metres shorter and four metres wider than the previous one, with the main axis coinciding.The third construction phase is Romanesque, dating back to around 1120. During this period, the previous early Christian building was almost completely demolished. The new rectangular floor plan is three metres shorter and four metres wider than the previous one, but has the same main axis. The coat of arms of Archpriest Giacomo Averoldi can still be seen on the entrance portal. Around 1480, he had the portico in front of the church façade demolished.
During his pastoral visit in 1580, St Charles Borromeo ordered that the cruciform window above the main door be reduced to an oculus, and that two doors be opened on either side of it.
Shortly afterwards, in 1584, the parish was transferred from the Parish Church of Pontenove, which had been abandoned since the 14th century, to the Church of St. Stephen.