Marlengo, in South Tyrol
Marlengo lies above Val d'Adige on the crest of a small hill. The village is just half an hour from the spa town of Merano.
Marlengo is a picturesque village, which has preserved its original character and which likes to celebrate its own traditions. The band can look back on 150 years of history, the folk dancing group preserves old dances and each year the village's festival float, the "Marlinger Apfelkrone" or Marlengo Apple Crown takes part in the Marlengo Grape Festival procession. This float is decorated with several hundredweights of apples and thousands of cloves.
There are also sacred buildings of significance in the history of art in the village. One of these is the Old Parish Church, documentary evidence of which dates from 1166. It was renovated in 1251 and in 1480 the area around the bell tower was extended. The tower later became a victim of a fire, which spared only the lower gable roof. The bell, which is called "Annamaria" dates from 1847 and weighs 3163 kg.
The neo-Gothic new Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta was constructed to the design of the architect, Anton Weber from Vienna. This church with its three aisles was consecrated in 1901 and its interior houses various treasures, such as the high altar, the mosaics, the side altars, the sculptures in wood, and the reliefs in the sanctuary.
The Chapel of San Felice sits on a slope of Monte Nörder close to a mineral spring. The chapel was consecrated in 1251. Later it was twice extended, in 1400 and in 1500. The holy water font dates from the beginning of the 16th century, whereas the altar dates from 1671.
