Church of Santa Maria in Araceli

The church of Santa Maria in Araceli is a late-Baroque style church built in the late 17th century in Vicenza according to designs attributed to Guarino Guarini.

Documents first take note of a church at the site, dating from 1241. They refer to a church of Santa Maria in the area that stood near a convent. This convent, which in 1277 belonged to the Clarisse Nuns, was called Santa Maria ad Cellam,. The suffix was then modified to alla cella, then Arcella and finally to Araceli. This church in Vicenza should not be confused with the church Santa Maria in Aracoeli in central Rome.

Construction of the present church was begun during 1672-1680, a period during which the famous architect Guarino Guarini resided in Vicenza under the patronage of the Theatines. In 1965, designs for the church were found in the Vatican Library.