This is one of the most unique and beautiful churches in America! The pastel colored frescoes are like nothing else I've seen. Amazing marble and stained glass too. The tour guides are incredibly good too. Very knowledgeable, funny, and they give a very fun tour for only 15 bucks cash Sundays 1-4 (lower for kids and seniors and the money helps preserve the church). Highly recommend visiting! read more

St Ann's Arts and Cultural Center - Performing Arts Near Me - Woonsocket, Rhode Island

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We went to the St. Ann's Art and Cultural Center today and we are so happy we made it there before tours stop for the season. Our guide was Joe Petrucci,t and he did a wonderful job of explaining both the history of the church and the paintings. His passion and excitement are contagious! The paintings are magnificent, and it was interesting to hear the story behind each piece. The marble in the church is absolutely beautiful. It is such a shame that such a meaningful structure depends on donations to keep functioning as an arts center. It is truly a piece of artistic history as well as a testament to faith. read more

Spectacular frescoes, stained glass and trompe-l'œil beyond belief. Be sure to take a tour guided by Joe Petrucci if possible. Support this magnificent structure any way you can. read more

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No free water. Seriously. They tell you the tap water isn't safe to drink. The only option is water at $2/bottle. I explained it was for children & that they just wanted water. They told me the only option was to buy it at $2/bottle. read more

St Ann's Arts and Cultural Center - Note that they don't offer tap water either. Thirsty? No free option. Best is water at $2/bottle. - Performing Arts Near Me - Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Just wanted to expand on the previous review. The artist responsible for this testament to faith was an Italian national: Guido Ninchieri. He also created stained glass windows (check out St. Anthony's Church in Woonsocket). During WWII he was detained as a foreign national (we were at war with Italy). My parents were married here in August 1941 under scaffolding. Parishoners served as models for all the frescos. That leads to an interesting story... Originally "Eve" was nude. After too much attention on her, the pastor had Ninchieri paint leaves over her genitals but kept her breasts bare! I served as an altar boy there in the late 1970s. Midnight Mass would rival St. Peter's.SRO. It is sad to see the venue now used for nonreligious purposes. Like churches in the former Soviet Union. This should be a national landmark. read more

The Sistine Chapel of Woonsocket Sounds like an oxymoron like- "Great Philosophers of Central Falls" But surprise: the interior reveals amazing Italian frescos on the ceilings and walls of this former Roman Catholic Church. The combined area of frescos is greater than the actual Sistine Chapel, and may surpass the largest frescoed structure in the world- The Wurzburg Palace in Germany. The frescos were painted in the arduous and painfully slow Italian tradition and the colors are vibrant and the scenes are full of imagery. If that isn't impressive enough, the stained glass windows were imported from Chartres, France where they know a thing or two about that. Gorgeous stuff. Sadly the church went from a peak of over 10,000 parishioners to a complete shutdown. The church sold the building for 1 dollar to the cultural center, a non-profit group. These cool people are the caretakers for these delicate works of art. One small roof leak can cause irreparable damage. The heating bill and upkeep is an enormous undertaking. These people are saints. Check out their schedule of events. They do nice shows like dinner theatre and offer tours of the building. Try a tour, you will be amazed at the amount of history that goes way beyond the walls. read more

Pros to having your wedding here - 1. It is an absolutely beautiful church. Done over very well with ornate stained glass windows and gorgeous architecture!! Thus endeth the Pros. ========= Cons to having your wedding here - 1. You may as well have your wedding on the sun where the temps are lower! I've been to 3 weddings there in the past 2 years, and all three of them took place on days where the outside temperature was about 82-85F. All three times, the church was at least 10 - 15 degrees HOTTER inside. The wedding I went to last weekend was about 100F in the church. 2. There is NO AIR CONDITIONING AT ALL in either the church or in either of the two halls attached (one is on the side of the main church, and one is downstairs). They have huge fans that if you are really really lucky, you might just get one pointed at you blowing air that is only 95F. 3. The sound quality is HORRIBLE. You cannot hear the bride and groom. Three weddings there, and I haven't heard the vows even once. 4. The manager is a jerk (and I'm being nice) who enforces a strict rule of "NO drinks may enter OR leave the church" that is reminiscent of Hitler and his henchmen. I think they may actually keep the heat constantly on in the church just to sell more drinks! While experiencing mild heatstroke (I've had it before, I know the symptoms) at this horrible nightmare of a venue, I bought a can of soda from them (they sell all of their drinks inside at insane prices, hence no drinks in or out). Needing to cool off more as I was seriously having trouble breathing and walking due to the 100F temp for the past hour and a half, I went to leave. One of hitler's henchmen STOPPED ME at the door and told me that I was not allowed to leave the church with the can of soda that I had JUST BOUGHT FROM THEM!!! This guy told me that I had to either stay in the oven or throw my soda away. I could see if it was alcohol, but nope, this was just a plain ole can of Coke. Seriously?! Someone thinks that this is an acceptable way to run a business...kill off the guests by baking them in the worlds largest oven?!?!?! I chugged the rest of the soda, put the can down, and left while the wedding party went to get their pictures taken, and I came back with an insulated water bottle (so the $4 tiny bottle that I could buy from them didn't start boiling in my hands). I was told once again by Hitler's henchmen that I either had to throw away my expensive insulated water bottle or bring it back to my car, which was about a 5 minute walk since their lot is VERY SMALL. I had taken out $40 in cash to buy drinks for me and my family. After that, I chugged my water, brought my water bottle back to my car, and did not spend ONE DIME on their drinks - good business sense right there, lose $40 of business because you are too cheap to let someone that you gave heatstroke to come in with an insulated water bottle. 5. The food is "ok" at best. You have to hunt for the 1/16 tsp of salad dressing that's there if you were lucky enough to get that much. For the prices they charge, I'm pretty sure they can afford to put some actual salad dressing in there! They put paprika in their roasted potatoes...dude, it's roasted potatoes, not home fries. To be fair, the chicken marsala was actually good, not dried out at all. I can't eat pasta, so I can't comment on the pasta either way, as I didn't have any. The water that they brought out to the tables is definitely Woonsocket drinking water from the tap...now I may not have the most refined palate, but I could taste plenty of iron, bleach, and an amalgam of other disgusting chemicals very clearly (probably even lead). Yep folks...I said BLEACH! The ice tasted ok, so I asked if I could get more ice at the table. I was snapped at by the waiter saying "that's all we have, you get what's there!". Since no one else was was drinking the chemical water, I skimmed all the ice and put it in my glass for the champagne toast. 6. Wait staff is very rude (with the exception of one older woman) as noted by the comment above. The manager announced that the (.35 cent) napkin rings belonged to the venue so they have to be collected. He went table to table PULLING THEM FROM THE GUESTS' HANDS!!! They were made of a mesh of plastic silver indented dots made to look like rhinestones are there....they aren't. Amazon sells these - 400 for $140, free shipping...hence .35 cents each. http://www.amazon.com/Sparkles-Make-Special-Rhinestone-Covers/dp/B00MWTWOH4/ref=sr_1_28?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1410379904&sr=1-28&keywords=mesh+napkin+rings Bottom line...if you like your family/guests AT ALL - DO NOT HAVE A WEDDING HERE. If you have it in the winter, you may be ok with the heat, but all other points stand valid. read more

Get with it! The city of Woonsocket has amazingly wonderful places to visit, and St. Ann Art & Cultural Center is leading the way - Yankee Magazine featured it recently. You'd really be amazed! Frescoes as incredible as those in the Sistine Chapel, not to mention the fabulous stained glass. It's close to plenty of really good restaurants, and some excellent ones. It also offers entertainment, events and lots of activities. Nearby is the wonderful, completely restored Stadium Theater, of the era of "Palace" type theaters. Notable names and show - (PPAC, watch out!). Chan's jazz club is close by . . . really, I could go on and on! Come visit - then come back here and write another review! read more