was a sugar refinery. In 1927 the territory of the comune was extended including close municipalities. In 1937 the course of the Adigetto Canal was diverted to the west edge of the town and a large avenue called Corso del Popolo was built in place of the former course. In the years 1943–1945 Rovigo was part of the Italian Social Republic and it has been in Italy since 1946. In the 1950s and 1960s Rovigo had a dramatic development and it had the highest urbanization rate among the towns in the Veneto region after World War II. Government Main sights The architecture of the town bears the stamp both of Venetian and of Ferrarese influence. Main sights include : Rovigo Cathedral (Duomo, dedicated to Martyr Pope Steven I), the co-cathedral in the bishopric of Adria–Rovigo; it was originally built before the 11th century, but rebuilt in 1461 and again in 1696. The art works of the interior includes a Resurrection of Christ by Palma the Younger. Ruins of the Castle (10th century), of which two towers remain Madonna del Soccorso: church best known as La Rotonda. If was built between 1594 and 1606 by Francesco Zamberlan of Bassano, a pupil of Palladio, to house a miraculous image of a sitting Madonna with Child carrying a rose. The edifice has octagonal plan, surrounded by a portico, begun in 1594. The original construction had a cupola, which was later substituted by a simple ceiling for static reasons. The fine campanile, standing at 57 m, was built according to plans by Baldassarre Longhena (1655–1673). The walls of the interior of the church are wholly covered by 17th centuries paintings by prominent provincial and Venetian artists, including Francesco Maffei, Domenico Stella, Giovanni Abriani, Alessandro Varotari (il Padovanino), Pietro Vecchia, Pietro Liberi, Antonio Zanchi and Andrea Celesti. Immacolata Concezione : Church dating to 1213. San Francesco: church in Gothic-Romanesque style but with extensive intervention from the 19th century. The belfry is from 1520. In the interior are several Saints sculptures by Tullio Lombardo (1526). The Town hall, which contains a library including some rare early editions, belonging to the Accademia de Concordi, founded in 1580, and a fair picture gallery enriched with the spoils of the monasteries. Palazzo Roverella, largely restored but still example of Renaissance architecture, now serves as town art gallery. Palazzo Roncale: Renaissance palace (1555) by Michele Sanmicheli Palazzo Venezze (1715) Pinacoteca