The ancient church of Mel, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, was erected between 1480 and 1490 with three naves and ten altars. It was an imposing church, but little remains of the original structure and its bell tower.
In 1713, lightning struck the bell tower, causing minimal damage which was promptly repaired. In 1719, another lightning strike damaged the church roof and the organ pipes, but it was on April 17, 1756, that the fate of the original church was sealed: a lightning bolt hit the bell tower, setting it on fire and causing it to collapse, severely damaging the church.
The bells were quickly recast and in 1756 temporarily placed on a masonry structure built near the church of Our Lady of Sorrows. Seized by the Germans during World War I, the bells were melted down to make cannons; only the small bell could be recovered. The current bells were purchased by the people of Zumelle and placed on the structure above the church of Our Lady of Sorrows, and they are named: Maria Annunziata, Fausta, Vittorina, and Corona.
The construction of the new church began in the same year according to the design by the architect from Feltre, Filippo Rossi. As for the church of Our Lady of Sorrows, it had to wait for Archpriest Giovanni Antonio Businello of Serravalle, parish priest of Mel from 1817 to 1832, to initiate the project for the reconstruction of the new church, which was arranged preserving the apse and a small part of the central nave. The altars were reduced to three.
Inside the church of Our Lady of Sorrows, there is a baptismal font, originally placed in the baptistery, dated 1481, attesting to its central role as a "pleban church," with a carved wooden cover. On the right is the tabernacle by Giovanni Antonio da Marcador, the same artist who carved the tabernacle preserved at the Sanctuary of SS Vittore e Corona in Anzù di Feltre in 1480. This imposing work is very particular because at its base is depicted Giorgio Castriota Scanderbeg, also known as Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, the national hero of Albania. The font and tabernacle were commissioned by the parish priest Giorgio de Novamonte in 1465.
The church also houses the painting by Giovanni da Mel - Madonna with Child Enthroned and Saints Tiziano and Vittore (1535), Madonna with Child Enthroned and Saints Peter the Apostle and John the Baptist by the painter from Feltre, Pietro Marescalchi, sculptures by Andrea Meldolla known as lo Schiavone, and the two altarpieces with Saint Agatha and Saint Apollonia from the church of Santa Lucia di Col. The church also preserves the relics of Saint Faustus, brought to Mel in 1664 thanks to Brother Egidio de Conti, who requested them from Pope Alexander VII, upon which the families of Zumelle swore to cease conflicts and live in peace.
