Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
The Parish Church of Santa Maria is a Romanesque building dating back to the 11th century. In archive documents, it is known as "Sancta Maria in ripa padi," indicating its location along the canal, now covered, that originates from the Curone River and runs through the town. The façade is simple, decorated with small hanging arches and divided by pilasters, with a central round-arched door. At the center of the façade is an oculus which, along with the small bell tower atop the tympanum, is from a later period. The interior of the church has three naves divided into four bays by quadrangular pillars with attached half-columns, terminating in semicircular apses; the gabled roof is trussed. The walls are undecorated, except for a few fresco fragments in the apse basin, perhaps depicting Christ Pantocrator. The crypt, dating from after the parish church, is located beneath the central apse and the presbytery, extending approximately halfway up the nave. Its cross vault is supported by six small columns with cubic capitals. During restoration work, fragments of frescoes were uncovered beneath the floor of the main apse, now visible through an open cavity. The parish church houses a wooden crucifix of the Piedmontese-Lombard school dating back to the mid-16th century. The recently restored Christ has the distinctive feature of having a movable head that rotates on a wooden pin fixed to his neck, originally hidden by a beard and real hair.
The Parish Church of Santa Maria is a Romanesque building dating back to the 11th century. In archive documents, it is known as "Sancta Maria in ripa padi," indicating its location along the canal, now covered, that originates from the Curone River and runs through the town. The façade is simple, decorated with small hanging arches and divided by pilasters, with a central round-arched door. At the center of the façade is an oculus which, along with the small bell tower atop the tympanum, is from a later period. The interior of the church has three naves divided into four bays by quadrangular pillars with attached half-columns, terminating in semicircular apses; the gabled roof is trussed. The walls are undecorated, except for a few fresco fragments in the apse basin, perhaps depicting Christ Pantocrator. The crypt, dating from after the parish church, is located beneath the central apse and the presbytery, extending approximately halfway up the nave. Its cross vault is supported by six small columns with cubic capitals. During restoration work, fragments of frescoes were uncovered beneath the floor of the main apse, now visible through an open cavity. The parish church houses a wooden crucifix of the Piedmontese-Lombard school dating back to the mid-16th century. The recently restored Christ has the distinctive feature of having a movable head that rotates on a wooden pin fixed to his neck, originally hidden by a beard and real hair.
