The Church of the Madonna della Guardia (Our Lady of the Guard), dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, stands above the town of Ornavasso, at approximately 200 metres from the Parish Church of San Nicolao, along the road leading to the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Boden.
Built between 1674 and 1772, the Church takes its name from the promontory on which it stands, still named after the Madonna della Guardia due to the presence of an old medieval signalling tower dating from the early 14th century. The tower was part of a defensive lookout system along the Ossola Valley, made up of towers that communicated visually with one another using luminous signals to warn of imminent danger.
However, the Church of the Madonna della Guardia remained unfinished: the Sanctuary complex, built to a design by the Milanese architect, Attilio Arrigoni, was so huge that it was not possible to complete it, despite the desire of the citizens to honour the Madonna.
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