The Parish Church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Calasca Castiglione, located in the village of Antrogna, in Anzasca Valley, is known as the “Cathedral in the woods”. It is in fact a religious complex as monumental and grandiose as it is perfectly integrated into the nature and forests of this corner of Ossola Valley. A real gem that it would be a shame not to admire in person.
Externally, the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate is covered with exposed square and linear stones and has a traditional flagstone roof, widely used in the Ossolan valleys.
The true masterpiece is the harmony that governs the structure as a whole: its rounded apse with an imposing dome above stands out from afar, while the bare walls are characterised by squares and pillars.
The main façade is lightened by the wide arches of the pronaos, with the central window and the two recesses between the four pillars that support the base of the tympanum. The lantern tower and façade are covered with smooth, decorated plaster.
On the frontispiece, towards the top, you can read the three giant letters D.O.M., a dedication to Dio grande e onnipotente (great and omnipotent God), while above the side doors the dates of the start and end of construction of the religious complex are engraved: 1791 and 1797.
Internally, the parish church has three naves, with slender architectural lines, supported by six stone columns and two powerful pillars. The decorations, sculptures, marble, beautiful frescoes and recent stained glass bestow upon the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Calasca an air of elegance, making it a mystical place of great artistic and, perhaps even more so, symbolic value.
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