In the centre of Santa Maria Maggiore stands the oldest church of the Vigezzo Valley, dedicated to the Virgin Assunta. The church’s façade still features elements surviving from the original Romanesque church, with sculpted geometric motifs and the beautiful rose window.
The 18th-century renovations did not affect the oldest part of the church; the high bell tower with its solid structure in blocks of exposed stone, with hanging arches characterising the surface.
The first enlargement dates back to 1100: architectural elements are still visible today in full Romanesque style. Small expansion works continued until 1700, when major donations from Giovanni Paolo Feminis, Vigezzo inventor of Eau de Cologne who emigrated to Germany (his story is told in the unmissable Casa del Profumo – House of Perfume), allowed the Parish Church of Santa Maria Maggiore to be completely reconstructed.
The interior of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta has a single nave with Corinthian columns and a high altar in precious Carrara marble. The altarpiece and frescoes in the presbytery are the work of the Vigezzo painter Giuseppe Maria Borgnis, who also painted the spectacular fresco in the central dome, containing over 400 life-size figures.
The feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary occurs on 15th August and is celebrated every year with a long procession carrying through the streets of the village the gilded and painted wooden statue kept in the church.
Info: www.circuitodeisanti.it
