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PARISH CHURCH
OF SANT’ALESSANDRO

TRAONA

The parish church of Sant’Alessandro, a true gem of Costiera dei Cech, dates back to the 13th century and is an extraordinary example of Gothic architecture. Built with the economic contribution of the people in a dominant position overlooking the village of Traona, it can be admired from most of lower Valtellina, offering a breathtaking view thanks to its forms and the terraced vineyards surrounding it.

The church is preceded by a charming parvis and with its majestic arcades, finely sculpted details and outstanding works of art, transports anyone who visits it on a journey through time. The marvellous interior frescoes which accompany the nave, the side altars and the presbytery, cover the walls and the broad vaulted ceilings, embellished with fine cornices and decorations. Created by Giacomo Parravicini known as “Gianolo”, these paintings depict various religious scenes and subjects which have the power to illuminate the path of believers or simply to enthrall with their beauty those who cross the majestic entrance doorway. Other interesting aspects are the ancient apse frescoed by the renowned painter Gaudenzio Ferrari, the Saint Luigi Guanella museum, the vestry and the oratory of the Brothers of the Blessed Sacrament.

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CHURCH OF
SANT’IGNAZIO

The church of Sant’Ignazio was once the private chapel of the nearby seventeenth-century stately residence of the Parravicini Medici family, now home to the Rita Tognoli Centre charitable institute. At the behest of rich and powerful Ignazio Maria Parravicini in honour of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, it was commissioned to the famous architect Pietro Solari from Bolvedro, who was in charge of other works such as Palazzo Malacrida in Morbegno, Palazzo Salis in Chiavenna and the oratory of San Gennaro in Delebio.

This sacred building’s outer oratory has a simple structure in neoclassical style, chosen for its sobriety considering the location of the church. However, details in full Lombard Baroque style are not lacking in several of the structure’s particulars. The interior of the building is decorated with architectural elements such as stuccoes and balustrades and features an attentive study of the filtering of light: Solari ingeniously designed a small church with a Greek-cross plan and a dome from which rays of light filter through to create extraordinary effects. Meticulous attention was paid to even the smallest details, from the refined Ionic capitals and the floral motifs, to the mascarons and the walkways high above in white and gilded stucco All of which are accompanied by paintings depicting full-length saints, probably created by an artist collaborating with the architect, and the upper part of the side walls painted by Gaetano Corti from Val d’Intelvi, which depict themes related to youth.

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CHURCH OF SAN FRANCESCO
AL CONVENTO

Dating back to 1738, the church and convent were built by the Franciscan friars as their residence and place of worship. Located in a wonderful panoramic position, this building can be reached by car or by the Via Crucis in Via Coffedo, a spiritual path of 14 stations, each of which is characterised by a fine sculpted chapel (currently 12 remain).


This beautiful church has a simple and wonderful gabled façade, supported by two massive columns and depicting a fresco of Saint Francis, to whom the sacred building is dedicated, created by the Torricelli brothers and embellished with a Rococo-style cornice. The interior also maintains the Franciscan style fully, clearly visible in the extreme simplicity of its wooden rather than marble altars. There are several confessionals in the single nave which end with the pulpit; there are four chapels, with a window at the top of each. The church is decorated and enhanced with various ancient sculptures from the old convent where the monks lived, which was destroyed by the flooding of the Vallina stream. The convent, on the other hand, was large and impressive and bears witness to the importance of the activities of the Franciscan friars in Costiera dei Cech.

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CHURCH OF SANTA CATERINA
IN CORLAZZO

Upon reaching the community of Corlazzo, we find the lovely little church dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, dating back to the 15th century. The gabled façade features a rose window which at sunset captures the sun’s rays and projects them onto the fresco in the presbytery, forming a circle of light that envelops the Madonna and Child, represented in the painting.

Flanked by two windows, the simple main door precedes the parvis that once served as a cemetery. There is a walled doorway on the side of the sacred building, once the main entrance, where a little further on we find the apse housing a fine fresco dating back to the 1400s. The church is small yet interesting inside; the presbytery is embellished by a vaulted ceiling that is completely frescoed and constitutes, with the sacristy, the oldest part of the building where we can admire the remains of an ancient medieval tower. This place conveys a mystical sense of tranquillity and astounds with its simplicity and singular details, including the floral decorations that embellish the fresco depicting the mystical marriage of Saint Catherine, repeated in the presbytery and the side altar in the building. Historians believe that the paintings were executed around 1500 by Giovanni Andrea De Magistris, a close relative of Sigismondo.

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CHURCH OF THE MADONNA
OF FATIMA

The most recent church in the town stands in the Valletta district of Traona. Dedicated to the Madonna of Fatima and Saint Joseph the Worker, it was inaugurated and consecrated in 1981. The plan is rectangular in shape; preceded by a small portico, the entrance has a portal covered with bronze tiles, the work of contemporary sculptor Abram of Delebio. The bell tower has a single bell on which the following phrase is engraved: “Open the doors to the Redeemer”.

There are wooden statues of the two sacred figures to whom the sacred building is dedicated near the presbytery. The single-nave interior is illuminated by simple rectangular windows. The presbytery takes light from a multicoloured window behind the altar and depicts Christ blessing between Saints Catherine and Apollonia. On the wall to the right of the altar, there is a canvas by contemporary painter Ferdinando Valenti depicting the Madonna of Fatima with the three shepherd children.

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CHURCH
OF SANT’APOLLONIA

This sacred building, once dedicated to Saint Agatha, greets visitors who reach this now uninhabited place by various paths. Despite diverse changes in structure, the building suffers from neglect, filling up with people only on the second Sunday in February during the service traditionally held in this church.

The walls, made of beautiful square stones, conceal chapels inside with paintings of Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint Gotthard; on the high altar, a painting from the 1700s depicts the Madonna and Child between Saints Agatha and Apollonia. The image of Saint Agatha, which we also find in the better-known fresco in the nearby church of Santa Caterina, renews the mystery of the change in the name of both the church and the community, and renews the mystery of the two churches so close together, perhaps due to the existence of two confraternities that aspired to have their own oratory.

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CHURCH
OF SAN GIOVANNI IN BIOGGIO

The church of San Giovanni in Bioggio rises with its bright façade from within a dense chestnut grove in the homonymous hamlet above Traona. Built in the Middle Ages and later modified in the 16th century, it features an imposing staircase which endows the structure with majesty.
This was once a meeting place for the inhabitants of the surrounding towns during processions and masses, especially in the month of May, when farmers met to pray for an abundant harvest.

In addition to the well-preserved furnishings inside the sacred building, you can admire an ancient apse with an interesting cycle of frescoes by Sigismondo De Magistris of Como dated 1522.
The area offers a panoramic view of the upper part of Lake Como and the Orobic Alps. A short walk suitable for the entire family leads to the church. Along the way, you will find a small church dedicated to Saint Anthony and a chapel with a painting of the apparition of the Madonna of Tirano. Situated on a large stone terrace, the complex in Bioggio offers a holy and comfortable atmosphere, also suitable for family picnics.

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CERCINO

PARISH CHURCH
OF SAN MICHELE

The parish church of San Michele in Cercino was built in the 14th century when the borough officially became a free commune, to fulfil the desire of the locals to have a place to celebrate mass. The single-nave interior is dominated by a monumental Baroque-style altar in gilded carved wood and features four side altars.

The ceiling is decorated with two large frescoes, while the walls are adorned with eight medallions portraying saints and two canvases, attributed to the well-known Valtellina painter Cesare Ligari, painted in the 18th century, as well as a painting by Giovanni Parravicini, which is housed in the oratory of the Immacolata, adjacent to the parish church, the seat of the local confraternities. Lastly, an 18th-century oval depicting the Bohemian saint John of Nepomuk stands apart for its pictorial quality. The image of the Madonna depicted on the high altar is also of great beauty, embellished with marvellous wood inlays. The sacred building features a 15th-century ossuary with images of a macabre dance, a typical subject of Renaissance religious paintings in the mountains.

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CHURCH
OF MADONNA DELLA PIETÀ

Along the road leading to Cino, you will find the church of the Madonna della Pietà. It is a small building dating back to the 18th century, symbolising the economic and religious revival of the town after the troubled period of the 17th century. The building, with an octagonal plan surmounted by a graceful dome, was built between 1736 and 1774 and restored on two occasions, in 1933 and 1976.

The altar inside in fine marble made by Giacomo Longhi of Viggiù in 1768 is of great interest There is a small porch with columns and pilasters in front of the grandiose entrance portal with richly carved granite jambs, which is still one of the village’s most characteristic corners. Still today there are two small stone seats on either side of the entrance, with small windows above them that give onto the church’s interior, as was the tradition after the Council of Trent, to allow sinners who have not partaken of communion to follow the service.

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CHURCH
OF THE MADONNA DELLA NEVE

Located in the community of Siro, it is profoundly linked to the miracle of the Madonna of the Snow which popular tradition has it falling on 5 August.

In addition to the miracle of Roman tradition, the small church in Siro has a curious feature of its own: two hundred-year-old chestnut trees can still be found near the religious building. The leaves of one of the trees are not the classic green colour, but are mostly white, as if to remind us of the bond with the Madonna of the Snow to whom the small chapel is dedicated.

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CHURCH
OF SANTA MARGHERITA

Located in the community of Piussogno, the church of Santa Margherita (more specifically, of Santi Margherita e Carlo) was built in this place to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful in that area.

The church, of Renaissance workmanship reconstructed in the 17th century, has a priceless 15th-century gold-leaf cross inside, as well as sumptuous Baroque marble decorations accompanying the altarpiece, consisting of a 16th-century Saint Margaret by an unknown author.

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THE CIANCET CHAPELS

In the area of the Cercino municipality, along ancient communication routes, there are several votive chapels, called Ciancèt, frescoed and built in ancient times by various families, mainly dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are more than 10 and among these, along the educational route, we find:

Ciancèt dei Bigiol
Located on the road connecting the centuries-old village of Siro with Cercino, frescoed by the Ligaris, it is dedicated to Mary Mother of Divine Grace.

Ciancèt de la Tensa
Located in the wood above the locality known as Sponcione, on the path leading to the hut. It was a resting place on the path to the summer mountain pasture.

Ciancèt de la Brusada
Located in the homonymous Maggengo, it was built by Ambrogio De Pianto with paintings dating back to 1909 and was plastered entirely with sand from the Adda river.

Ciancèt de Fiess
Located in the hamlet of Fiesso, above Piussogno, it was built by the Bettiga and De Simoni family in 1873 and features a fresco of Saint Augustine.

CINO

PARISH CHURCH
OF SAN GIORGIO

The earliest mention of the parish church of San Giorgio in Cino dates back to 1447, when a description of the building was first drafted, and which was probably from an earlier period.

The current visible building in the centre of the settlement instead dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries and is the product of renovations carried out in the Baroque period by the town administration. The area of the religious building is still in a dominating position over the town and from the top of the rocky peak on which the church is built, you can still admire one of the most beautiful views of lower Valtellina.

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