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Biella- Church of St. Cassian
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 The Church of St. Cassian, or more precisely, the Church of the Confraternity of San Cassiano in Riva, was built in the first half of the seventeenth century to replace its previous seat, which had become too small.
Masses began to be celebrated there as early as 1627, even though only the walls and roof were already completed.
The interior was completed shortly after the middle of the century.
In 1690, the large high altar was installed, replacing the previous masonry altar, which was incorporated into it.
Construction of the bell tower began in 1714, and was completed in 1719 with the addition of the bell chamber.
The façade was finally completed shortly after the mid-nineteenth century, with the addition of the large neoclassical pronaos, which in reality does not fit very well with the rest of the church.
Externally, the church is dominated by the large neoclassical pronaos that occupies the entire façade. It is rather disproportionate, almost resembling a piece of a Greek temple attached to the facade. Inside the large triangular pediment at the top of it is a clock.
The rest of the façade is undecorated, as is the rest of the exterior of the church, consisting of the central body and the semicircular rear apse. The windows are arranged on two levels. Above are the semicircular nave windows, and below are the mixtilinear windows of the chapels. These are replaced by rectangular windows in the apse.
The bell tower is located on the far right, at the boundary between the nave and the apse. Built of a mixture of brick and stone, it features different types of windows depending on the side and height. In particular, those of the bell chamber are mixtilinear, with corners curiously rounded in a concave way.
The interior, dominated by various shades of yellow, comprises a single nave plus the semicircular apse as wide as the nave. The vault is a barrel vault with lunettes. The walls are punctuated by large pilasters set on an high plinth and featuring Corinthian capitals. The vault is separated from the walls by a double cornice, with the upper one much more prominent and separated from the lower one by a band of the same color as the walls.
The counterfaçade is occupied along its entire width by a choir loft, inside which is a large organ.
There are six side chapels, three on each side, all of identical structure and separated by pairs of pilasters. They are shallow and feature barrel-vaulted ceilings. All altarpieces are recent, some for sure even from the 20th century.
On the left, the first chapel is empty except for a torn fresco on the wall, perhaps depicting Saint Cassian himself. The first chapel on the right serves as a baptismal chapel. On the wall hangs a torn fresco from the former Oratory of San Cassiano depicting the Christ in Mercy.
The second chapel on the left is dedicated to the souls in purgatory and features a large polychrome marble altar in late Baroque style. The retable has an architectural structure, with two pairs of columns, the outer ones circular and the inner ones square, supporting a large pediment with an imaginative mixtilinear shape. The retable is embellished with plaques, putti, and cherub heads in white marble.
The third chapel on the left is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. It features a large altar in black and yellow marble. The retable here also has an architectural structure, with two twisted black marble columns supporting a large mixtilinear pediment, also in black marble. The platform between the two columns is in yellow marble, and in its center is a large niche containing a statue of the Virgin.
The second chapel on the right is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. It contains a polychrome marble altar of fairly recent workmanship. The altarpiece depicts Jesus Christ together with Don Bosco and (probably) Saint Dominic Savio.
The third chapel on the right is dedicated to Don Bosco. Here too the altar is in polychrome marble, and the altarpiece depicts Don Bosco with the Ancient Basilica of the Sanctuary of Oropa in the background.
The presbytery is slightly raised above the nave. It houses the church's most valuable artwork, the large Baroque high altar in carved and painted wood. It was created in 1692-1693, it is believed by Nicolò Tagli of Florence, and gilded in 1693 by Giovanni Antonio Bona. It was built thanks to the generosity of the Agilio family and replaced the previous masonry altar from 1640, which was not removed, but incorporated into the new one to provide solid support for the complex structure.
Dominated by the contrast between the uniform petrol blue background color and the gilding, it features a high base that extends to the side walls, completely separating the choir from the presbytery. The choir is accessible through two side doors integrated into the altar. The base is decorated with gilded frames containing gilded relief depictions of church symbols or purely decorative elements such as garlands, cherub heads, and fruit baskets.
Above the base is a large aedicule composed of a series of twisted columns supporting an entablature. This surrounds a large crucifix in the center, while above it are two further levels of architectural elements. The whole is enriched with countless gilded decorations, such as the vines enveloping the columns, cherubs, garlands, bunches of fruit, and cherub heads. At the top is a cross supported by cherubs.
There are also various statues of saints and angels. Above the two doors leading to the choir, Saint Catherine of Alexandria is depicted on the left, and Saint Cassian on the right. In the aedicule, between the columns, Saint John the Baptist, the Virgin and Mary Magdalene flank the crucifix in the center, and Saint Francis is on the right. At the ends of the entablature resting on the columns are two large flame-bearing angels, while on the upper level two other angels hold one a ladder, symbolizing the connection between heaven and earth, and the other a column symbolizing the pillar to which Christ was tied and flogged before the crucifixion.
The choir stalls and the prior's chair, not visible because they are hidden by the altar, were sculpted by Giuseppe Moglia starting in 1671.
Finally, note the two lecterns and the new altar in polychrome marble, whose bases may have been obtained from a Baroque-era marble balustrade. However, no information on this is available.
Categories: Places of historical value of artistic value
Piazza S. Giovanni Bosco, 4, 13900 Biella BI |
Church of St. Cassian: Further pictures in the section Photography |