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Pettinengo (Biella)- Parish Church of the Saints Stephen and James
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Show to visit in the Biella area: |
 The Parish Church of Saints Stephen and James impresses visitors with its five naves and important Baroque works of art, as well as its location on a natural terrace offering a wide panoramic view towards Biella.
HISTORY
The current church is the result of a 17th-century renovation of the older, pre-existing church. Construction began in 1685, and the church was consecrated in 1694.
Between 1750 and 1777, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, the church's most artistically significant chapel, was repainted by Bernardino Galliari.
In the second half of the 19th century, the emergence of various wool and textile factories in Pettinengo led to a significant population increase, so much so that the church no longer accommodated them. It was threfore decided to expand it by lengthening the presbytery in 1888 and raising the elliptical dome above it and adding the choir. Following these modifications, the ancient and precious high altar, sculpted by the Auregio family and gilded by the Defabianis family in the early 18th century, was removed and placed in the Chapel of the Holy Rosary in a central position, even though it was indeed too large for the chapel and obscured a significant portion of Galliari's frescoes.
In 1899, the new sacristy and the crypt of Saint Hyacinth the Martyr, patron saint of Pettinengo, were created. The altar in the crypt is dedicated to him, with a display case at the base containing his remains, which had been transferred from Rome almost two centuries earlier.
In 2023, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary underwent a complete restoration.
STRUCTURE
This is a complex structure, as other buildings adjoin the church, about which unfortunately it was not possible to gather information.
In particular, on the left, you can see a structure that in turn could appear to be a church (what remains of the older church?), with even a facade placed orthogonally to this structure and a passage underneath it that leads to a path that goes around behind the church and then leads to the woods.
The façade is unusual, being set back from two square-plan lateral buildings. The lower section is completely occupied by a portico whose walls and vaults are enriched with frescoes by the Galliari family, frescoes that unfortunately require restoration. Four scenes are depicted, all set within fanciful simulated stucco frames. On the left side wall, the souls in Purgatory are depicted invoking the Madonna and Child. On the right wall is the Baptism of Christ. On the back wall are what appear to be representations of Heaven, on the left, and Hell, on the right. The vaults, however, contain only simulated stucco cornices and decorations.
On the back wall of the portico, there are three entrances to the church: a central one, with a granite portal, and two secondary ones at either end.
The section above the portico is occupied by curious mullioned windows set within single-lancet frames.
The façade also has an upper order, punctuated by pilasters and connected to the lower one by volutes, but set back. At the top is a large triangular pediment.
The bell tower, located at the back on the left, is 67 meters tall and still belongs to the previous church, having been built in the 13th century.
The interior is also unusual, being probably the only church in the Biella area with five naves.
The central nave is much wider and taller than the side naves and is bordered by granite columns along the front and large pillars from the presbytery onward. The vaulted ceiling is barrel-vaulted, with lunettes embellished with simulated stucco cornices and windows in the right lunettes, while the windows on the left side are simply painted. The side naves are separated by large cruciform pillars and the vaults are cross-vaulted. It should be noted, however, that the most lateral naves are shorter than the internal ones and end at the presbytery. The walls of the central nave are separated from the vault by a thick entablature and multiple cornices.
All the interior surfaces are richly decorated with frescoes, likely from the 19th century, simulating frames and decorative elements with plant-themed or purely geometric motifs.
The counterfaçade is occupied by a large carved wooden choir that extends the entire width of the central nave and connects at the bottom to the arches of the central door and the two side entrances. The choir is entirely occupied by a large organ.
Starting from the presbytery, the vault no longer follows the division into spans of the front of the church. Above the presbytery is a first ellipsoidal dome completely filled with a depiction of the Martyrdom of Saint Stephen, with the Four Evangelists in the pendentives.
Then there is another span with a similar structure to the previous ones, but with richer decoration, as the central part is occupied by a sfondato with the Assumption of Mary.
This is followed by a second ellipsoidal dome, covered with frescoes that are unfortunately in such poor condition that their subject is unclear. The pendentives appear to depict the Doctors of the Church.
These frescoes date back to the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, at least some of which were painted by Paolo Gaidano.
The choir is separated from the presbytery by a second organ, which completely separates the two spaces. On the back wall of the choir is a large altarpiece, also by Paolo Gaidano, with Saint Stephen and Saint James in the lower half and the Madonna Crushing the Serpent in the upper half.
The high altar in the center of the presbytery is made of polychrome marble and has gilded details. The crucifix above the tabernacle is set in a semi-circular temple.
On the right pylon, at the beginning of the presbytery, is the carved wooden pulpit from the eighteenth century, with five panels depicting scenes from the childhood of Jesus, considered Pietro Giuseppe Auregio Termine's finest work.
In the nave, there is also another small, mobile organ, mounted on a cart. It is an object of considerable antiquarian value.
The church has larger side chapels on the right side. Starting from the entrance, you will find:
- Baptismal Chapel: It has a mosaic floor, unfortunately quite damaged. The walls are decorated with fairly recent frescoes. There are two baptismal fonts, both with carved wooden pyramid-shaped covers. One of the two inscriptions states that the lid was made by the Auregio in 1700, while the octagonal basin was discovered in 1599 on Mount Sant'Eurosia and is believed to be a sacrificial altar from the Temple of the goddess Diana.
- Chapel of Our Lady of the Sick (Fig. 4): This is a richly decorated chapel, with walls and vaults completely covered with stucco frames and decorative elements, real or simply simulated by painting.
The back wall is occupied by a large Baroque altar in painted and gilded wood. The retable has an architectural structure, with four twisted columns supporting a Baroque pediment decorated with putti, cherub heads, and a bishop's coat of arms, which unfortunately has not been identified.
The altarpiece is elliptical in shape and depicts Our Lady of Sorrows.
The base of the altar contains a shrine containing a statue of the dead Christ.
- Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary (the vault is visible in the highlighted figure): This is the chapel of greatest artistic importance in the church. Its walls are entirely covered with trompe l'oeil frescoes painted by Bernardino Galliari of Andorno between 1750 and 1777 in the late Baroque style. It should be noted that some of the frescoes are hidden by the large Baroque altar created by the brothers Pietro Giuseppe and Carlo Francesco Aureggio in 1700, which was originally the main altar.
The chapel's frescoes suggest nonexistent architecture, sometimes even incorporating real architectural elements such as the side windows. Below the windows are depictions of Old Testament prophets holding scrolls recalling the coming of Christ. The lunettes above the windows depict cherubs holding rosaries.
The vault is occupied by a depiction of the Coronation of the Madonna. The pendentives depict allegories of the four cardinal virtues.
The large altar is made of carved and gilded wood. The table is enriched with a scagliola antependium. The retable has an architectural structure. Between the four twisted columns are three niches. The lateral ones contain the statues of the evangelists Luke and John (those of the other two evangelists are located in two niches inside the base). The central niche contains a statue of the Madonna and Child.
The retable's predella features relief representations of the martyrdoms of the two dedicatee saints, Stephen and James.
The altar is decorated with cherubs, angels, cherub heads, vine shoots, and other decorative elements.
The chapel was completely restored in 2023.
- Chapel of the Sacred Heart: The large altarpiece is by Paolo Gaidano. It is set into a flat marble back wall. In a niche on the left wall is an older statue of the Madonna and Child.
On the left, there is only one chapel that can be defined as such:
- Chapel of the Crucifix: A crucifix hangs on the wall. The altar is made of scagliola. There is also a statue of the Madonna and two statues of cherubs. Unfortunately, no information regarding these works has been found.
Crypt of Saint Hyacinth
It is a chapel located below floor level on the right side of the church. It houses a proportionally large altar containing a reliquary containing the remains of Saint Hyacinth. Much of the interior is covered in colorful, eclectic-style decorations. Of particular note are those on the central granite column, which seem to anticipate the Art Nouveau style.
The same type of decorations are present on the vault and walls of the large sacristy. One wall of it is entirely occupied by a magnificent carved wooden wardrobe, also by Pietro Giuseppe Auregio Termine and therefore dating to the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries. The decorations on this wardrobe go beyond the usual carved decorations, featuring a full-relief bust of the Eternal Father at the top center, holding a globe symbolizing the world, and various animals, cherubs and angels in high relief, sometimes even in the round. Above are sculptures of flower vases and two cornucopias.
Categories: Places of historical value of artistic value
45.61239, 8.107 |
Parish Church of the Saints Stephen and James: Further pictures in the section Photography |