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Andorno Micca (Biella)- Church of San Lorenzo
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 The church of San Lorenzo in Andorno is a special church. It has in fact two facades. Or rather it has what was once the original façade and which now forms the back of the church, and then it has the current facade, on the side opposite to the first one.
The building, in its original form, was built, as is evident from a date discovered on one of the oldest parts of the church walls, in the fifteenth century (moreover in place of an even older church). The Church of San Lorenzo in Andorno turns therefore out to be one of the oldest churches of the Biella area.
The present church has a basilica shape, with a rectangular plan consisting of three naves divided into five spans, with the lateral naves more narrow and lower.
The exterior of the church reflects well the complexity of its history. The original facade of the late fifteenth century, now back wall of the church, still has the typical division into three vertical parts separated by pilasters and corresponding to the internal division into naves, as well as the decoration with hanging arches under the roof. Also the two windows in Gothic style and the central oculus survived, all three surrounded by glazed terracotta decorations representing faces of cherubs interspersed with vegetal elements. The entrance door, instead, which was still present a few decades ago, is now walled.
The present facade, of the eighteenth century, is a typical baroque facade. It is flat in the upper half, while the lower part has a concave curvature that gives rise to a small atrium, in which there are three doors of which only the central one introduces in the church, of the other two one leads to the Baptistery, the other to the choir.
The façade features four niches containing statues by the sculptor Stefano Catella. They represent Saint Lawrence, Saint Julius, Saint Francis de Sales, and Saint Anthony of Padua.
Both sides of the church are far from being plan and smooth and clearly show that parts have been gradually added at different times, even one above the other. There are still some side windows of the original gothic church visible (the one corresponding to the old facade).
The sparkling gray bell tower all in syenite has a square shape and smooth surfaces; lacking the cusp it appears a bit squat. The tradition says that this is due to a fatal accident occurred during the works of adaptation and raising of the old tower. A worker (or perhaps the construction manager) fell from the very high wall smashing on the ground and so the ambitious inhabitants of Andorno abandoned the project. Nevertheless the bell tower is the highest in the Biella area, with a height of mt. 60.
The interior is richly decorated, with almost every surface covered in frescoes. The remains of the painter and set designer Bernardino Galliari are preserved inside the church.
Note that the frescoes on the ceiling of the main nave and on the dome of the presbytery appear to have been painted in the nineteenth century.
Also noteworthy in the nave are the pulpit, sculpted during the second half of the seventeenth century, and the organ on the counterfaçade.
The church has three chapels on each side.
On the left side, starting from the entrance, are:
- Room immediately to the left of the entrance: This is not a chapel as such, but a small room containing a display case containing a statue of the dead Christ, and above it is a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows.
- Chapel of Saints Crispin and Crispinian: Formerly dedicated to the Holy Crucifix and Saint Ursus. The dedication to the latter still appears on the pediment of the retable in fake polychrome marble created in 1820 by stucco workers from Lugano. The chapel is separated from the nave by a serpentinite balustrade.
- Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary: The chapel was built in the second half of the seventeenth century at the behest of the Company of the Rosary. The current altar, in fake polychrome marble and decorated with cherub heads and golden garlands, was created in 1820 by stucco workers from Lugano. The retable features a niche in the center containing a statue of the Madonna and Child. The fifteen gilded medallions around the niche depicting the mysteries of the Rosary were added in 1847.
- Chapel of Saint Julius: This is the chapel of greatest historical and artistic importance in the church. It was built between 1680 and 1682 by the masters Giovanni Battista Golzio Casa and Giovanni Battista Levera to house the body of Saint Julius Martyr, exhumed from the Catacombs of Caracalla and donated to the parish in 1679. The decorations and paintings are the work of Pietro Lace from Andorno (who is also responsible for the frescoes on the vaults of the Church of San Giovanni a Veglio and the large church of the Sanctuary of the Moorland in Valdilana) and Antonio Genta from Biella. The altarpiece depicting the Immaculate Conception with Saints Julius and Michael, is also by Pietro Lace. Note that the lower part of the painting features a depiction of the town of Andorno at that time. The sumptuous altar is made of polychrome marble, Biella serpentinite, and white Mazzucco stone. The retable, particularly richly decorated, features an architectural structure with four twisted columns set on high plinths and featuring double capitals, Corinthian and Ionic, supporting an entablature topped by a Baroque pediment. The entire structure is decorated with numerous cherub heads and garlands. Between the two pairs of columns there is a mixtilinear frame with the altarpiece and, under it, a display case containing the saint's remains.
The chapel has a square plan. An octagonal dome surmounted by a small cupola is supported by four pendentives. All interior surfaces are frescoed, with the exception of the lantern, where only the cap, depicting the Eternal Father, is frescoed. The walls feature large-scale depictions of the Four Evangelists, the four Doctors of the Church on the vaults, and the eight segments of the dome feature seven angels with the symbols of the martyrdom of Saint Julius and Saint Julius himself in glory. The remaining sections are filled with various decorative elements.
Note that the hexagonal windows in the side lunettes are real, while the one in the lunette on the back wall is merely painted, although the frame is identical to that of the real windows.
The chapel is separated from the nave by a balustrade made of serpentine from the Oropa Valley.
On the right side, again starting from the entrance, are:
- Chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua: The altar and retable are made of faux marble and were created by the Cattaneo stucco workers of Lugano in the early nineteenth century. The altarpiece dates back to the second half of the seventeenth century and is attributed to the painter-sculptor Carlo Antonio Serra di Tollegno. Note that there are two rectangular windows on the side walls, except that the left one is fake, that is, only painted.
The chapel is separated from the nave by a black marble balustrade.
- Chapel of Suffrage: It was erected in the second half of the seventeenth century by order of the Company of the same name. The altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Suffrage and was formerly also known as the "Altar of the Dead".
The chapel's structure is similar to that of the previous one, with a pavilion vault and most of the surfaces decorated with frescoes. Here, however, the false window is the one on the right. Also this altar is made of faux marble. The retable is particularly richly decorated, with the mixtilinear pediment at the top enriched with cherub heads and gilded garlands.
The chapel is separated from the nave by a polychrome marble balustrade.
- Chapel of Saint Francis de Sales: The chapel was originally dedicated to Saint Eligius. The dedication was then passed to Saint Defendens and subsequently to Saint Anthony the Abbot. In 1747-1748, the altar was finally transformed into the Altar of Saint Francis de Sales by order of the Company of One Hundred Priests, dedicated to that saint.
In 1758, the interior surfaces were completely frescoed by the painter Pietro Lace in a typically late Baroque style, with a trompe l'oeil lantern at the center of the pavilion vault. Unfortunately, these frescoes are now in poor condition and deserve restoration.
The polychrome marble altar with its neoclassical architectural structure dates back to the early 19th century and is the work of Stefano Catella. The altarpiece, depicting the Madonna in Glory with Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Eligius, and Saint Anthony the Abbot, is from the same period.
The chapel is separated from the nave by an Oropa Valley serpentine balustrade.
- Baptismal Chapel: The vault is decorated with neoclassical frescoes, unfortunately in poor condition. It is closed by a wrought-iron gate.
The presbytery structurally corresponds to the last span of the nave and is slightly raised.
The high altar is made of marble and is surmounted by a domed aedicule in typically neoclassical style. The vault above the presbytery features a trompe l'oeil perspective depicting Jesus in glory in heaven among the clouds, surrounded by musical angels. The pendentives depict the Four Evangelists.
The lower part of the apse wall contains the choir stalls. The upper section is divided into three areas by pairs of pilasters: the lateral sections are frescoed with sacred scenes, while the central section is occupied by a large frame with scrolls and leaves in white and gilded stucco and concluded, in the upper part, by a further frieze culminating in the centre in a ribbon of linked leaves. The altarpiece in this frame depicts the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence and was painted by Bernardino Gallieri, likely in 1779.
Categories: Places of historical value of artistic value
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Church of San Lorenzo: Further pictures in the section Photography |