It stands in the middle of Fascia, hemmed in by narrow lanes, and in 1647 it was raised to parish church, detaching the community from that of San Nicola at Rondanina. Documents record it in the seventeenth century, but the look it has today is nineteenth: that is when the side aisles arrived, along with a new façade and the lengthening of the main body.
What to see
In the presbytery stands the statue of the Annunciation; beside it, a sculpture of Saint William of Aquitaine, who is the patron of Fascia and is celebrated on 10 August. The two side chapels are dedicated to the Annunciation and to Saint Ursula. The bell tower next door was built between 1731 and 1732, a century before the enlargements.
Visiting
The church is in the main village, at 1118 metres: this is the highest municipality in Liguria, and getting here in winter is a different undertaking from summer, when the place fills with Genoese holidaymakers. The lanes around it are narrow, as they are in every ridge village.
Our editors' tip
If you come up in August, look for the statue of Saint William: the 10th is the patron's day, and it falls in the weeks when this village, usually all but empty, genuinely fills up.
