The parish church of Fontanarossa was built between the end of the seventeenth century and the start of the eighteenth, most probably at the wish of the Doria, who had held this hamlet in fief since the sixteenth century. From outside it is a mountain church like many others; what matters is under your feet.
What to see
The floor is a mosaic from the middle of the nineteenth century, divided into twenty-nine panels showing the symbols of the Passion of Christ and of the Mass. At the centre, again in mosaic, is the coat of arms of the Doria: that is how the family signed the work, without needing an inscription.
Visiting
The church is the parish seat of Fontanarossa and belongs to the diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio, not to Genoa: this is a valley that for centuries looked towards Bobbio rather than the coast. Three more buildings scattered among the hamlets depend on the parish — the Romanesque church of Santo Stefano, by the cemetery, the oratory of Nostra Signora della Guardia at Borgo and that of Nostra Signora dei Miracoli at Bosco.
Our editors' tip
Look at the floor before the altars, and count the panels: it is the only place in the valley where the Passion is read by walking over it. Then go up to Santo Stefano, a few minutes away and a great deal older.