The basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is the main parish church of Gallarate, on piazza Libertà. It was built on the site of two older churches, both dedicated to Saint Mary: the first is mentioned in a parchment of 974, the second was built between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Today's church was built between 1856 and 1861, with the façade completed in 1870; in April 1946 Pope Pius XII raised it to a minor basilica.
What to see
The basilica has a single, large nave 89 metres long and more than seventeen wide, and a dome 18 metres across and 27 high. Inside are frescoes by Luigi Cavenaghi and stucco by Celso Stecchetti; among the sculptures are the Assumption by Giuseppe Rosnati, the one on the high altar by Odoardo Tabacchi and a Saint John the Baptist by Duprè.
The organ was built in 1987 by the Mascioni firm of Cuvio. Two plaques inside recall the town families who sat on the church's board, among them the Rosnati, Majno, Sartorio, Forni and Bonicalzi. Since 2015 a major restoration of the interior has been under way, which includes the new altar; the façade was restored in the two thousands.
Visiting
The basilica is at piazza Libertà 6. Opening and service times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
Look at the bell tower, 45 metres high: it dates from 1454, so it is older than today's church, and belongs to the time of the second church of Santa Maria. It was restored in the eighties.
