The church of Santa Maria Assunta stands on piazza Santa Maria, and in Cameri they call it in two ways: gesa ad Santa Maria or, far more often, gesa di bianch. The second name comes not from the architecture but from the men who used it, and that is the reason to stop here.
What to see
Three confraternities counted in the town, medieval associations whose purpose was to promote and spread religion: the Whites, the Reds and the light blues, called in the local dialect i bianch, i russ and i arsantit. The names came from the colour of the robes the brothers wore during services, each in his own church. Of those three nicknames two have outlived the confraternities themselves and still serve to tell two churches apart: this one, of the Whites, and that of the Blessed Sacrament, which is the gesa di russ.
Visiting
It is a few steps from the parish church of San Michele Arcangelo, on the other square, and the two are easily seen in the same walk. Opening times are those of services; to see it outside them it is best to ask at the parish.
Our editors' tip
Anyone passing through Cameri should try using the dialect names rather than the official ones: they are more precise than any sign, because they say who each building belonged to. It is a parallel place-naming that the town has kept alive long after the institutions that produced it were dissolved.
