Built in 1485 in late Romanesque style, the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Orta San Giulio was originally dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation. Documented as a parish church by 1560 and subsequently rededicated to the Assumption, the building was expanded during the 16th century and rebuilt between 1698 and 1725, before architect Carlo Nigra redesigned its façade in 1940–1941.
What to see
The west-facing gabled exterior is fronted by a 17th-century porch supported by Tuscan columns and featuring a small polylobed window. Green Oira serpentine stone forms the main entrance portal, flanked by two side windows and topped at the roof apex by a sculpture group representing the Assumption. Attached to the church stands a square bell tower with single-light belfry windows on each face and a circular-based pyramidal spire.
Inside, columns supporting semicircular arches divide the space into three naves leading to a presbytery and a polygonal apse. Side chapels house a collection of fine art, including a 17th-century altarpiece of the Flagellated Christ between Saints Bernardino and Martha by Fermo Stella, a contemporary canvas showing the Assumption among the Apostles, a painting of the Immaculate Conception by Stefano Maria Legnani, and a wooden statue of the Immaculate carved in 1783. The school of Morazzone executed the fresco of the Baptism of Christ in 1617, while Luca Rossetti painted decorative panels featuring Old Testament scenes between 1751 and 1763.
Our editors' tip
Before passing through the green Oira serpentine portal, take a close look at the 17th-century porch with its Tuscan columns and polylobed window, a structure that retains its original layout despite the 20th-century redesign of the main façade.