The church stands on via Costituente and is not the oldest in Borgaro: until the twelfth century the population lived near today's via Lanzo, where the pieve of Santa Maria delle Grazie stood. With the building of the castle people moved close to it, and for a long time they had to walk a considerable distance to reach mass. In 1584 countess Margherita Langosco di Stroppiana decided to raise a new church in the centre of the village, dedicated to Saint Anthony; it was completed in the following century.
What to see
In the eighteenth century it changed dedication, became the parish church and most of the side altars were built. It is an example of baroque architecture, with nineteenth-century works that gave it its present look. In the presbytery stands the eighteenth-century high altar, attributable to count Ignazio Renato Birago di Borgaro; among the side chapels is the Birago chapel, where the count and his family lie.
Visiting
The bell tower was raised in 1740 on adjoining land owned by the Birago: in exchange for the plot the family obtained the right to build a private chapel with burial rights, which is why the chapel is there. In 1752 the choir vault and the wooden ceiling were at risk of collapse, and on that occasion the wood was replaced by a masonry vault.
Our editors' tip
The church remained the parish church until 1981, when the new church of the Immaculate Conception was built; today it is used for worship in spring and summer and opens during the year for cultural events and guided visits. It is worth checking the calendar before going. People here still recall the first of October 1713, when several witnesses said they had seen the statue of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary sweat and weep.