This church was born out of a disagreement. When it was decided to merge the two parishes of Pianezza, the brothers of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of Jesus — known here as the Batù — refused, and in 1680 built one of their own in the Canton Albretta, the townspeople's quarter, on the edge of the old built-up area.
What to see
It is baroque, with a facing-brick front and the monogram that tells you its dedication. The main door is walnut, carved all over. Inside there is a single nave with two chapels, the Madonna Consolata and Saint Joseph, and the barrel vault is frescoed with eighteenth-century paintings; above the entrance stands a pipe organ with bellows mechanism, from 1885.
Visiting
The Canton Albretta was closed in the Middle Ages by heavy gates, and it is still the edge of the old centre. Work on the church finished in 1682, while the bell tower came later, in 1730; behind the presbytery wall opens a wide choir.
Our editors' tip
Look at the door before going in: it is the part the brothers took most care over, and it is the calling card of a church built so as not to share an altar with anyone.