The Parish Church of Santi Gervaso e Protaso (or Gervasio e Protasio) with its nearby baptistery, is the most important monument in Baveno. To get there, simply take a pleasant stroll starting from the lakeside promenade and its marvellous panoramic view up to Laveno. Follow Via Monte Grappa, which leads to the church piazza, the location of both buildings.
The Church of SS. Gervaso e Protaso: history
The parish church (consecrated 13 May 1343) is dedicated to two Roman martyr saints Gervaso and Protaso, whose remains were discovered by Saint Ambrose. Built during the 12th century, it has renovations and additions from later periods: the interior frescoes, the apse dating back to 1607, the expansions of the side chapels carried out in the 18th century, the sacristy from 1717 and the nave's baroque vault.
The baptistery, which is of early Christian origin, was radically modified during the Baroque period: the frescoes in the cupola date back to the 15th and 16th centuries.
The outside of the church in Baveno
Little remains of the original building; the bell tower (perhaps older than the church itself), part of the left side and the Romanesque façade, which is embellished with a valuable sculpted, splayed portal under a rounded arch and a fresco (unfortunately in very poor condition) depicting Saint Christopher. Only the eyes of one figure and the profile of another remain, both enclosed in a yellow and red frame.
Two Roman epigraphs are still legible on the sides of the portal. The one on the left tells of the Romans conquering the region and therefore can be dated back to the reign of Emperor Claudius (from 41-54 AD). On the right side under the buttress, the final letters of three words can be read: unfortunately they cannot be identified with certainty and therefore do not allow conclusions to be made about the author of the dedication.
The building has a gabled façade divided by a stringcourse and crowned with hanging arches where it is presumed the top of the original structure used to be. Two embedded two-light windows and two other windows can still be seen: a rectangular one and a quatrefoil.
The square bell tower rises six storeys high. It was originally decorated with openings that increasingly opened from the bottom upwards. They have almost all been closed, the only exception being two small single-light windows on the third floor.
The parish church in Baveno: inside
The pillars of the triumphal arch are decorated with Romanesque-Gothic frescoes while the third chapel to the right of the single nave has two paintings dedicated to Defendente Ferrari (16th century), which are presumably part of a polyptych: the Adoration of the Virgin and the Presentation at the Temple.
The patron saints are depicted on the apse arch and an Annunciation attributed to Camillo Procaccini (1551-1629), Sacrifice of Isaac by Il Vermiglio and Saint Lucy by Isidoro Bianchi (1602-1690) are along the walls. Also noteworthy are the altar antependiums in the side chapels and the massive 16th-century wooden crucifix on the central vault against a view of the Golgotha frescoes by members of the Francinetti family.
Photo gallery Church of SS. Gervaso e Protaso
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