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CULTURE
San Giovanni al Monte di Quarona
One of the oldest places of worship in Valsesia
Credits © Franchini Amelio
Credits © Franchini Amelio
10 kilometers from the Sacro Monte, near Quarona, stands the remarkable church of San Giovanni, which originates from a Roman structure dating back to the 5th century and represents one of the oldest places of worship in Valsesia. The church was restored in the 1950s and has an interior almost completely covered with valuable frescoes from different eras.
Activity
Culture
Recommended period
all year round
Duration
in one day
Location
Quarona (407 meters)
Is a ticket required
no
Activity subject to hours
yes
Since the 1980s, on Good Friday, the Sacred Representation of the Via Crucis is set up at the church, involving over 60 actors and volunteers each year. The exterior of the church shows the two original bodies, with two entrances, while the interior has two naves: the right part, the original church of Santa Maria, is the oldest; on the left is the baptismal font of San Giovanni. Here there are the oldest testimonies of painting in Valsesia: the frescoes represent organically complete cycles, painted over three centuries from the XIII to the XVI.
The church of San Giovanni was particularly important for the local population because at the top of the mountain the body of Panacea, who lived in Quarona in the 14th century and was revered as Blessed Panacea, was laid to rest in a small temple that is unfortunately now in ruins. The body is now kept in a glass case inside the church of Ghemme. In 1884, with the demolition of the Chapel of the Pietà, which was located in the area that still bears its name (Ponte della Pietà), to make way for the construction of the Novara-Varallo railway, fragments of frescoes representing the Annunciation, the Epiphany, two Madonnas, Blessed Panacea, as well as the wooden group of the Lamentation over Christ dating back to 1495 - 1500 were transferred to the church of San Giovanni. The church is accessible from the center of Quarona via a somewhat steep path (20 minutes walk). To see the frescoes, it is advisable to ask the priest of Quarona about opening hours before going up.
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