Along the ancient way towards St. Anna
Stage 1 – From the Parish Church of SS. Trinità to Piazza Roma
New Parish Church of SS. Trinità (the Most Holy Trinity)
Information
Location: the church is located at the bottom of via Lungo Telo di Sinistra
Paving: porphyry
Architectural barriers: you can enter the church by 8 low steps from the main entrance or from the side courtyard where there is a slide without architectural barriers
Access: The main door is wide and leads to a small entrance closed by glass doors.
Services: parking available in the area; cash dispenser Intesa San Paolo in via Lungo Telo di Sinistra, at the street number 35.
Leisure and food: beyond the modern bridge on the Telo we find the beach, a Café, a Pizzeria and the Marina
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The church, consecrated by the Bishop of Como Luigi Pagani on the 24th August 1929, was designed by the Engineer Augusto Pini of Bellagio (who changed the previous project of 1902 by the architect Cesare Nava of Milan, designer of the “Palazzo della Borsa” and of the nearby “Palazzo della Banca d’Italia” in Milan) and realized by the enterprise” Emilio Bianchi e Fratelli” of Milan. The new building replaced the previous church dating back to the 16th century and dedicated to the SS.Trinità, which was located in the present Piazza Roma, which at the time was in bad conditions and also too small and not so practical for the community of Argegno. The building, in Moltrasio stone, realized in Neo-romanic Style and flanked by the imposing bell tower, fits well in the architectural context of a country like Argegno, rich in medieval buildings. The simple gabled façade is opened by a rose window and is preceded by a colonnaded doorway; it is decorated by a mosaic representing the Four Evangelists, St. Abbondio and St. Ann. The interior has a single and very wide nave; the apse hosts a mosaic representing the Holy Trinity flanked by four Angels. The chancel underwent some changes in the 70’s in order to follow the dictate of the Vatican Council: the works in Bronze made by the sculptor Gianluigi Giudici include the canteen, the lectern, the tabernacle and the panels placed on the walls on the side of the chancel representing The man’s work (the farmer, the bricklayer, the carpenter and the fisherman) and The women’s work (the teacher, the wife, the mother and the assistance to the sick). Among the object of worship coming from the old church, are the ancient statue of Madonna with Child, the big picture of the Natività both dating back to the 17th Century, the statue of Baby Jesus, probably dating back to the 18th Century, and carried solemnly during the procession of the 1st day of the year. The square in front of the church , where is located also the Monumento ai Caduti of all the wars, was realized at the same time in the place where, up to that period, stood a small sand beach made up by the sediment brought by the Telo Torrent.
Contacts
Parish of Argegno via Lungo Telo di Sinistra, Argegno (CO); Tel. 031.821277
Monument to Pietro Vassena
Information
Location: the monument to Pietro Vassena is located on the right side of the Café “Il Porto”, in via Lungo Telo di Destra
Paving: porphyry
Architectural barriers: there are no architectural barriers. People who do not want to cross the SS 340, can enter the subway, which is free from the architectural barriers, allowing the entrance to Piazza Rimembranza (in front of the Trattoria da Emilio) and from here (always free from architectural barriers), it is possible to enter Piazza Roma through a narrow street, in front of the new fountain, where Stage 2 begins.
Access: the monument is placed on the ground and is unfenced.
Services: parking available in the area; cash dispenser Banca Popolare di Sondrio at the lakeside Station in PiazzaTesti.
Leisure and food: Beach, Café, Pizzeria, the Marina, docking of the Lake Navigation with public toilets at the lakeside Station
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
In 1968 the city hall of Argegno inaugurated a bust dedicated to Pietro Vassena of Malgrate (1897-1967). Pietro Vassena, in March 1948, made a memorable dive in the waters in front of Argegno on board the submarine C3 he designed, with which he touched the bottom of the lake (412 metres), thus establishing the world record in depth. Thanks to this record Vassena and Argegno gained a world reputation and, with the monument, the community of Argegno wanted to pay him a tribute. During the inauguration of the bust of Vassena in 1968, some scuba-divers of the fire brigade put, at the depth of 15 metres, just outside the port, a commemorative plaque on a concrete block with the following words: «A Pietro Vassena nel ventesimo anniversario del record mondiale di profondità – 12 marzo 1948/1968 (To Pietro Vassena, in the 20th anniversary of the world record in depth-on March 12th 1948/1968)».
Contacts
Municipality of Argegno via Valle Intelvi 7, Argegno (CO); Tel. 031.821120
Former Viscardi’s tower and buildings of medieval origin*
*structure in part disappeared
Information
Location: the former tower of the Viscardi family stood above the building that today hosts the Café “Motta” in via Milano, in front of Piazza Testi, while the buildings of medieval origin are located on the left side of Piazza Roma, keeping our backs to the lake.
Paving: square in porphyry. Sidewalk upstream paved in porphyry, asphalted road
Architectural barriers: sidewalks along the SS340, which is often very crowded.
Access: you can meet some difficulties in crossing the zebra passage, because of the intense traffic. So we suggest to go back along the sidewalk placed along the lake: in front of the Café “Il porto”, enter the subway – free from architectural barriers – that leads to Piazza Rimembranze (in front of the Trattoria “Da Emilio”) and from here, always free from architectural barriers, through a narrow street, reach Piazza Roma, just in front of the new fountain.
Services: parking available in the area for a fee (can be paid for in Piazza Roma); cash dispenser Banca Popolare di Sondrio at the lakeside Station in Piazza Testi, Pharmacy in via Milano in front of Piazza Testi
Leisure and food: docking of the Lake Navigation with public toilets at the lakeside Station, Café, Restaurants and shops in Piazza Roma and in the surrounding area.
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Only the lower part of the former medieval tower of the Viscardi family is now visible, because the upper collapsed in 1876. The few images left show a crenellated tower, a little lower than the bell tower of the old Parish Church, with embrasures and windows on all sides. According to Donato Gregorio, author of a documented publication about Argegno, it was possible to enter it directly from the Cafè “Motta” or to rise from the steps which today bring to the terrace above the place. Next to the Café “Motta” we find some buildings of medieval origin, among them the present “Barchetta” Restaurant and other tourist companies which look onto Piazza Roma. A fascinating hypothesis by Donato Gregorio, suggested by some documents of the 15th Century, holds that in this place a big “Palaxium” palace was built, belonging to Giovanni de Castello. The Catasto Teresiano of 1755 signals the presence of a press located where now stands a clothing shop for children.
Old Parish Church of SS.Trinità (The Most Holy Trinity)*
* disappeared building
Information
Location: the old Parish Church dating back to the 16th Century dedicated to the Holy Trinity stretched diagonally on the present Piazza Roma, with the façade looking westward, at the place where at present a fountain is located
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Mentioned in a document of 1565 for the first time, the old Church of the Holy Trinity was probably built between 1491 and 1564 through the dedication of the inhabitants of Argegno, because of the distance and the stony road they had to walk in order to reach the Church of S. Sisinio (the present Salita Andrea Brenta, also called Strada di Boecc, which means street with holes). In 1610 the Parish Church was built. It had a single nave and on the high altar stood out an altar piece of the Most Holy Trinity, surrounded by stuccoes; at the side of the altar, two niches placed above the two main doors in the sacristy accommodated two reliquary busts of St. Filippo Neri and St. Valentino. The church had two lateral chapels, built during the renovation works of the first decades of the 17th century. The left one was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, with a statue of Our Lady (now kept in the new Parish Church). The right one, instead, was dedicated to St. Fermo (during some pastoral visits is mentioned the dedication to St. Nicholas and St. Julian). Between the 17th and 18th Century the bell tower placed at the left of the entrance was realized, which replaced the previous one, placed at its right. Already at the end of the 19th Century the old church was in bad conditions, too small for the needs of the increased community and in a bad position, adjacent to the always overcrowded via Regina. At the beginning of the 20th Century the project to build a new church was born; in 1928 the construction started. The old church was deconsecrated in 1929; in the following year the building was bought by the municipality at a price of 120.000 lire, in order to use the area as a square so that the centre of the village could be adapted to tourists’ needs. The old church was demolished between March and April of the year 1931.
“Cà del Ponte” (House of the Bridge)
Information
Location: a wide block of flats painted in yellow between via Cacciatori delle Alpi up to the bridge, vicolo dei Pescatori (where once there was the entrance) and via Lungo Telo di Destra. We meet our route at the street number 22 of via Cacciatori delle Alpi
Paving: porphyry
Architectural barriers: none
Access: enter via Cacciatori delle Alpi from the bottom of Piazza Roma
Services: parking available for a fee (to be paid for in Piazza Roma)
Leisure and food: Café, Restaurants and shops in Piazza Roma and in the surroundings
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
In 1663 this ancient building was called the “Ca’ del Ponte” (“House of the Bridge”) and was seat of a city hospitium, a tavern with a small hotel. From some documents dating back to the 17th century we can see that the first floor accommodated the tavern, in the strict sense of the word, a room where it was cooked, a dining room, a small cellar or larder perhaps with a slaughter. The oven was placed in a building nearby, today seat of a food shop which, until some years ago, still produced some bread. The hotel rooms were placed in the upper floor. It is probable that the building had a shelter for the horses. The management of these structures, with the possibility to sell bread, meat, wine and everything necessary to manage the tavern itself, was entrusted by the household assembly through conventions to private contractors. The building was sold to the community to the private citizens in the year 1786.
Medieval bridge on the Telo
Information
Location: the medieval bridge connects the two banks of the Telo torrent, flowing down from the Intelvi Valley
Paving: cobblestones
Architectural barriers: none
Access: from a small deflection of our route following via Cacciatori delle Alpi, walking under ancient arcades. Pay attention to the bridge parapet
Services: parking available for a fee (payment totem in Piazza Roma)
Leisure and food: Café, Restaurants and shops in Piazza Roma and in the adjacent area
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The ancient bridge on the Telo is probably one of the most characteristic architectural elements of Argegno. The entire structure dates back to the 13th and 14th century; in the 18th century it underwent some changes, but it still shows the shoulders of the old handwork. From the bridge, with our backs to the lake, we can see how the Telo torrent has deeply carved its bed in the rock before reaching the level of the lake. On the steep rocky hillside ancient buildings and factories hang, pointing out the important role of the torrent in the life and in the economy of Argegno. Facing the lake, on the hydrographic left of the torrent, we can observe an impressive wall made up by sedimentary and hard rocks of marine origin. These rocks represented the seabed of an ancient sea which occupied the area during the Secondary Era, bent by the heavy movements (orogeny) which gave rise to the Alps. This series of rocky layers is characterized by an evident sinclyne fold, that is to say with the convexity downwards. Beyond the rocky wall we can glimpse the remains of the ancient forge used by a smith with mallet. It was built in the second half of the 18th Century by the brothers Francesco and Domenico Peroni, who canalize the Telo waters in order to raise and to lower the mechanical mallet and to make the forge ventilation system work. It is possible that the iron worked in Argegno came from the mines of the Albano, Cavargna and Morobbia valleys. Farm tools and object of daily use, decorative and horseshoes were produced. The forge was closed in 1968 after the death of its last smith, Domenico Peroni.
“Vicolo dei Mulini” (Narrow Street of the Mills)
Information
Location: vicolo dei Mulini is nearly parallel to the deep valley of the Telo torrent
Paving: porphyry, cobblestones
Architectural barriers: in the middle of the narrow street there are steps with cobblestones
Access: after 5 meters from the entrance in via Garibaldi take vicolo dei Mulini on the right
Services: –
Leisure and food: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Vicolo dei Mulini (Narrow Street of the Mills) is so called because of the presence of different mills which grinded some corn, maize and chestnuts. A claim of 1769 mentions how, for many centuries, some neighbour villages used the mills of the country to grind their products. At the street numbers 4-6, the house, that today has 3 floors and a veranda, hosted since 1768 a mill built by Francesco Zucchi, who provided it with the best technological innovations of that period and with two hydraulic wheels, ensuring a superior production capacity. Probably this mill stopped its activity around the fifties of the last century. At the street number 10 in a document of 1755 the mill owned by Tommaso Peduzzi is mentioned; it was then sold in 1834 to Giuseppe Spinelli, and kept by his descendants up to the forties of the last century, when the mill was disused and the building sold out. Today it is a private home. Of the old mill remain the disc of the millstone and a shoulder, made of stone as well, where the pins of the transmission shaft were inserted. At the street number 12 a block of flats hosted in its right side a millstone and a “resiga” (a sawmill) described for the first time in a document of 1445, both working with the power of the water. In 1858 the Lombard-Veneto land register mentioned the presence of a winder. In 1901 Paolo Helbing bought the building and realized a modern and huge winder working thanks to the water wheel power. Its activity stopped in 1939; the house was afterwards renovated and sold in the sixties. «There was hardly anything left of the long production history of this building, with the only exception of a shoulder made of stone used to hold the water wheel shaft and a metal structure in the shape of a wheel, probably a cog used as a planter». These mills worked through a root canal treatment system called Roggia Molinara, realized probably in the late Middle Ages. Long more than 500 metres, in- and -out water engineering work, starting at Cima di Argegno from a natural waterfall of a small torrent coming from the mountains of Schignano. After a stretch in the open air, there was probably another very short underground tract; coming back to the surface, it flowed at the back of the mountain up to “Vicolo dei Mulini”, and then finished behind the medieval bridge on the right, appearing again downstream and continuing towards the lake. In its final stretch, it underwent many changes and was also filled in.
Below the Café “Il porto”, the waste pipe is still visible.
Chapel of S. Giacomo (St. James)
Information
Location: the Chapel of St. James stands on the left along via Pizzo Gordona, just outside from the most ancient centre of Argegno
Paving: cement
Architectural barriers: there are no architectural barriers
Access: from via Pizzo Gordona
Services: –
Leisure and food: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The Chapel of St. James is traditionally dated back to the 19th Century; according to Donato Gregorio, author of a research on Argegno, it could have been realized in order to give to the Saint a place of devotion after the desecration of the homonymous chapel in the nearby castle. Until a few decades ago it had a wooden statue of the Saint worshipped in Compostela; today remains her printed image, in the traditional iconography of a pilgrim, almost to ensure his protection to those who were climbing up to the church of St. Ann.
Medieval Castle*
* lost building
Information
Location: The medieval castle stood on the hillock of the present locality Castello, approximately on the left of the stone staircase which still reaches the locality
Description
It is likely that in the first half of the 14th Century, on a sunny hillock on the right side of the Telo torrent, some representatives of the Castelli family erected a castle, in the context of the struggles between the Vittani family (to which the Castelli family was allied) and the Rusconi family for the supremacy of the town and the Como region.
Some authors however backdate the building of a fortress in this place to the late medieval period, arguing that the station Argegno was part of a defensive system involving the entire lake; in fact from this position it is possible to control a great part of the Lario centre and of the lower region, from the Comacina Island to Nesso and Torriggia. From the documented news and from the archeological surveys made in the late Eighties by the “Sopraintendenza per I Beni archeologici della Lombardia”, it can be assumed that the castle was bordered by a wall of defense that contained more buildings, partly used as dwellings, partly as stores or stalls and a wide court. An imposing tower was also present, in a higher position compared to other buildings, under which stood a chapel dedicated to Saint James. From the 16th Century, probably because of the political and economic changes of the Castelli family decline, the building began to go in ruins. Around the end of the following century, in the documentation of the Pastoral Visit of the bishop Ciceri in 1684 is proved that the entire castle appeared ruined and the locality itself almost abandoned. A popular rumour, reported by Domenico Gregorio in his book about Argegno, argues that in past periods there was a subway connecting the Tower of the Viscardi Family, placed in the centre of the town, with the castle of Argegno, which was rather doubtful given the distance, but cannot be altogether excluded. Another improbable news was reported by Anton Gioseffo of the Tower of Rezzonico, in his work “Il Lario” who, speaking about the Castle of Argegno, tells how the highest tower was used as lighthouse for the seagoing staff and how the tower itself in the year 1774 «decrepita per antichità (very old and ruined)» crashed with a great rushing into the lake. It can be assumed that the chapel dedicated to Saint James, although mentioned for the first time in a document of 1424, was actually older, perhaps even built at the same time of the castle by the Castelli family either for necessity and comfort, or to keep a vow or simply as a power sign; the bishop Ninguarda in 1593 writes that it was «fabbricata per servizio del castello anticamente (built at the castle’s service in ancient times)». The acts of the pastoral visits of the bishops of the end of the 16th Century (Ninguarda and Archinti) describe it as a parish church with a single nave, long about 12 meters, oriented towards the east, with 4 windows. The altar, consecrated, was placed above an altar-step, in order to remain elevated and visible, and was surmounted by a small canopy and closed with gates of iron. Around the end of the following century, in 1684, since the chapel had by that time become impracticable, it was decided to deconsecrate it. When the walls of the castle collapsed, the stones were re-used in order to realize the terracing which, up to the end of the last century, could be observed in the locality Castello. Some of these stones can still be seen going up from via Pizzo Gordona, in the stone wall which borders the road, in front of the staircase that reaches the locality.
Chapel of Madonna della Neve (Our Lady of the Snow)
Information
Location: the Chapel of Madonna della Neve (Our Lady of the Snow) is placed along via Pizzo Gordona, about 5 metres after the staircase which reaches the locality Castello
Paving: asphalt
Architectural barriers: there are no architectural barriers
Access: from via Pizzo Gordona
Services: little parking after about 180 metres
Leisure and food: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Snow dates back to the 14th Century; by an unknown author today it has been neglected. It has a central niche and two smaller ones placed on the pilasters at its side which accommodate different small statues and modern images (in the main niche the Immaculate, Saint Francis with the Crucifix, The Holy Familiy, the portrait of a Saint Capuchin; in the lateral niches the Madonna with the Child and the Madonna of Lourdes in plaster on small bases). Domenico Gregorio in its book about Argegno says that in the past this chapel contained a statue of our Lady with the inscription: «This miracle image of Our Lady which was worshipped once a time in the destroyed Parish Church of Saint James by the Castello, was restored by F.S.D.F.in the year 1839». The popular tradition, not supported by documents, quotes in fact how this chapel was built in order to host the statue of Our Lady which, abandoned in the ruined Church of S. James by the Castello, was miraculously found by the inhabitants in this place.
Brought again back to the parish Church, the following day it was found again in the same point, and for this reason the inhabitants of Argegno built for the statue a chapel. In the past, in the evenings of May, the inhabitants reach this newsagent in order to say the Rosary.
Chapels of S. Francesco d’Assisi (St. Francis of Assisi) and of the Blessed Virgin
Information
Location: the Chapels of St. Francis of Assisi and of the Blessed Virgin are placed one in front of the other along via Pizzo Gordona (when rising, you find on the right the Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, on the left that of the Blessed Virgin)
Paving: asphalt
Architectural Barriers: it is possible to enter the Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi through 8 steps of stone of Moltrasio; at the base of the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin there is a small stone step
Access: from via Pizzo Gordona
Services: a small parking area about 30 meters before
Leisure and food: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
Once the Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, dated back to the 19th Century, was frescoed and had a wooden statue of the Saint dated back to the 17th Century, but was stolen; today it accommodates a picture of the Saint with his famous “Preghiera semplice”. The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin of the 19th Century, has a small altar surmounted by a fresco representing a sweet and very refined Madonna with the Child (whose face has been inexpertly re-painted and altered, as well as the hand of the Virgin Mary who holds it) with a starry sky on the background. The vault has a fresco representing a playing angel, while on the wall on the left stands out St. John the Evangelist; these paintings date probably back to the 18th Century.
Chapel of S. Rocco
Information
Location: the Chapel of St. Rocco is on the right side along the pedestrian walk which connects Argegno with the Church of St. Ann (it is still via Pizzo Gordona)
Paving: asphalt
Architectural barriers: none
Access: from via Pizzo Gordona
Services: –
Leisure and food: –
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The Chapel dedicated to St. Rocco, patron of the plague victims, has been probably built as ex vow for the lucky escape during the epidemic of 1836. Domenico Gregorio, in his volume about Argegno, quotes that until some times ago it was possible to read the inscription: «Bernarda Nicola benefattore fece l’anno 1840 (The benefactor Bernarda Nicola made in 1840)». In the past it accommodates a statue of the Saint Montpellier, unfortunately stolen and replaced by a modern picture.
Church of S. Anna (St. Ann)
Information
Location: the Church of St. Ann stands on a patch of grass in the middle of the northern flank of the Mount Ballano, in the locality of the same name, placed along the road from Argegno to Schignano.
Paving: grass
Architectural barriers: 25 low steps lead to the front of the Church; a steep, cobbled and disconnected rise with three final steps leads to the left side. In order to enter the porch there are 3 steps of different height; to enter the Church we have to take another low step.
Access: from the base of the square which can be reached from our route, it is possible either to go straight forward, rising 25 low steps and to enter the Church square going through 2 pillars surmounted by pots in stone, or to take on the left a short but steep and cobbled rise, which allows to reach the square through 3 steps, on the back of the Church. It is also possible to reach St. Ann from the road Argegno-Schignano.
Services: parking in the surroundings area of the Church square in Piazza Capitano Peduzzi Giuseppe; bus stop
Leisure and Food: the Church patch of grass is shaded by age-old plane trees and equipped with benches; beside the Church there are two hotel-restaurants and a farm.
Description
(Silvia Fasana)
The Church of the Virgin of Gelpio, better known as St. Ann, is mentioned for the first time in 1684 in the document of the pastoral visit of the bishop Ciceri; it was later described in the account of the pastoral visit of the bishop Bonesana in 1699, where is said that the church had not been completed yet. According to the popular tradition the church was built after a vow made during a plague epidemic, probably in 1630, on the place of a virgin image, that is to say the Virgin of Gelpio.
According to Donato Gregorio, author of a documented study on Argegno, the church would have been built around the end of the 18th Century, after the chapel of St. James by the Castello had been deconsecrated, thus taking away a religious reference point for the inhabitants of Argegno di Sopra, a municipal entity independent in some functions. During the centuries the church underwent some renovation work. Today it has a simple façade preceded by an elegant porch with three archways; the main door is flanked by two low windows with a gate and a kneeler, used to visit the Holy Sacrament when the church was closed.
The bell tower is dated 1824. The interior, a small baroque jewel, has a single nave with two lateral chapels.
The visitor’s attention is immediately captured by the presbytery, where a rich iconographical program, drawn by the evocative “Elogio della Sapienza” of the Book of Siracide or Ecclesiastico (Sir. 24) and by other wisdom and Bible books, remembers the cult of Mary “Sedes Sapientiae”. The table of the high altar, characterized by a wonderful hanging in the scagliola technique, is surmounted by a rich decorative apparel, in which the fine chromatic game among the elements in white stucco, the colored marble imitations of the columns and the central panel stand out. At the sides of the altar, the two lateral doors are surmounted by shrines with angels in stucco and precious panels, again implemented using the scagliola technique.
The presbytery vault is embellished with stuccoes and frescoes with Storie della vita della Vergine (History of Virgin’s life) once ascribed to the artist Isidoro Bianchi (1581-1662) of Campione; this attribution is not correct according to some art historians. The iconographical program of the Virgin continues on the vault of the central nave, where, inside some ornate stucco frames, it is possible to observe a big fresco with the Assunzione di Maria al Cielo (Assumption), with at the sides Angeli musicanti (Angels musicians) and Angeli who hold sentences of hymns to Our Lady. The two lateral chapels, dating back probably to the 18th Century, are embellished with rich stucco decorations; the one on the right is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua; the one on the left to St. Ann, with the image of Sant’Anna con Maria Bambina (St. Ann with Mary child). In the middle of the nave stand out two big statues in stucco of San Gioacchino (St. Joachim) and Sant’Anna (St. Ann).
Contacts
Parish of Argegno via Lungo Telo di Sinistra, Argegno (CO); Tel. 031.821277