San Rocco church

San Rocco Church

The name of San Rocco, the saint protector from the plague, was chosen for the ancient Romanesque church which, not surviving beyond the 17th century, was rebuilt from scratch starting in 1627 based on a design by the Milanese architect Francesco Maria Riccini. The reconstruction coincided with the terrible plague that Manzoni wrote about in “I Promessi Sposi”.

The church’s façade, of classical imprint, remained unfinished for centuries and was only completed in 1933 by Carlo Nigra.

The church, consecrated in 1648 by the Novara archbishop Antonio Tornielli, therefore has a baroque character which, after the restoration work, makes it truly unique. The chapels are remarkable, almost all dating back to the 17th century. Stucco, gilding, frescoes and paintings on canvas make the complex an extraordinary example of baroque art.

The church, with its 45 m of length and 27 m of width, is among the largest in the entire Novara area. Among the valuable works are the baroque high altar in polychrome marble, chiseled bronzes from the 17th century, the choir with wooden stalls and the baptistery.

Some names of important artists and craftsmen who collaborated on the construction: Giovanni Battista Cantaluppi, Carlo Cane da Gallarate, Federico Bianchi, Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Giuseppe Zanatta, Giuseppe Nuvolone, Giorgio Bonola di Corconio, Andrea Lanzani, Stefano Maria Legnano known as Legnanino