Santa Maria di Luzzara

The church of Santa Maria di Luzzara is a small Christian place of worship located in the territory of Gozzano, the parish on which it depends. The small church is located north of the town, on the side of provincial road 46, which runs along the western shore of Lake Orta, as well as on the border with the territory of San Maurizio d’Opaglio.

A pit stop in the Middle Ages…
on the road from Gozzano to San Maurizio d’Opaglio to admire the Church of Santa Maria di Luzzara, near the shores of Lake Orta. The church houses two important cycles of frescoes dating back to the 15th-16th century, hosted on the external façade and on the internal walls. The figures seem to dance on the walls, inviting you to discover more about the stories of faith and community of the time.

The building has a single oriented nave, ending to the east in three linked apses, the central one slightly larger than the lateral ones but all equally covered with slates like the roof and devoid of any decorative element except a torus that surrounds the upper edges. Above all there is a single arched window with double splay, facing east. The interior must however have originally been illuminated by a cross window placed above the central apse, blocked at an unspecified date.

The façade, facing west, is gabled. The main entrance portal, whose stone slab at the base was replaced in 1883, is flanked by two small rectangular windows, opened in 1663 as indicated above the one on the left with an inscription made on the fresh mortar with a nail, and is surmounted by an oculus window with double splay; the roof strongly projecting on the façade has a slate covering; at the top of the ridge, towards the facade, it has a small bell gable. The only bell present is not the original, dedicated to Saint Anna and Saint Eurosia, but one that was replaced after its theft, which occurred in September 1973. Two long stone seats of modest workmanship were placed under the two windows.

On the southern side, where there is also a second entrance and a small slit window, there is a small room used as a sacristy, from which a small fireplace rises, built for the purpose of heating the rooms, but not in use. On this side you can see two large inclined buttresses that correspond to those on the north side, which however is completely blind, without any opening. The only peculiarity of this last side is the reuse of some worked stone observable in the construction.

The interior, divided into three bays by two pointed arches set on low semi-pillars, features the original cocciopesto floor in the presbytery area, located at a much lower level than the floor outside the church. In January 1983, the holy water stoup in serizzo (first half of the 17th century) located at the base of the fresco near the side door, and the white marble stoup supported by a small column, perhaps even older, located near the main entrance, were stolen. An important cycle of frescoes dating back to the 16th century is preserved on the internal walls and on the façade.

Santa Maria di Luzzara