Church of St. Dionysius (Chiesa di San Dionigi)

Highlights

Parish church in neoclassical style.

It dates back to 1729.

It was erected on the site of two earlier churches: the first, dedicated to St. John, was involved in the destruction of the castle in 1559, while the second was erected in 1578.

Of particular note is the 18th-century doorway.

The church of St. Dionysius dates from 1729, but two other much older churches existed earlier, one dedicated to St. John that was involved in the destruction of the castle in 1559 and a later one erected in 1578 at the behest of Gregory XIII and dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God, of which there is evidence in a plaque to the right of the entrance; the present building has undergone numerous alterations, especially inside.

It is neoclassical in style, with three naves, was frescoed in 1905-1906 by the painter Ovidio Fonti and restored in 1988-1989 by the restorative painter Enrico Baffoni.

The main facade was raised in the 60s, the capitals were made of cement; the eighteenth-century door in inlaid walnut is particularly noteworthy; the two side facades are exposed brick with lime mortar and were restored in 2000.

The high altar made of masonry and stucco is elegantly ornamented with cornices, breakthroughs, and angel heads according to the taste of the time.

On the left side the signature of Domenico Tabacchi and the date of 1833.

The balustrade is in Gassino marble, a nineteenth-century work of Biaggio Sartorelli di Bagnasco, who worked there in 1832; it is the son of the stonemason Domenico Sartorelli and Paolo's nephew.

The same Biaggio will build in 1847 the steps of the Major Altar of the parish of Capriglio and in 1850 will contribute to the construction of the Church of St. Grato di Bagnasco.

Four side altars in stucco are of particular value: the richest is dedicated to the Holy Virgin, the others are dedicated to St. Margherita da Cortona, to St. Anthony of Padua, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (formerly St. Sebastian).

The organ, from the Lombard school, is enclosed in a wooden box leaning against the wall. It was probably built in 1895, it comes from a church in Monza and was installed in Montafia in 1953 by the organist Giovanni Bai.

In 1897 the parish priest Don Giuseppe Raschio placed the canopy there and a few years later, in 1904, he decorated the pulpit.

The papal stone, on the right as one enters, has the coat of arms of Gregory XIII concerns the dedication to the Virgin Mother of God and is dated 1578.